I returned in December from an amazing teaching experience in Mumbai, (Bombay) India.  I was hired to go for two weeks by the Nash Foundation.  The first week I was to do 20 early childhood workshops for three different schools, and the second week I did observations at three different schools.  These schools served only the children in the slums (the poorest of the poor) and their focus was to teach in English so the children could get better jobs when they grow up.

I was impressed with the level of education the teachers had.  All of them spoke perfect English and had Bachelor degrees, some even had Master degrees but none of them had early childhood education and that is why they sent me.  My job was to turn theory which almost all of them had into early childhood developmentally appropriate practices.  The teachers were incredibly dedicated to helping these slum children.  The first group of teachers would come from 6:30-2:00 and the second group would come from 11:00-6:45.  Both groups met before class to brainstorm strategies about the lesson plans, and they met at the end of their day to discuss how the day went and what could they do better.

The highlight of my trip was a field trip into the slums.  The people living in these slums were truly remarkable.  They were open, generous and friendly.  They were extremely happy that their children were learning English and would have a chance of a better life.

American teachers would have a difficult time teaching under these conditions.  There were between 35 and 50 children in a classroom with two teachers and an aide from the community.  These numbers vary by day and class.  Children did not always show up and the school’s social worker goes into the slums everyday and encourages the parents of the children to send them to school.  The teachers too go into the slums to visit five families each week.  There usually were not desks in the classroom and everyone including the teachers has to sit cross legged on the floor.

These teachers do an amazing job of keeping the children’s attention and teaching.  Not only are they trying to teach English as a second language, but the children themselves don’t all speak the same language.  Most speak Hindi, but a lot of them speak Marathi, which is written the same way but spoken completely differently (much like English and French).  The kindergarten teachers teach English and Math, but when the children go on to first grade the teachers are responsible to also add Environmental Studies and Foundations of Science.

The government tries to help by giving children uniforms, but it was almost December and the new uniforms had just come in.  They also give the children shoes, two pairs of socks and two small composition books.  These schools need resources desperately, especially more materials and books.  If you are interested in donating please contact Avi Nash at the Nash Foundation avi.nash@anashllc.com for more information.

You are successful & creative only when you see an opportunity in every difficulty.

(Swami Chinmayananda)