Dharma class

Dara has been attending Dharma class during our 5 weeks here at Taktse. It is an elective class for students which teaches the traditions, prayers and fundamentals of Buddhism. Dara has been working on a circle of life replica which represents the six stages of un-enlightenment.  Here is a link to a video on the Dharma class.

Gumption, Grit and Goals

I may only have two days left at Taktse, but not a moment is being wasted!  Here is the title slide of my presentation to the 9-12th grade students this afternoon. We will do a self-assessment exercise, learn about the most recent neuropsychological research on the adolescent brain and discuss the most beneficial study strategies.

We will miss the dining hall

We even bought some stainless steel plates so we could remember all our fun meals there. Some of the teachers thought we were crazy!

Fun in the dining hall

Breakfast with Tang

Ms. Subani, Ethan's 5th grade teacher on the right

The lunch line

Kindergarteners eating lunch

Sonam and Jigme

A giant veg momo and tea for breakfast

Rice and dhal and potatoes, a typical lunch

Executive Functioning

On Friday night we had a lively workshop on executive functioning for select members of the faculty. I taught about recent advances in neuropsychological research on the adolescent brain, we did a self-inventory of our strengths and weaknesses in executive functioning skills and then the group brainstormed solutions for a case study of a 7th grade student with attention and writing problems.

The school culture here is unique because the faculty are truly invested in advancing their knowledge base and eager to be part of any type of professional development. Reflection writings after workshops and assemblies are standard here.  Hands on activities and active problem solving by talking with colleagues is expected.  This is probably the single factor that has most impressed me.  This commitment to learning also encourages risk taking. I have felt this first hand in my approach to presenting to staff and giving feedback about behavior management. I feel a part of this school now, which is really astounding to me given I have only been here for 5 weeks.

The principal was excited with the feedback he received and asked me to present to upper school students (9th-13th grade) on Tuesday and parents on Wednesday.  I expect the student presentation to be free flowing with lots of questions.  The parent presentation will be interesting because there isn't really a cultural expectation that parents collaborate with teachers, come to teachers with problems or participate very much in their child's education.  The very idea of a parent workshop like this is exceptional in India.  Taktse is forging ahead with bringing parents in and creating a collaborative dynamic.

Staff completing self-assessments of executive functioning skills. 

In my new kurti (traditional Indian wear).  

Week in Pictures

This week students are preparing for their mid-term exams, which are a progress monitoring opportunity. In October they take "Checkpoint" exams administered by Cambridge Examinations. These determine if they are ready to advance to the next grade level. Maria has several much younger peers in her 8th grade class -- quite a difference from our American model!

Here are some pictures from the week as I prepare to give an in depth workshop on Executive Functioning Skills to the staff tonight.

Happy last day of school in Cape Elizabeth!

A long sought after sunny day!

Third graders studying in the library before breakfast.

Breakfast on Tuesday.  Puri (like fried dough), halwa (like cobbler without berries) and beans, with hot chocolate

Dara and her friend Rajashweri on Traditional Dress Day. 

Fourth Grade girls on Traditional Dress Day

View from the library. We cherish the sunny days here!

A global map in the dining hall.  Can we get one for our cafeteria?

Plan B: Collaborative & Proactive Solutions

On Monday I conducted a workshop introducing about 20 Upper School teachers to Dr. Green's Collaborative & Proactive Solutions model.  This model is explicitly an alternative to contingency based models of behavior management, a model Dr. Green believes already leads teachers down a path of conflict with "challenged" students.  However the types of "behavior issues" that Taktse encounters are much lower level than what we are accustomed to in the US. My thought was that Upper School teachers can draw in both models as needed for different types of students. Some struggle more with motivation and some more with skills, whether these be emotional control, attention or executive functioning.  We had a discussion about the implications of the CPS model, as it is so antithetical to the hierarchical style inherent in Indian society and in traditional Indian schools.  With CPS, students in many ways are put in the drivers seat and charged with coming up with solutions alongside their teachers.

In my final week here at Taktse, I will be coordinating a study group with a core group of teachers and the new Dean of Students to explore this model in more depth and determine how it might be used at Taktse.

In the midst of an activity at Morning Assembly

Upper grade student and speaking with administrator

8th grade classroom

8th grade classroom

International Yoga Day Sunday

PM Modi declared Sunday International Yoga Day. However Indians regard yoga not as physical exercise as Westerners do, but rather as a practice laden with religious and spiritual meaning. Thus it has caused a great deal of controversy.  Read about it here in the NYTimes.

Students as young as 2nd grade are asking to commemorate this day at our school. I know our principal will encourage and welcome this sign of student interest and independent thought. I won't be surprised to begin the Monday morning assembly with a sun salutation. He has already declared Friday Dance Party Day!

Technology at the school

Technology is largely absent from the classrooms at Taktse. Yes, there is a computer lab that is occasionally used, and yes senior students have their own laptops that they bring from home. But otherwise you won't see teachers on computers.  No one is checking their emails, in fact I think email is rarely used (which explains the lag in response that was common when I corresponded with the school). There aren't even telephones in the classrooms. 

It does seem that this is not only a matter of cost, but also of philosophical belief (see student observations on the pros and cons of technology below).  Typing skills are expected and students begin learning typing in 3rd grade. By 8th grade students can type about 85 words per minute-- correctly! There is a huge emphasis on handwritten work and "reflection" pieces. 

Have we, as educators, questioned the downside to technology enough? It seems we believe it is "inevitable" and everyone else is doing it, so must we.  Are potential costs in creativity balanced by the benefits in efficiency?

On the road to town

Here is video from the school bus we take from Pangthang to Gangtok. The trip takes about 30 minutes but travel is painstakingly slow given the bumpy, twisty and wet road conditions. It is monsoon season so it is often raining and/or very foggy making for even trickier conditions.

This first video shows early minutes of our ride in our village.

The second video shows the final minutes of our ride in Gangtok, a city of over 100,000 people. Before reaching the city the road is seemingly wide enough for only one vehicle at a time, but somehow two are always accommodated usually with only inches to spare between vehicles or the roads edge on to careening cliffs.

8th grade classroom

This is for Mrs. Dana's 8th grade Spanish class who wanted to know what the classroom looks like.
Notice the desks that students use. No lockers here!

Here is a link to the Padlet that Mrs. Dana created to record the musical tastes of 8th graders in Cape Elizabeth, Sevilla Spain and Pangthang India. We will be adding more entries later today!

8th graders work on a science assignment with help from their teacher Mr. Bhaskar

The inside of an 8th grade desk. No lockers!

Jumping to Diagnosis

Lower Kindergarteners sit in rows and (4 year olds) listen to the teacher

There is no mandated special education in India. Children are not sent for expensive evaluations by their parents, nor are they medicated for psychiatric disorders. Schools often don't have social workers, counselors or psychologists. 

Back home, my inclination is to provide an answer, give it a name, label it and explain it for parents and teachers. I give a diagnosis and it makes sense to everyone. I make suggestions and recommendations about strategies that will benefit a student and our teachers can "run with it". 

But here, I am forced to honestly truly and unequivocally place the emphasis on strategies and interventions, as diagnosis holds no weight, opens no doors and has no meaning. In fact it may only stigmatize a student.  

Today when discussing a 7th grade student -- who was overly active, couldn't sit still, didn't retain directions, got distracted easily, was disorganized with his materials and had no other family or health factors -- I tentatively suggested that back home this might be a student with AD/HD. "What's AD/HD?" asked the teachers? When I explained the acronym, of course they knew what it was, but they said no parent would ever seek this label or pursue medication. With a wave of a hand, they explained that the typical societal response to a student like this is "its probably just a phase". Of course, the teachers themselves are hungry for more knowledge. 

So just like the towering Mt. Kanchenjunga has only been visible fleetingly on our trip, I am starting to get more first hand insight into how child development is perceived here in this part of India. 

Here are some of the issues teachers came to me with after my talk on Saturday: 

• How to approach the parents and help an elementary student who left a suicidal note in a school notebook?
• How to approach the parents and help an elementary student who is displaying pseudomature and sexualized behavior, and insists that he is a "girl on the inside"?
• How to approach provide instruction for an elementary student who has failed to make progress for several years and likely has a significant learning disability?

And as I talked with the Principal today I learned that the rate of childhood sexual abuse in India approaches 50%, especially among boys.  Sikkim also has one of the highest rates of suicide in India. 

An earthquake drill

Air pollution in Delhi is much bigger problem than in Beijing

"In some places in Delhi, the levels of fine particles that cause the most lung damage, called PM2.5, routinely exceed 1,000 in winter in part because small trash and other fires are so common, according to scientists. In Beijing, PM2.5 levels that exceed 500 make international headlines; here, levels twice that high are largely ignored."

See this recent NYTimes article for information and the experience of an American correspondent and his family who lived in Delhi for three years. 

Talking about Behavior

With Principal Lauenstein

Taking questions in the library

Notice anything different? I'm barefoot! In all classrooms and the library, students and teachers remove their shoes. 

All the teachers from the school (K-13) attended and had many good questions about my presentation. We watched a TED talk by Angela Duckworth, covered positive reinforcement strategies and then learned how to be behavior sleuths in the classroom looking out for the four common functions of behavior: Attention, Escape, Tangibles and Sensory Needs.  We covered strategies to support students and provide "replacement behaviors" as new skills are taught. 

I had teachers give me their "burning questions" before the talk and am now working my way through crafting answers which I will post in the Teachers Resource Room.  

Here are some examples.... are these questions US teachers might have? 

• Why do students feel so comfortable criticizing/laughing at each other’s mistakes (11th, 12th, 13th)?
• How do I control a class without introducing fear? 
• I really need help in making two kids in my classroom calm down. What should I do?
• What to do with the student who ignores instruction even after constant reminders?
• Attention span of two of my students is really short. They get so bored in class yet they politely listen. It is so sad. I don’t know how to change that, though I try new methods. 
• How to manage time to give individual attention to each of the students, especially the struggling ones?
• How can we get them to be good listeners, especially when the teacher is giving instructions because it so happens that the student look like they’re listening when were instructing be it regarding the seat work or an activity but when they go back to their seats they have loads of questions which was already cleared during the instructions.

And here are some that might be more culturally bound:

• Students not sitting on a right posture (much of instruction is delivered with students sitting on the rug)
• How to help students be disciplined and show self restraint. 
• Need help with the students who do not open up after much effort. 
• How could I make students who don’t follow a lesson, voice their concerns without them feeling “smaller”?
• How do we balance between being too strict and friendly with students?

Questions from Mrs. Dana's 8th grade Spanish class

We had a lively Facetime discussion last Thursday night until we lost our internet connection. Five days later we are back on! Here are answers to CEMS students' questions put together by Maria and myself. Thanks for following us and all the good questions!

Questions from Mrs. Dana's class

1. What exactly is dal?  

Dal is a bean "gravy" that is usually made from lentils or other similar beans.  It is often somewhat soupy. It can be yellow or brown. It often has green peppers and onions in it. 

2. What is the currency? What could you buy with the equivalent of $10? 

The currency is rupees. If you have 100,000 rupees it is called 1 Lakh.  $10 is worth about 600 rupees.  We went out to an "American" style cafe last weekend and had 2 pizzas nachos, dessert, coffee and bottled water and it cost 1000 rupees.  A taxi ride from our flat to Gangtok is about 30 minutes and costs 200 rupees for 4 people or 50 per person.  A coke costs 40 rupees and a small bag of chips is 10 rupees.  There is a separate symbol for the rupee like $ but I can't find it on the keyboard!

3. What are some different sports played there that aren't popular here? 

Cricket is very popular. 

4. How close to China are you? 

We are less than 50 miles from Tibet, China, Nepal and Bhutan. However the area is so mountainous it can take three times as long to cover the same number of km as if we were on flat terrain.  For example, it took us 6 hours to go to West Sikkim last weekend where if it had been flat it would have taken about 1.5-2 hours. 

5. How far from New Delhi are you? 

We are a 2 hour plane ride plus 6 hours in the car. If we took a train it would take about 17 hours plus a 6 hour car ride.   By car it would take 26 hours so it is kind of like driving from Portland, Maine to Miami. 

6. Has the heat wave impacted you? 

Here in Sikkim it is cool and rainy. The humidity hovers around 95%. If we get sun, which is rare, it can be quite nice in the 70's.  Jeans and a light shirt are usually the right attire for the weather.  In Delhi it was so hot it is hard to describe. It felt like an oven. Dara got heat exhaustion bordering on heat stroke. She almost fainted and threw up twice. We were lucky we did not have to take her to the hospital. The temperature was 112 degrees (about 44 Celsius). I read that a human can "boil" in their own skin at 48 Celsius. 

7. What questions do Maria's friends have for us about school or teenage life in U.S.? 

What are lockers for and why do student use them?  The students were very surprised at how much talking was going on when we Skyped. It is not like that here! Respect for the teacher and quiet is a huge issue.  This is so much the case that I think the students were hesitant to offer any questions. 

8. What has been hard for you to adjust to?  Not enough toilet paper and no way to do laundry. The school laundry service takes 3 days. Even if we wash our own clothes by hand, it takes 3 days for them to dry due to the humid wet weather! Also we are always worried about having clean bottled water to drink. I have started "making" my own water by boiling it and using a camping UV light to sterilize it. 

9. What's one thing that you like in India that's different from our typical life / culture?  Everything is cheaper here! (says Maria)

In school penmanship is very important and students who don't have neat handwriting are looked down on. Also students are taught typing skills and can type very quickly and accurately by 8th grade. This has been surprising to Maria and Dara. 

10. Does everyone have a smartphone? 

All adults have one and many of the older kids. Younger kids (6th grade and younger) don't have phones. 

11. Do students use digital devices for schoolwork? In school? Does everyone have access to a computer? 

All the classrooms are completely digital-free. All work is handwritten and a chalk board is used.  There is a computer lab with about 18 IBM computers that students use. Upper school students -- 9th grade and older-- often have their own computers they use in the library. 

12. Is it hard for you not having a reliable internet connection? 

Is it difficult in your apartment with no internet? YES I am dying without internet (says Maria).

13. Is there recess at the school? What are some typical games? 

Yes three times a day. Younger kids play a game coco and wall touch at recess. A lot of games are made up.  Older kids play basketball or volleyball or just talk to each other at recess.  

Off internet for 5 days!

We have been off the internet for five days due to heavy rain and landslides. We are back on so I will post an update quickly before we lose it again!

Workshop

Cultural Transitions

Grit. Self-control. Zest. Curiosity. Optimism. Gratitude. Social intelligence. 

These are the characteristics that research tells us are most associated with academic success and happiness (Duckworth). 

Lack of respect. Talking out of turn. Giggling. Not "giving the teacher eyes". 

These are some of the behaviors teachers are telling me are getting in the way of teaching.

Tomorrow, Saturday, I will present a workshop on student behavior for 30-40 teachers. As I began creating the workshop, I started out with a straightforward explanation of behavioral principles.  But then I realized the huge cultural shift I was asking from teachers. 

For instance the idea that:

• Every student comes to school with a different set of skills.
• Instruction must be differentiated. 
• Creativity and independence require space from hierarchy and rules.
• Social and emotional learning (SEL) has an important, even critical place in supporting academics.
• If academic performance is expected, teachers must also teach SEL.
• As students mature, teaching becomes more of a collaboration than a dissemination of information.
• Some degree of "rebellion" is normal for adolescents. 

I have reframed my workshop to begin with the importance of SEL in schools, knowing that this is the biggest shift teachers will have to make. I know the principal supports this too. I don't think they can buy into any system of behavioral management without also challenging their ideas how teachers affect and support to their students social and emotional development. 

Don't please don't misunderstand. I have been extremely impressed with the teaching skills and curriculum I have observed. The teachers are dedicated beyond anything we might expect in the US.  They leave their families to come and teach here for 9 months of the year. They live in small quarters, some even in the English style dormitory with students (essentially a large room with bunk beds).  They are eager to learn.  What I see as the biggest hurdle is the huge cultural shift which is required given their personal experiences in traditional Indian schools. 

Our "flat" in Nia Busti

This is for Mrs. Whipple's class who we spoke with today on Facetime. Lots of good questions! Keep 'em coming 4th graders!

We live in Nia Busti.  This means new village. We live down the hill from the school, about an 8 minute walk. We walk to school in the morning on a partially paved and curvy bumpy road.  In the afternoon we usually take the bus home because it is raining. At night a driver picks us up for dinner back at the school. There are a few small shops near our house that sell soda, chips and some home basics. One American-Swedish 2nd grade student lives in a building adjacent to us and there are many other children as well.

View from our balcony. Mt. Kanchenjunga is hidden behind the clouds most days. 

The stairs from the street to our "flat"

The door to our apartment

View from our balcony

Dara on her bed.

Dara and Alina's room

The living room and kitchen area

The bathroom. We also have a bathroom on the balcony that has a shower.  You have to turn on the water heater before and if there is not electricity, then no hot water! We lose electricity about every other day. 

Our entry hallway