Workshop Part II- abridged

This entry is just on the 2^nd day of the workshop, which was as good as professional development gets.  It was teacher driven, it appeared to be a choice to attend, and most of all teachers seemed to really enjoy it.  The Principal, Indra,  opened it up by talking about interactive science teaching strategies and provided some examples.  One of the things I continue to be impressed by is that the both Indra and Velsa (the VP) are entrenched as academic leaders.  Following what I found to be a progressive talk by Indra, we were treated to a very cool Physics session that was inspiring, intriguing, and perfectly crafted.  Although I know little I really dig physics, it triggers this philosophy bug in my head.   This teacher was elegant in her ability to convey the why and how we should teach, and the what just seemed to fall into place.  I’m a huge subscriber of students should do science and use scientific reasoning in all facets of life.  She expressed with calm conviction that this will create individuals who will make decisions based on evidence, and then retest and re-evaluate evidence.  In addition to this little tidbit that made me think about the crossover to all subjects, she was able to lead us through a series of simple but mind expanding demonstrations.

Devika then gave her session on interactive teaching methods.  Like the teacher before her, I really can see that they are great teachers.  Without any use of force you just want to do what they are suggesting.  This session was a nice change because it was so interactive, she was able to cover the gamut of learning styles, one that somehow ended with me doing a factory dance in front of the class.  I particularly liked a small activity that she introduced called lateral thinking, she drew a simple shape on the board and then class members would take turns finishing the shape to relate to the topic of "causes environmental problems."  I have come during what appears to be an incredible hectic time, and Devika has been an exceptional host, orchestrated a phenomenal 2 day workshop, and has somehow taken care of her own duties.

Following Devika a couple whom are both professors on conflict resolution led us through a workshop on understanding conflict.  They were good, and had the credentials to back it up.  They never stop working, during part of the day they teach at the University and then they volunteer at the refugee center until 10 every night.  On days off and vacations they  work in conflict zones, most often Sri Lanka.  Although I’ve had some seminars like this in the past, I just really bought into their approach and where they were coming from.  It wasn’t like an Office Space moment where they bring someone in from another office to solve the Xerox problem.  I went out an limb from traditional topics for my Master’s Thesis by researching and writing about using education as source of empowerment for communities.  For the first time I got affirmation that someone else had read the books I used when the couple started referring to the work Paulo Freire and Ira Shore.  I left this day feeling particularly good about the work that I am involved in here, and ready for an exciting adventure with Rajagopal.