Working!

This year I have been searching for signs of growth. As you know, many schools I have visited this year are schools I am visiting for the first time. I spend the week, thereby proving that I can wear a sari, sit on the ground, eat with my hand, and handle spicy food. More importantly it shows that I am not going to say “My way is best,” but will instead listen and partner with the staff. Usually trust builds slowly....by Thursday or Friday... leaving little left of the week.

But this week has come with several surprises showing "buy in"…

a. Yesterday, a wonderful surprise was waiting for me in the first grade room..a small, simple piece of paper with BIG importance. It was a paper I distributed a year ago...and it WAS being incorporated...proving something stuck.

b. The manager of the school was describing how he would like to see students gain a deeper understanding of concepts(I already liked that part). He went on to say.. “ You know, like those books you brought last year. I want my students to be able to make those.” (Thanks 3rd grade.. .those were the books you made.)

c. Two years ago I was so blessed to form really wonderful relationships with girls who were living where I live. They were studying to be teachers. I just loved them and we still keep in concact. This week I found out that one of the girls is working at the school I am visiting. She teaches LKG (lower kindergarten) and UKG (upper kindergarten). Yesterday I demonstrated one lesson in LKG. Today she asked for the supplies needed for the lesson because she wanted to do it in UKG. When I stopped in her room an hour later she had done it! All day was like that, almost team teaching. Sharing ideas and trying them.

d. On the first day of this week, the other LKG teacher seemed very resistant to my ideas. Saying as many do.. “We have to teach, we don’t have time for games.” Yet I was excited today to see him smile while I engaged his students in a lesson on prepositions. He hurried over to his book in order to write the idea down.)

e. I wanted to hang pocket charts.. 15 minutes later..screws were put in the wall.

f. After I demonstrated how to do “Mystery” in 2nd class, the teacher tried the same idea in 3rd class.

g. On the way to school today.. I was talking to the manager about how he would like his teachers to teach. He said, “ We had a meeting at the start of the year for one hour. I didn’t know you were coming, but I used you as an example...and I reminded them how actively you teach. I told the teachers that I'd like to see them using more activities like that.”