vidyalaya – Adventures in International Education

July 11, 2019 bclarkwriter International education

Traveling Inland to Wyanad

We traveled inland to the western Ghat mountains on Wednesday. The country at these upper elevations (about 2500 meters) resembles Stowe, Vermont, with tall peaks, misty vistas, and green green green all around. The monkeys, nationalist demonstrations, and tuk-tuks (auto-rickshaws) are unique to India and many parts of Asia. The auto-rickshaws provide cheap and accessible transportation. Most in India run on compressed gas to minimize pollution. Visiting the Vidyalaya in Wyanad We visited the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Wyanad, a

July 10, 2019 bclarkwriter International education

Teaching at the Vidyalaya

Tuesday found Gerald and I in the classroom, teaching English and math lessons and explaining our theories of education to faculty members. My first task was to honor the young women who had chaired the previous evening’s celebration: Aiswarya T and Gayatri Vinodkumar. In the morning, they looked totally different, their exquisite cultural costumes replaced with school uniforms. I complimented them on their performance the previous evening and said I would be honored to have them in my classroom in

July 10, 2019 bclarkwriter International education

From Morning Yoga to Evening Dance and Drumming

Our second day in Mahe began with a relaxing yoga session with Hakeem, the yoga instructor at Jawahar Novodaya Vidyalaya, and Rathnakaran, the school’s principal. It ended after 9:00 p.m. with a cultural evening of traditional Hindi and Malala dancing and drumming at the school. Along the way, Gerald and I ate wonderful South Indian meals, saw the area, and visited classrooms. I found that Indian students love pencils and almost created a riot in the schoolyard when I started