Today I was invited to spend a 2nd day with the young guy here in Bangalore who I met a few weeks ago, and is involved with so many fabulous community programs. He made appointments for us to see 2 schools, a clinic, and a government-run hospital. This blog will showcase the schools that we visited, and the next 2 will show the rest of the day. I was hesitant to take pictures of the schools, yet everyone was so excited, and then when the children saw themselves on the camera screen, well…I wish I could have captured that moment! The first school we visited was a government-run school, and so mainly filled with children of laborers who are transient and so there is a higher turnover in the classrooms, as compared to regular public or private schools. The educational content takes this into account, and attempts to provide the highest impact education in as short of “bursts” as possible, providing the absolute most essential of education “first”, taking into account the fact they may leave soon. I was so impressed with the teachers, and the children were a joy to see. They were so excited about “being at school” and were so polite to the adults, and to me as a stranger. They took turns saying their names, and one little boy even took his hat off as we walked in! Very, very sweet children. I was unable to take pictures of this first school. However, there were 3 medium sized rooms with 2 class ages combined in each one. Total of 3 teachers with about 25 students each. They attend school Monday-Friday all day (8-3:30) and Saturday half days.
The 2nd school was a public school, and the pictures above and below capture this building, the students, and the surroundings. The children here...just as delightful and excited. (All smiling until you click the camera, and a moment of wonderment while the flash went off, but trust me they were all smiles!) There were 4 classrooms, with 4 teachers. Note that the one room in the picture where they are all sitting on the floor is an “activity room”, as all schools had desks and chairs for the students. I captured the “library”, where creatively, they have hung books on a “line” as they don’t have bookcases for them all. Donated books (second-hand or new, English or native to India) are greatly appreciated in school such as this. Also, one picture shows the kids’ artwork showcased from the ceiling.
As you read this, note that these particular schools are focuses for some volunteer interventions for even better outcomes, and not representative of all “schools in India”. I just wanted to note this, as I was so impressed with the teaching efforts and of course the sweet children that I met.
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