When I was preparing to come to India, never did I imagine that my experiences at Job Corps would carry over.

But one look at my resume, with details about the skills I learned at the trade school, Selvi Ma’am was interested in utilizing these skills in tandem with my observations in the classrooms. And with this, I have gotten into a rhythm here at Vidyashilp: I’m observing a two block 11^th grade creative writing class three days a week, and with Selvi Ma’am’s support, I have created an extracurricular carpentry workshop for 11^th and 12^th grade students during their free periods. It started with four students, but then quickly grew to about nine, and now I have about four groups of students cycling through free periods throughout the week. It started with pulling a few desks together, finding some scraps of wood, and borrowing some materials and tools from the on-site carpentry shed, and we had ourselves a class. I started with the basics of cutting the woods, getting comfortable with the rhythm of the physical movements and exertion that comes with using the saw, and got them started on little assignments: cutting two inch by two inch blocks, and two inch width triangular blocks.

These students have been more than supportive with this endeavor- I was scared they’d be bored, but they are all enthusiastic and excited to be a part of it. I’m not sure how much of it is doing something new and different, and how much of it is doing something productive in material terms as well as mental education, or how much of it is just a love of engaging with a new learning experience. I am convinced it’s a combination of all three.

I have grown in more ways than expected being in India and being at Vidyashilp. Realizing that the small steps along my journey that got me to where I am, as opposed to just the large spaces I’ve been able to be in over the last few years, has helped a huge deal. Being able to remove myself from most of my friends, family, and comfort zone, and just be immersed in the India experience has been purifying and cleansing, spiritually and emotionally. Personally, I feel like I am in the perfect place in my life to have been able to be on this trip- not a year ago, not in a year from now. Right now, as I am, I am where I am supposed to be, experiencing what I am supposed to, and reflecting on every single day, event, and moment that preceded me stepping onto the plane, and every moment since I landed in Bangalore. All the things I’ve learned while being here, the adapting, shifting, and welcoming, are things that will never leave me, for as long as I live and no matter where I go.

Just today, my carpentry students begun work on their first birdhouse.

3 weeks down! We are officially halfway through this trip and I seriously cannot believe it. This trip has truly been amazing and I can’t stop thinking about how lucky and thankful I am to have had this opportunity so far.

This week consisted of some of my absolute favorite memories. Dean Chval (Mizzou’s Dean of the College of Education) came to visit us here in India and experience a glimpse of what we have been living the past three weeks. She visited all four schools, met our principals, went shopping on Commercial Street, and went to one of our favorite restaurants, Brew Works, on her last night here. It was humbling to see the Dean, who has so many other obligations and commitments, take time out of her busy schedule to experience Bangalore along side 8 of her students.

My absolute favorite memory of the entire trip so far was our saree photo shoot on Saturday! Last week, everyone picked out their saree fabrics (all of which were SO beautiful, colorful, and unique) and we picked up our tailored blouses and saree fabric later in the week. Saturday was the big day we were all waiting for where we were able to try them on, attempt to learn how to tie the fabric, and pose for the camera. We all thought the sarees would be a breeze to tie…let me tell you…we were SO wrong! Sheral (the lady who plans and coordinates our entire trip) came to the hotel and planned on modeling how to tie them while we all watched and followed along. Let’s just say that didn’t last long because we immediately fell behind and had so many questions. Sheral ended up tying all of our sarees for us which took more than an hour!! I even did my hair, makeup, and put on jewelry for the first time in three weeks! The pictures we took during this photo shoot and the memories made will definitely stay with me forever. I can’t wait to share the pictures with everyone back home!

Today consisted of shopping, shopping, and more shopping. We first visited a fair that had so many different items to buy…everything from food, to jewelry, to blankets, to scarves, to shoes, and any sort of knick knack you could possibly imagine! The fair only happens for a week once a year and is set up on a rock formation with shops lined up on each side snaking around! Truly amazing! We then visited a government run craft store which was three stories high filled with perfect gift items. After that, half of the group decided to conquer Commercial Street once again! Since it was a Sunday, it was a lot less crowded and easier to maneuver. My favorite find was a rainbow tote bag covered in yarn and gems which will be a perfect teacher bag and a great conversation starter!!

This week was full of so many new experiences and memories! I know I didn’t mention my school or students in this blog, but don’t worry, I’m still just as obsessed with them, if not more, as I mentioned in my previous blog!! Stay tuned in Blog 4 to read about my experience in Delhi! Bring on Week 4!!

It’s crazy to think that this trip is already half way over. Going into week three, I was excited to continue to build relationships with both the students and teachers. One connection that had stood out, is the connection that I have mad with my teacher Juanita. She has been very encouraging throughout this whole journey. She has been so good at making sure I feel included I and apart of the classroom. She never fails to make me laugh and make teaching so fun. I have gained so much confidence in the classroom all because of her. All the teachers at Shilp have made me feel like I’m apart of their team. I got the chance to attend a department meeting with the Environmental Science Teachers and the principal. I had never had the chance to attend a teacher meeting. It was a really great experience to see that side of education. This week I spent a lot of my time planning my lesson that I am going to give at the end of my journey here in India. All the teachers have been so eager to help me build this lesson. Lesson planning is something that I haven’t done in the States yet. Getting this chance to write my own lesson and then execute it in the classroom, is such a great experience. The students at Shilp have also made my time there so great. Every morning when I walk into the building, I am always greeting with their smiling faces saying “Good Morning Ma’am.” This is always a good start to my day. One thing that I have really struggled with at school is remembering the names of the students. There are just so many students per class, it can make it tricky to remember everyone’s names. I believe as a teacher knowing the students names is so important to building a strong relationship with them. So I spent a lot of week three focusing on remembering students names and that really helped me to build those relationship. The week went by pretty fast, because there was a lot happening. We had two visitors Dean Chval, the Dean of Mizzou’s College of Education and Gabrielle Malfatti, the Director of Global Engagement. It was so nice to have them come see what we are doing here in Bangalore. We had dinner while they were in town and both of them gave me some great advice that I’ll carry with me for a long time. Dean Chval talked to the group about the importance of listening. She talked all about how you can get to know so much about a person if you really focus on listening to the person. I really took that to heart. I feel like it’s something really important to practice here when meeting all new people and really getting to learn their story. The rest of the week I become very aware of how well I was listening to each student when they talked and I heard some interesting stories, while getting to know them better. The week continued to fly by and then it was the Fourth of July. I have never been out of the country during the United States Independence Day. I thought it would be a really tough day to be so far away from home and it was kind of tough, but what made it so much better were the students when I got to school that day. All the students were running up to me saying “Happy Independence Day ma’am.” Then they proceeded to ask me to sing the National Anthem. Anyone that knows me, knows I am not much of a singer, but the students kept asking and asking. So I gave it my best shot and sung them the National Anthem. They all loved it. I had such a great week. Week three opened my eyes to even more new experiences and I can’t wait to see what week four has in store for me.

3 weeks down and 3 to go. Time has flown by. It really started to hit me how short our time left here is. With this mindset I’ll continue the rest of the trip trying to experience everything I can.

The past week at school has been better than the previous week (how is that possible because last week was already great!) The week started out normal by following my teacher to all of her classes and co-teaching. We started teaching new songs to the students. I nice refresher after the three environment songs we taught for two weeks. DPS North’s theme for July is math to celebrate math week later this month. All of the hallway bulletin boards are colorfully decorated with math used in everyday life. Math is hard to incorporate in music since the grade levels are all learning different material so instead we are teaching about values. The songs have themes of being nice to everyone, not wasting food, and the importance of friends. This month we also added a few Kannada and Gujarati songs (local languages of India). It is hard for me to teach these songs since I do not know the language and the Indian style of singing but I am learning. Hopefully by the end of the trip I will be able to successfully sing one of the songs.

Also this week I was able to work with instrumental students. Another music teacher and I pulled a list of 30 students all from the 3rd grade learning keyboard. There were so many students also learning piano and vocal but sadly my time is short and I cannot teach everyone. We gathered all the students into the room and started to narrow down the selection. After removing students who just started, we had a solid group of 12 students. All of the students knew the common song of “Jana Gana Mana”, the national anthem of India. The teacher had all the students tell their parents to bring their keyboards to school tomorrow. The next day we had a good turnout for keyboards! They were all varying sizes but they kids were so eager to show off their talents. I plugged in two and let them play the national anthem. With varying skill levels, I have my work cut out for me but I am excited to see the kids grow and perform together.

When we aren’t at school, we are shopping the markets or having a sari photoshoot. All of our saris were done being tailored and the blouses were complete. We were ready to learn how to tie them and parade around Casa Cottage wearing them. Sheral, our contact from GenNext, came over to tie all of our saris. I was hoping to be able to learn so I can tie it at home, but I was lost after the second step. Sheral was so patient and tied all of our saris. 21 feet of fabric and 1 hour later, we were all colorfully dressed. We had a mini photoshoot with Cathy, a member from the College of Education’s Strategic Communication Department.

On Sunday we hit the town for (more) shopping. We went to a local craft fair, a government craft store, and Commercial Street. I picked up some gifts for family, friends, and me. This past week has been busy and the ever approaching date of returning home creeps closer. I am excited to travel to Delhi and Agra next week. Hopefully we all don’t melt in the heat! Here’s to living in the moment and traveling to new places!

Our trip is officially halfway over, and I cannot believe it! This past week I spent the majority of my days in the first and second grade classrooms at AECS Magnolia. What I have noticed after being in the schools for this past week are the incredible connections and relationships that I am making while I have been in the school. Each day when I walk through the door, I am greeted with smiles and good morning by both the teachers and students at the school. Now that I have gone to each of my classes for about two weeks now, each time I walk in the classroom, all of the students treat me just as they would their normal teachers. My teacher Roopa, who is absolutely amazing, told me that one of the days that they had school on Saturday that the kids in her classes were asking “Where is Gabriella ma’am?” She was sweet and said that she almost “can’t teach math without you.” 

Our trip is officially halfway over, and I cannot believe it! This past week I spent the majority of my days in the first and second grade classrooms at AECS Magnolia. What I have noticed after being in the schools for this past week are the incredible connections and relationships that I am making while I have been in the school. Each day when I walk through the door, I am greeted with smiles and good mornings by both the teachers and students at the school. I feel extremely welcomed in the school and I feel as if I am making long lasting connections with the teachers and students because of it. Now that I have gone to each of my classes for about two weeks now, each time I walk in the classroom, all of the students treat me just as they would their normal teachers. Roopa, the amazing teacher that I am shadowing, told me that one of the days that they had school on Saturday, the kids in her classes kept asking her, “Where is Gabriella ma’am?” She was sweet and told me, “I almost can’t teach math without you!”

Throughout this entire trip, Roopa has been a great mentor to me while I have been at Magnolia. She is always encouraging me and giving me feedback after I teach a lesson. I believe that she is trying to make me the best educator that I can be and has ultimately been someone I can count on and look up to.

Since I have gotten used to how things work in the schools, I have now been able to look deeper into my school to figure out what exactly makes them great. What I noticed was that every single teacher always seems to have an immense amount of passion for each student and they all truly want each of their students to succeed. For instance, each of the teachers make sure that every student is doing their work and understands what they are doing. For a class that can be thirty-five to forty kids, this is a challenging task. But what is incredible is that every teacher that I have observed is able to somehow identify a struggling student and correct their misunderstandings on a topic while also dealing with the other students in the class. This just shows that the teachers truly want to ensure that every student’s understanding of a topic is correct before moving on to the next topic. In addition to this, I can tell how much they care about their students since every teacher uses each of their break periods as a time to look through all of their student’s notebooks and workbooks to make sure that they are on the path to success as well. When my teachers talk about their students or when they explain to me what they are teaching, I can just tell that they have such a strong love and passion for what they are doing. They truly go out of their way to make sure that every one of their students is successful which is something that I will definitely carry with me when I have my own classroom. I know I have said this before, but I have been blessed and lucky to learn from my teachers at Magnolia. I am truly thankful for the amount of support and experience that the teachers and staff at Magnolia have been providing for me.

Even with all of the fun at the schools, our group has been able to have fun outside of school too. On Saturday, we finally were able to try on our saris that we had bought a few weeks back. Sheral, our wonderful personnel from GenNext who has been taking care of us, came over to where we are staying and helped us get dressed in them. What is funny is that all of us wanted her to teach us, so she brought her own fabric and was taking us step-by-step through the process. We were all confident that we would be able to follow along and tie them ourselves. When we were all lined up trying to do the first couple of steps, we were already lost. The problem for us was that we were not used to having a huge piece of fabric that we have to tuck and wrap all on our own. Luckily, Sheral was kind enough to help each of us to tie our saris. After she finished wrapping everyone, which took about an hour, we had a fun photoshoot of us all dressed up. This was such a fun time as we finally were able to dress in the beautiful fabrics and style that is traditionally worn in this amazingly colorful culture. 

Overall, I am having such a great time here in Bangalore. I am sad that we are already halfway done with our trip. Even though our time seems like it is almost up, I am going to try to get the most out of the time that I have left. I will continue to look for something new each and every day and soak in as much of the culture as I can before I leave for home. 

As the weeks continue in India, I am continuously grateful that I am able to have this experience. There is so much I have been able to see and experience. I love being able to go to markets and be immersed in the shopping experience. This weekend we were able to learn from Sheral how to tie our sarees and have a “photoshoot.” Tying the saree was such a difficult task for me, it amazes me that women wear sarees every day. It was such a fun day being in our sarees, we were such a colorful rainbow.

This was our second full weeks in the schools and it is such a wonderful experience. There is so much to experience within in the schools. In addition to teaching lessons, I have been able to see an assembly for doctors day and cheerleading tryouts. With the doctors day assembly it was amazing to see how they teach their kindergarten students about healthy habits and how to stay healthy. The students were engaged with learning about coughing in their elbow, drinking lots of water and eating fruits and vegetables. It’s awesome how they celebrated doctors day, through showing their students how to maintain healthy. It was also great to be a part of the cheerleading tryout experience. I was able to assist the teachers in choosing students from the LKG and UKG classes to be cheerleaders during their international sports day in September. The students were able to follow the teacher leading the tryout in the moves they needed to accomplish. It was such a fun experience to have and being able to interact with all the students was amazing.

During my time in second grade it is fun to teach the lessons, however what I will remember most is my interactions with the students and playing games during their last period. It is so much fun teaching the students to play heads up seven up or hang man. What makes me smile the most is when the students come up to me and are so excited to play the games again.

However out of all of this my favorite part again is being able to interact with the students and teachers. It’s so great that the students have learned my name and that I am learning theirs. Having a set “fluid” schedule is also something that has helped me interact and be engaged with the same students. I am learning so much from everyone in the schools and I am so excited to teach more lessons and experience other things.

As I think about it being the half way point of our trip, it saddens me. There is so much that we have experienced and are going to experience in the next few weeks that make me sad to go home. I am super excited for our trip to Delhi and being able to experience another part of India. For these next three weeks I am going to make the most of this experience and take everything in. Living in the moment will be my motto for the rest of my India trip.

How are we already halfway through our trip of a lifetime? This week was full of fun, new experiences that I am dying to share.

To start off, I had the pleasure of interacting with Mizzou’s College of Education Dean Chval and Director of Global Engagement, Gabrielle Malfatti, during their quick visit to Bangalore. They observed me teach a second grade English lesson and we all visited another Delhi Public School together later in the week. My favorite moment from their stay was at dinner the night before they left. Dean Chval asked each of us to think of three adjectives that describe India so far. Mine were surprising, colorful, and welcoming. I truly feel like these words encompass everything I’ve experienced over the last three and a half weeks. I am surprised at how all of my misconceptions were proven wrong. I am amazed at the amount of color I see here just by walking down the street. And, I am overwhelmed at how welcoming the people have been. Whether it be the students or teachers at my school, the workers at Casa, or even the waiters at restaurants. I am eager to ask myself this question again once the six weeks are over.

Another huge part of this week was the Fourth of July. I had never been out of the United States for this holiday before and it was a little challenging (for someone who loves America as much as me!). My students were so interested and knowledgeable that it was a special day for me back home. I wore my American flag ponytail and even sang the Star Spangled Banner for my class after they begged all day long. There is a handful of students I teach that have gone to school in the United States. These specific ones were all excited because they had heard our National Anthem before. One of my students even recited the Pledge of Allegiance with me. I was so impressed! And, very happy to be reminded of my home 9,000 miles away.

My favorite part of this week (and the entire trip so far) was our saree photo shoot. Sheral (person of contact with Mizzou in Bangalore) came over to Casa and helped each of us wrap our 29 feet long unique, colorful, and gorgeous fabrics. She even brought jewelry to make the “look”. We took picture after picture and had our own fashion show for everyone at Casa. I seriously felt like I was at prom, telling everyone around me to get the best angle, lighting, and pose. I felt so beautiful, yet couldn’t believe women have to wear these heavy fabrics all the time — I was so hot! It took so long just to get dressed and we were exhausted after all the modeling. This was one of the first moments that I really felt immersed in the culture of India. My clothing is a huge part of what makes me stand out here, so dressing in the traditional wear made me feel like I finally fit in. I am definitely going to have to take Sheral home with me because there is no way I will ever be able to wrap it on my own!

Here’s to an incredible three weeks down, and three to go!

It has officially been seventeen days that our group has been in India. Within these seventeen days, we have all survived our first full week at our respective schools. So far, the time that I have personally spent at ACES Magnolia have included a great deal of learning experiences that I will carry with me as I go into my senior year of student teaching. 

The first day that I had my class schedule for first and second grade math, I was thrown into teaching a lesson that I was not prepared for. I was incredibly nervous, uncomfortable, and thrilled which was a strange mix of emotions. Looking back at this and comparing it to the final lesson I taught on Friday, I realized how much I have grown as an educator over the short eight days that I have taught for. Roopa (my incredible teacher that I am shadowing while I am here in India), allowed me to take over her class to practice teaching first and second graders how to add, how to compare numbers, what ordinal numbers were, and much more. What I have noticed over the week is that each and every day that I was given the opportunity to teach in front of the class, I began to gain more and more confidence in myself as an educator. During the first lesson, I was uneasy on how to direct the class, how to hold their attention, and unsure if I was effectively teaching the students. At that time, it was weird for me to be in control of a classroom and it honestly felt uncomfortable. Reflecting on how I felt when teaching by the end of the week, I noticed that I had more connections with my students, I lead the class with a more confident demeanor, and I felt more comfortable with adapting the way I taught to based on how the students were responding. With this, I do have to say that not every lesson did not go as planned, but I noticed that these struggles that came along with my small successes helped me develop my confidence as an educator. 

While learning from the educators here in India, I have also realized how much different classroom management styles are here than in the United States. In India, the teachers gather their student’s attention by yelling over their voices and being extremely stern with the children. While this effective for these teachers here, it seems like a constant battle for me to maintain the attention of the class while I am teaching. In the United States, we teach our students on their first day at school an attention getter that signals the students to quiet down and settle themselves to learn. Since I have been used to seeing and using this type of classroom management in the States, the classroom management tactics used here have stood out to me. When I have taught, I have struggled with gaining the attention of forty students after they excitedly blurt out answers to my questions. To say the least, it has been interesting but fun to teach the students the attention getters I am used to using while also learning to adapt to their styles of classroom management as well. Although this has been challenging for me, I think this has provided me with plenty of practice which will develop into valuable skills that I would not have had gained without this experience in India. 

While we have spent the majority of our time in the schools, we have also immersed ourselves in the culture each and every day. While in schools, I have learned about the mannerisms, traditions, and everyday lives through my students. Along with this, we have visited many temples and navigated our way around the city. For instance, this weekend we went to Iskcon temple. Here we were able to see how Hindus gather at a temple to worship their Gods and witness the rituals they partake in when doing so. This has been eye-opening as I have never been immersed into another religion other than my own. This weekend we also went to Malleshwaram Market which is a street full of shops and stands filled with basically anything you could think of. While being there, it was interesting to figure out how to bargain for the items we buy and to figure out how to deal with being the minority in the culture. 

Altogether, I have had many experiences that have developed my skills as an educator and that have taught me more about the Indian culture. I have had a great time being in India so far, and I am excited to live another week here in Bangalore. 

I survived the first full week at school. Last week I was at school for three days. I did a lot of observing and trying to get things organized. Coming into my first full week of school I was so excited to get with one teacher and really start to build that relationship with that teacher and students. I choose to spend my time in the EVS Department, which stands for Environmental Sciences. I choose the EVS department here at Shilp, because I loved how interactive the lessons where and each day was a new stimulating activity for the students. So for the next four weeks I will be in the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade EVS classes. I was so ready to really get into the classroom and start learn from both the students and the teacher and that is just what I did. My week started off with the 5th graders. We had such a fun time, learning all about terrariums and then getting to build them. The students helps me make one too, I just hope I don’t forget to water it while I’m here. All the students are so good at welcoming me into the classroom and treating me with the same respect they do the other teachers. Then it was time for the 3rd grade class. They are doing a section all about the solar system and the lesson this day was about the earth. Juanita is my teacher that I will be following for the remainder of the time I am here. I kept reminder her that I was really eager to do a lesson. So when the lesson came up about earth, so asked me to jump in and introduce the topic. The students we’re all ears when I began the lesson. I started by talking about how big the world is and how long it took me to travel here. I talked about how I was in the air for 22 hours just to come and see the students. One girl from the back yelled “Thank you Allison ma’am.” This just shows how warm and welcoming these students are. I finished the lesson by showing pictures of my home, family and friends. Juanita was so kind and encouraging about me giving my first lesson all on my own. These are just a few examples of the kindness that has been showed to me by Shilp. There have been times where it’s really hard to be away from home, but the way the staff, teachers and students have welcomed me made it a lot easier. To finish off the tiring yet exciting first full week of school, we had such a fun weekend. We went to see Toy Story 4 and ended the night with a meal all together. Today we went to see the ISKCON Temple. The temple was huge and very crowded, but it was so beautiful. We finished today at a market and did a little shopping. Week 2 was packed full of new experiences and lots of learning. I’m excited to see what week 3 will bring.

Over the past week, we completed our first full week of teaching! It was great to be in the classroom and teaching. I got the music program figured out and I am working under one of the kindergarten and primary block music teachers, Easther. We teach grades 1-6 but primarily teach 2nd and 5th grades. The music classes here are structured by learning the melody by ear but writing down the lyrics. Easther writes the words on the chalkboard while all the students hurry to write them in their notebooks. At first, I observed then as I got more comfortable would interact with the students and grade their work or walk around to keep them on task. By the end of the week, I even taught a lesson.

Students here are exposed to music classes based on their age in school. In the kindergarten block (grades K-3), music classes are held weekly. All the students in the same block learn the same music even if they are in different grades. That is different than back home, each grade level learns different songs and music theory. In the primary block (grades 4-7), music classes are every two weeks and alternate with dance class. The division of the grades at DPS North are different than at home and that took some getting used to. I showed up to the wrong block for 6th grade thinking it was in the secondary block since that is where the division is back home. Luckily I had enough time to run over to the primary block.

At DPS North, the theme for June is the environment. The school celebrated World Environment Day on June 5th and have been focusing on the topic ever since. In music classes, our songs revolve around the environment. For the kindergarten block, the songs are “Mother Earth” and “The Earth is My Home” while the primary block song was “Don’t Throw Trash in the Water”. Since each section only has music class every week or bimonthly, we teach the same songs everyday for 6 periods a day. By the end of the week, I could sing and teach the songs in my sleep. I even caught myself humming the songs in the car home and around the hotel. I am excited for next week to teach new songs as July starts tomorrow.

On Thursday, I taught my very first lesson! Previously, I would just teach some simple American nursery rhymes after the main lesson was taught. Easther was confident enough in me and let me teach the song “Mother Earth”. I wrote the song on the board and then helped the kids write it down. They were having trouble reading my cursive handwriting on the chalkboard because I barely remember all of the cursive letters and struggle to write on the chalkboard. I learned there’s a fine line between too little pressure and too much when using a chalkboard. The kids would laugh every time I broke a fresh stick of chalk. After I wrote the song, I sang the tune and they would repeat it back until they were comfortable enough to sing it without my help. It felt so good to be teaching and doing what I came here to do. Being in the kindergarten and primary blocks is almost convincing me to be an elementary music teacher.

I cannot wait for another week of teaching and our upcoming day trips to another government school, DPS Electronic City and Mysore. Soon, I will be teaching another lesson by myself and be in classes with the same students. I am eager to continue this teaching journey here in India.