God to Some

My day couldn't have started better, it began by Skyping with Jan and Jane. I still have Jet lag, but it really isn't something I think about it, I just realize it from time-to-time. Like when I am suddenly put in front of a couple thousand students with a microphone. Before my address, all of the students stood in lines and recited their morning prayers. This did not feel the least bit militaristic or dogmatic, in fact it was touching and beautiful. A student gave me a very nice introduction, they have a way of making you feel like a rock-star (minus the after party of course). I had no idea what to say, do I turn on my Tony Robbins act or perhaps call-out my peeps in the back row? I simply said "good morning," with a reply like you've never heard in an American school. I talked briefly about this being an opportunity for students and teachers a like to build relationships across the globe. I thanked them for their hospitality and acknowledged how wonderful and inspiring their teachers are. This was not one of best public speaking demonstrations, but so be it.

I purposely didn't eat breakfast at the hotel, because I knew I'd be forced to eat numerous delicious meals...I was right. They are kind enough to take me to an air conditioned conference room to enjoy cold water and my meals, which is nice because it is hot (95 + and very humid). The heat is not as bad as I expected, and I can tell it is hot for them as well. This is a very prestigious school, where most of the students return to homes nice by Western standards. However, the school facilities are very simple, it is a series of multi-story building with no A/C, small classes, window openings, and very little technology. What they are doing in these classes is impressive all the way from the 3 Pre-K levels to the 12th grade.

Before touring the pre-k classes, I sat for a guest lecturer on success. This guy has been a head exec and CEO of multiple large US medical companies and now has started two companies in India with over 40,000+ employees. It had all of the typical motivation cliches, and anecdotal stories to emphasize life lessons. He spoke of the ABCD of success: Attitude, Behavior, Culture, and Discipline. He took the Outliers time reference, of it takes 10,000 to master something, to the Romanian gymnast example of 17,000+ hours. He had some good points, but it was overly focused on money, his stated goal for talking to them was to help at least one of them become a billionaire. I was impressed that at the end of the lecture many of the students respectively questions his stance. One boy refuted that those that are not successful lack ABCD, and he did it quite well by also using his anecdotal evidence which made it a tough argument for an adult to combat. Are you going to tell the kid that he lacks ABCD? or that he is the failure that you were speaking of? As I was leaving a boy approached the mic and the students indicated that this was going to be good by their side conversation. He asked "who are you to define success through the measure of wealth....." I loved it. I'll take a full classroom of students like that any day.

I was then led around their pre-KG program which has three levels divided by the following ages, 2.5-3.5, 3.5-4.5, 4.5-5.5. This was awesome, the kids were all so incredibly happy and so cute. They were very eager to perform their songs, and activities. The teacher leading me around was very adamant on explaining all of the developmental implications of every exercise and how they build skills over the years. They do an incredible job, the 4.5-5.5 were writing and reading in cursive. They were addressing all of the childrens' skills, and most importantly the students were incredibly happy. I would not hesitate for a second to send Jane to this school. Although this level is far from my expertise, in Jan and I's recent study of pre-k options this is by far the most impressive school I've seen. Our parents need not to worry, I have no intention in moving here for the program. For one I couldn't be a cyclist here in less I wanted to be a rickshaw ornament.

After another great meal, I went to another PSBB location. Mostly we meet with teachers and checked out lab facilities. I was in a couple classes, one class was maybe 1st or 2nd standard, which was wonderful. Whenever I enter (or other teachers) a class the students stand up and greet me in Tamil or Sanskrit by saying something to the effect of, "Teacher you are god, bless me with your awesomeness." I then respond with "Shree ko Bhava" (misspelled I'm sure), which roughly means "you are blessed," and they reply with "thank you teacher." Every student was so adorable and so excited to share and learn. I took away from this lesson, that everyone knows someone in the US, India rocks, and eat healthy and hygienic food that doesn't contain chemicals, and coke is bad. I visited one other class which was a western music class, which included their own rendition of "coming around the mountain" that included bananas and coca-cola. They also sang "Heavenly Peace" with totally different lyrics. This group of kids was pumped, I thought the front row was going to rush me in their excitement.

One takeaway from the classrooms, other than the being greeted as a god, is that we need to step up our math and science game. One teacher took me through a 8th standard (grade) geometric representation of how to factor quadratic polynomials using blocks. It was easy to understand and fun. Why do we make things so hard? They practice endlessly on computation and then use simple methods to practice and understand more complex math concepts. Also, calculators are a sign of weakness you should be able to multiply 1.80 x 9.75, as if it was 2 x 2.

After taking a two hour nap at the hotel, which is unheard of for me, I was picked up to go to Devika's for dinner. I was one of six guests, whereupon the family served us while we ate. The Masala Paneer was awesome, as was everything else. There were lots of pictures taken (of which I'll get a copy, likewise with all of the school pictures). I ate with my hand, which I'm sure was a gong show.  Devika's family is very laid back and welcoming.

Although Devika's was a calm an straightforward experience , I'm never quite sure what is happening, but I have no issue going with the flow. Most often people aren't speaking English and outside of the school it is quite hard to understand English. This doesn't bother me in the least, if anything it is added bonus. I don't leave my country wanting the same thing in a different hue.

Tomorrow morning I must finish my professional development workshop materials, and then I'll be doing some site seeing in the afternoon. I'm hoping to exercise a bit, although I think any cardio will have to be in the confines of my room, because there is no room to run outside, unless you are a very seasoned and risky parkour(er).