9/14 continued
By the time I reached the 11Arts class in last period most already knew that the games teacher was gone and had already wandered off to the field (or somewhere), there was no ball available and they ended up sitting around visiting for the period. I could have organized some kind of running or calisthenics, but nobody seemed to care or be interested and I decided not to fight it.While I was sitting out with them Ferderica came by and we had a long useful talk about the school, volunteering there, their lack of need for volunteers and their not really knowing how to make use of skilled volunteers like us. She told me about some other NGO programs in town that do help students and do use volunteers well. We had both experienced similar things, although there seems to be more movement away from rote learning towards a more student centered approach in the humanities and English classes than in science. It was a very useful conversation for me and allowed me to get a better idea of how I can make myself more useful here than replacing a good,teacher or just being used as a a sub.afterwards I was actually bounce my idea off of two of the science teachers and they were receptive.
The schedule in science on two days per week has the teachers with 2 of the same classes per day: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I assume this is designed so there can be labs (practicals) on those days, but that doesn't seem to be happening now- the teachers want to get through the syllabus for the test coming up,at end of term before doing any labs and don't seem interested in help with that. As far as I have seen they also don't use the second period very well for anything else. My plan is to attend the first periods, so I know what is being taught (which is difficult to find out ahead of time) and them I will use the 2nd period for extension or simply trying to come up with some activities that allow the students to actually process the materials. Hopefully I can come up with and initiate some group work ( I think totally foreign here) where the students will develop understanding and then share. Nothing revolutionary but at least something different and hopefully useful.
Interesting little sidebar: this morning on my way out to the field I as my young friend Tsering with a science class outside sitting on the ground in very organized rows and columns writing while he dictated. He was giving a test and it turns out when they give tests they do it like this because the rooms are so crowded that there is tons of cheating. Interesting also that the formative assessments (FA) are not printed out( in fact I have not seen any printed assignments)- the teacher dictates the questions, students copy and then answer and then onto the next.
One nice thing: on my walk into town after school many students now know me and call out my name, "David Sir" the buses go by or as we pass walking together.
In town I dropped my passport off with the cycling guide to get an inner line permit for Sunday's ride from Khardung La ( a permit is needed because it is getting near to the restricted areas near the Pakistani and Tibetan borders).
Have not seen much in terms of wildlife yet except the dogs, donkeys and cows all over town. Today Imwas,able to identify a black redstart out of the window, the garden is filled with chickadees (great tits here) and there are crows (large billed) all over the place. Oh, almost forgot the doves that are ubiquitous and perch on my womdowsill and the occasional magpie. Tomorrow, I will see marmots up on the pass, possibly a red fox. The guide told me he recently saw a snow leopard run across the road on the pass, but that would be a miracle.
9/15
Slept long last night and I think the stomach is cured!
This morning Yangchan said since the weather is getting colder in the morning tell me of you would like coffee (unfortunately, I think she means instant Santa). I asked if they drink coffee, since I I had not seen this. Her reply was that in the winter they drink coffee because it makes you,warmer than tea....
Best day yet and lots to tell: stomach definitely all better
School did go very well. I set up some times to go to the student hostel in the evenings to help with homework and finally figured out how to fit in. I have started a collection of suggestion to,give to Eshay when I leave which I think will make transition into the system much quicker and easier for volunteers, including things as simple as a printed handout describing schedules and policies.
I also figured out how I will fit into the actual science curriculum in a productive way. This morning I had a number of very positive interactions with 4 of the science teachers and was thanked for a number of simple suggestions on how to make lessons more understandable and student centered. As an example, I watched a 10th grade physics class on vectors. The teacher derived a number of formulas for calculating vectors using trig and algebra that I know our tenth graders ( and most seniors) would never come close to following, and I do think these kids ( or some) actually understood the math! The thing is that the 2 formulas he derived were for the cases where vectors are parallel. It should have been obvious to anyone who understood what vectors really represent that the answer was either simply adding or subtracting and no one said that. I suggested to Munguel that maybe he should see if they could have come up with that answer on their own before going through the complicated math.
I taught an interactive chemistry lesson to the 11 Medical group (49 students) on trends and properties of alkali metal. I had found some sample of sodium (no Li or K) and did the Na + water reaction, also showing them some properties and discussing the reaction and developing the formula together. It went very well, the students ( or a number of them) participated in the discussion and asked great questions. And for those of you in the know, no I did not blow any beakers up!- lucky since there is no safety equipment at all ( goggles, hood, shield, etc)! Rigsden ( Chem teacher) told me she learned a lot from my lesson- hope so.
I should describe the lab. First of all the good stuff: there are 2 full time lab techs to prepare solutions and get materials together!
As far as the actual lab goes, there are 4 very nice long lab stations with sinks at either end and places for gas spigots and class sets of Bunsen burners, but no running water, gas line or, as far as I could tell, electricity in the room! Actually I don' t think any classes besides the library (which has a very tiny horrible collection of books) "smart rooms" for video and computer stuff and the staff room have electricity ( there is one outlet in the staff room). They actually a relatively complete stock of chemicals, but very little glassware-definitely not enough for 50 students in a class. If anyone wants to donate things to this school- some obvious needs).
Since today was a half day with house sports games after lunch, Dorjay picked me up at school and whisked me off about 10 km east of Leh to a small forestry park along the Indus river where his Tibetan group was having a special celebration and Tibetan archery contest (crude, handmade bows and arrows with eagle feathers). When we arrived one round of contest was just completing and everyone ( most in traditional tibetan outfits) retired to the big colorful tent with rugs and small tables on the ground ( men on one side and women on the other). We were served glasses of Chang (local barley wine-served with a little butter on the rim of the glass) and traditional salt tea. There was a 6-piece band playing music and some groups got up and did traditional dances, some in costume. After awhile I was given 2 arrows and we all went out to the range to warm up for the next round of team competition. I was allowed to shoot 4 times and amazed everyone (including me) by hitting the small target on the second shot! Then the actual competition began, and it turns out my shot was actually pretty good, since I only saw 5 other hits in over 100 shots. Pure luck. Then back into the tent for more Chang and tea and dancing- you had to be careful since everytime you took one sip of either a little old Ladaki lady was filling it to the rim again! Then a delicious buffet lunch- great moms! It was still going on when we left.
On the way home Dorjay stopped at his police station where it turns out he also is in charge of a small daycare/school. We picked up the grandson of his best friend and brought him to his home ( more tea, of course) in a destitute looking section of Ladakh in the hills above the Indus. Turns out this was the area wiped out by the horrible floods 2 years ago and is being rebuilt still. The houses are actually quite nice, but no running water or vegetation.
Stopped In town after that to check internet (down of course) and pick up my passport, permit and make final arrangements for the ride tomorrow. I like this little guide company and talked to them about a 2 day trip(jeep) to Pangong Lake on the Tibetan border next weekend. While there I also started talking to the about possibly climbing Stok Kungri, a 6100 m peak about 20 km south across the valley. May try to do it during the last week before I leave if the weather holds. It is high, but basically a walk up. We'll see.
When I got home, I was informed that we will go to Yangchan's sister tonight for a nephew's birthday party. Busy day.
Power is still out for the day and I am running low on battery.
The party was very fun, with lots of little cousins running around and more great food and company. Yangchan's sister was constantly trying to stuff me with momos and salt tea.
By the time I reached the 11Arts class in last period most already knew that the games teacher was gone and had already wandered off to the field (or somewhere), there was no ball available and they ended up sitting around visiting for the period. I could have organized some kind of running or calisthenics, but nobody seemed to care or be interested and I decided not to fight it.While I was sitting out with them Ferderica came by and we had a long useful talk about the school, volunteering there, their lack of need for volunteers and their not really knowing how to make use of skilled volunteers like us. She told me about some other NGO programs in town that do help students and do use volunteers well. We had both experienced similar things, although there seems to be more movement away from rote learning towards a more student centered approach in the humanities and English classes than in science. It was a very useful conversation for me and allowed me to get a better idea of how I can make myself more useful here than replacing a good,teacher or just being used as a a sub.afterwards I was actually bounce my idea off of two of the science teachers and they were receptive.
The schedule in science on two days per week has the teachers with 2 of the same classes per day: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I assume this is designed so there can be labs (practicals) on those days, but that doesn't seem to be happening now- the teachers want to get through the syllabus for the test coming up,at end of term before doing any labs and don't seem interested in help with that. As far as I have seen they also don't use the second period very well for anything else. My plan is to attend the first periods, so I know what is being taught (which is difficult to find out ahead of time) and them I will use the 2nd period for extension or simply trying to come up with some activities that allow the students to actually process the materials. Hopefully I can come up with and initiate some group work ( I think totally foreign here) where the students will develop understanding and then share. Nothing revolutionary but at least something different and hopefully useful.
Interesting little sidebar: this morning on my way out to the field I as my young friend Tsering with a science class outside sitting on the ground in very organized rows and columns writing while he dictated. He was giving a test and it turns out when they give tests they do it like this because the rooms are so crowded that there is tons of cheating. Interesting also that the formative assessments (FA) are not printed out( in fact I have not seen any printed assignments)- the teacher dictates the questions, students copy and then answer and then onto the next.
One nice thing: on my walk into town after school many students now know me and call out my name, "David Sir" the buses go by or as we pass walking together.
In town I dropped my passport off with the cycling guide to get an inner line permit for Sunday's ride from Khardung La ( a permit is needed because it is getting near to the restricted areas near the Pakistani and Tibetan borders).
Have not seen much in terms of wildlife yet except the dogs, donkeys and cows all over town. Today Imwas,able to identify a black redstart out of the window, the garden is filled with chickadees (great tits here) and there are crows (large billed) all over the place. Oh, almost forgot the doves that are ubiquitous and perch on my womdowsill and the occasional magpie. Tomorrow, I will see marmots up on the pass, possibly a red fox. The guide told me he recently saw a snow leopard run across the road on the pass, but that would be a miracle.
9/15
Slept long last night and I think the stomach is cured!
This morning Yangchan said since the weather is getting colder in the morning tell me of you would like coffee (unfortunately, I think she means instant Santa). I asked if they drink coffee, since I I had not seen this. Her reply was that in the winter they drink coffee because it makes you,warmer than tea....
Best day yet and lots to tell: stomach definitely all better
School did go very well. I set up some times to go to the student hostel in the evenings to help with homework and finally figured out how to fit in. I have started a collection of suggestion to,give to Eshay when I leave which I think will make transition into the system much quicker and easier for volunteers, including things as simple as a printed handout describing schedules and policies.
I also figured out how I will fit into the actual science curriculum in a productive way. This morning I had a number of very positive interactions with 4 of the science teachers and was thanked for a number of simple suggestions on how to make lessons more understandable and student centered. As an example, I watched a 10th grade physics class on vectors. The teacher derived a number of formulas for calculating vectors using trig and algebra that I know our tenth graders ( and most seniors) would never come close to following, and I do think these kids ( or some) actually understood the math! The thing is that the 2 formulas he derived were for the cases where vectors are parallel. It should have been obvious to anyone who understood what vectors really represent that the answer was either simply adding or subtracting and no one said that. I suggested to Munguel that maybe he should see if they could have come up with that answer on their own before going through the complicated math.
I taught an interactive chemistry lesson to the 11 Medical group (49 students) on trends and properties of alkali metal. I had found some sample of sodium (no Li or K) and did the Na + water reaction, also showing them some properties and discussing the reaction and developing the formula together. It went very well, the students ( or a number of them) participated in the discussion and asked great questions. And for those of you in the know, no I did not blow any beakers up!- lucky since there is no safety equipment at all ( goggles, hood, shield, etc)! Rigsden ( Chem teacher) told me she learned a lot from my lesson- hope so.
I should describe the lab. First of all the good stuff: there are 2 full time lab techs to prepare solutions and get materials together!
As far as the actual lab goes, there are 4 very nice long lab stations with sinks at either end and places for gas spigots and class sets of Bunsen burners, but no running water, gas line or, as far as I could tell, electricity in the room! Actually I don' t think any classes besides the library (which has a very tiny horrible collection of books) "smart rooms" for video and computer stuff and the staff room have electricity ( there is one outlet in the staff room). They actually a relatively complete stock of chemicals, but very little glassware-definitely not enough for 50 students in a class. If anyone wants to donate things to this school- some obvious needs).
Since today was a half day with house sports games after lunch, Dorjay picked me up at school and whisked me off about 10 km east of Leh to a small forestry park along the Indus river where his Tibetan group was having a special celebration and Tibetan archery contest (crude, handmade bows and arrows with eagle feathers). When we arrived one round of contest was just completing and everyone ( most in traditional tibetan outfits) retired to the big colorful tent with rugs and small tables on the ground ( men on one side and women on the other). We were served glasses of Chang (local barley wine-served with a little butter on the rim of the glass) and traditional salt tea. There was a 6-piece band playing music and some groups got up and did traditional dances, some in costume. After awhile I was given 2 arrows and we all went out to the range to warm up for the next round of team competition. I was allowed to shoot 4 times and amazed everyone (including me) by hitting the small target on the second shot! Then the actual competition began, and it turns out my shot was actually pretty good, since I only saw 5 other hits in over 100 shots. Pure luck. Then back into the tent for more Chang and tea and dancing- you had to be careful since everytime you took one sip of either a little old Ladaki lady was filling it to the rim again! Then a delicious buffet lunch- great moms! It was still going on when we left.
On the way home Dorjay stopped at his police station where it turns out he also is in charge of a small daycare/school. We picked up the grandson of his best friend and brought him to his home ( more tea, of course) in a destitute looking section of Ladakh in the hills above the Indus. Turns out this was the area wiped out by the horrible floods 2 years ago and is being rebuilt still. The houses are actually quite nice, but no running water or vegetation.
Stopped In town after that to check internet (down of course) and pick up my passport, permit and make final arrangements for the ride tomorrow. I like this little guide company and talked to them about a 2 day trip(jeep) to Pangong Lake on the Tibetan border next weekend. While there I also started talking to the about possibly climbing Stok Kungri, a 6100 m peak about 20 km south across the valley. May try to do it during the last week before I leave if the weather holds. It is high, but basically a walk up. We'll see.
When I got home, I was informed that we will go to Yangchan's sister tonight for a nephew's birthday party. Busy day.
Power is still out for the day and I am running low on battery.
The party was very fun, with lots of little cousins running around and more great food and company. Yangchan's sister was constantly trying to stuff me with momos and salt tea.
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