“After 48 hours in India – today was our first opportunity to do what we have spent weeks preparing to do. We left at 8 am – uncertain about what we would face, unbelievably tired and jet lagged (and somehow already sweaty) and how our immaculate preparations would hold up. At dinner tonight I was so struck by how incredibly focused and engaged our team still were. After 50 lesson observations, 50 sets of feedback and an immersive seminar, the team still wanted to pull apart the day and what we could do better I sat back and looked round at 8 teachers from across the globe, gathered in New Delhi to do something that can only be described as important.
The conversation ranged from what we saw in the classrooms today, to our own experiences when training, the common problems faced in classrooms in India, Africa, Europe, Australia and America and how the promise of lunch can un-focus every type of child, on every continent. Nothing could have prepared us for the warm welcome we would receive at every school, or how the children would be eager and bright in what feels like unbearable heat, but most surprising of all was the engaging dialogue the Indian Cohort created in our afternoon seminar, where we discussed differentiation and how to keep everyone challenged and focused – a problem so often faced in our own classrooms.
The sight and sounds of India cannot even compare to the people and culture of India, and a common theme I heard, again and again, today was just how passionate the teachers here are, with limited resources, knowledge and training. This team of 8 have me awe struck with their will to do more, to work harder, to give as much as they are able to. We were told to arrive humble, and it’s fair to say that India and the teachers we are working with have humbled us more than we knew possible.”
