In India, Responsibility Comes Quickly

So, on the second day of teaching (Thursday), I was invited to serve as principal for the time that I would be here at the Rising Star school. The person who has been doing this since March is leaving tonight, and the regular principal has had her visa denied several times so, until further notice, she cannot come. In the end, I felt that I did not know the school, the teachers, or the students well enough to do this job, but I will be taking on a number of "curriculum specialist" type responsibilities - training teachers, working with teachers, helping with behavior management plans for some students, and even working with teacher evaluation - in addition to my teaching responsibilities. I will work closely with the education volunteer coordinator and, together, we will help the school to run as smoothly as possible. It strikes me that in India, especially here in rural India, the knowledge and skills that you possess are put to use quite quickly. There is plenty to do. I am really enjoying working with the children, but it is definitely a challenge. For example, in my 1st standard class, the students really struggle with English, and giving directions requires a lot of acting out or drawing pictures and checking with students regularly for understanding. Sometimes, an Indian "housemother" is there with me, and that is quite helpful. She can translate into Tamil. However, the housemothers are not great at English either, so communicating with them can take work, too.

Yesterday I got to see the Life Dance group at Rising Star (a group of about 20 students) perform a piece. It was beautiful. It was about how one person can touch and help another, and this is magnified. There is a portion of the piece where the students were assigned to watch their parents and family members at home who have leprosy, and turn some of the movements that they observe into choreography. This was very moving and a reminder of the situations that these children come from. I was also able to see a number of my 7th and 8th standard students perform in this piece. One of my 8th standard boys, Joseph, had a dance solo. He was quite remarkable. His performance was powerful.

Today, a major highlight was a visit from the Marriot hotel staff. They come once every three months, serve food to the children (and volunteers - it was wonderful!), and do fun activities with the children. They danced with balloons and music from a DJ, and it was a blast. We got to dance with them. They were so excited and having so much fun! It also rained several times today. I never appreciated rain until I arrived here. It is wonderful to stand in the rain. It is cool, but not cold, and feels wonderful in the heat. It is really hot here. But I am so glad to be here, to interact with the children and the teachers and the other volunteers. It is beautiful where we are, in the middle of a mango grove and a coconut grove, and it is wonderful.