The Crossroads

Today I scheduled an Ola cab to take me to the University for my class today. We got to the end of the street and he pulled over and he confirmed with me where I was going and what the estimate costs would be for the ride. He then shuts off the navigation and closes out my ride and says that the GPS is not working and I should not worry he will take me to the University. To my surprise, I did not go into normal "Brinda" mode and start thinking of a plan. I just sat back and looked out the window. By now, I know the routes you can take to get to campus and I knew we were in the right direction. Then it dawned on me that he stopped the navigation on purpose to skim the top of a big corporation. From Ola corporate, it looks like he took me a very short distance so that will be calculated into his earnings at the end of the night and he can pocket the actual amount I gave him. So I confronted the driver about my theory and he was very honest with me. He said that I was right and ...

Today was a full full day with lots of exciting adventures day and night! First, I observed a 7th grade class. So so different than my classroom in the U.S. Neither good or bad just different. It is hard to describe. Afterwards my teacher mentor and I discussed Design Thinking Process (DTP) which is a student centered approach to teaching and learning. Keep in mind I am just learning this method and she asked me how I would incorporate DTP to the content they are learning on the Moghul Empire. I loved thinking on my feet and was proud of my response. I told her that she could ask them to extract lessons that can be learned from the Empire. Once they did that, they could apply it to their realities today and how they can use the lessons learned in their lives. For example each student is assigned a house (kind of like Harry Potter), they could learn common imperial tactics used by the Moghuls to “conquer” the opposing houses. As I was explaining my idea she was taking notes and sugge...

Surprisingly, I was really calm and not stressed for the presentation that I had today on  US Educational policies from 1960   onward and the impact these policies have on 1 teacher leader in a public school in Boston.  I wish we had more time to discuss my reflection questions: 1.  What data will accurately show student progress at their grade level? and  2. What data is the most effective in determining student’s preparation for the real world? These concepts are applicable globally and everyone in education really needs to be asking themselves these questions. Through my discussions today, it is clear how much politics plays a role in education and how disconnected the policies are from helping students excel academically. I really tried to push students to think about creative solutions. Through all of this--the preparations, the conversations with my Professor, the discussion with students made me think about New Mission. I have three ideas to help...

This weekend we had our first guest in Bangalore. Rishi is my cousin on my mom's side. He has also visited us in Boston. Here is a little interview on his thoughts of our hospitality in Boston and our 3 weeks in Bangalore. It was so nice to have him visit early in our journey. He really helped us understand the way things work and how to negotiate using a driver and his prices. Through our discussions we were able to figure out that Ola (Similar to Lyft) is much more reasonable and there are no negotiations and the prices are very reasonable. He also showed John around Bangalore and John got to see some more breweries. It was so helpful to have someone speak Hindi and help us navigate things.  Today, I took him to one of my classes and he loved my Professor/Mentor too. On the way back in the Ola we were talking about a potential partnership of opening a Foundation that is similar to the Boston Teacher Residency program. The idea is that we would partner with a city Unive...

We love you more than words can every express our feelings for you:) Happy Birthday John! I am very proud of myself. After only 2 and half weeks being in Bangalore, I was able to figure out how to get a cake and flowers delivered and order some good coffee. It was not easy. Many places do not deliver where we live since we live pretty far outside the city. We also took him to a brewery to have him try some local beers. It was a spectacular day for a spectacular partner and dad! I know I keep saying this but we are thriving here in Bangalore for the most part because of John. He has really figured out things here in our place and made it feel like our home away from home. Thank you John for everything you do and much much more!

I am still trying to understand the Indus International's School schedule. It is not that straight forward and when there are special days the schedule changes again. So for example, I was supposed to observe an 8th grade class at 11:30am. We got to the classroom and the kids informed the teacher that they had practices (music, art, etc.) to attend to for Indus Day. There were a few people in the class but it just became a study hall and we chatted a bit. My mentor teacher, Ms. Mitali, is very nice and I think she thinks it is odd that I do not understand the schedule. I am just going to go at their pace and see what comes of it. I am going to go back on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of next week and hopefully I will understand it a bit better. Here are pictures of the classroom and if you look carefully far in the distance my mentor teacher is there talking to a student. It was my first day so I did not want to intrude too much. This evening I went for a ...

I would have to say that surprisingly they are adjusting to their life here in Bangalore really really well. Let me start with James. Picture Day James has Formal Uniform 2-3 times a week I would have to say that out of all of us James has adapted to life in India the best. Or at least that is the impression he has given us. He has not gotten sick. Knock on wood. He has soccer scarfs and soccer jerseys hung up in his room. It feels just like home. James has neighbourhood friends that come over every day after school to see if he can come out to play and he usually rides his bike and plays soccer. He seems to love school. Every night we do homework and it seems pretty easy for him. The one thing he has to get used to is not eating with his left hand. And he is lefty. In India, people do not use their left hand to eat because it is considered disrespectful. I am not going to be graphic about it, so please look it up. One of JJ's friends was over and ...

Tuesdays are my long days at the University. I carpool with other faculty and I start my journey to the University at 7:00am and end my day at 6:30pm. As soon as I get into the car I am engaged in conversations around the education systems in India. I have learned so much in such a short time and I still have so much to learn. What I have realised is that the more I inquire about things the more I understand and I should not shy away from it. Everyone from the Principal at Indus to the taxi driver to administrators at the University to the security guards to my professors to the students and to the neighbourhood kids and families are all willing and happy to talk about Bangalore, their perspective, and their journeys and experiences. I am just absorbing it all in and trying to process it all with John at night. Today, I had a 3 hour meeting with my mentor Professor at the University. She truly is incredible and a wealth of knowledge. I was feeling bad that I was taking so much of her...

Ok I think I have got it figured out: 1. Transportation- It is best to use Ola, an iphone app, similar to Uber (they have Uber here too). It is truly the cheapest. At first I was using this car service which was costing me double the amount I paid for an Ola. And an auto rickshaw is a complete gamble because they do not use a meter and you always have to bargain by half. The problem is that we have become friendly with the driver. He has been so nice and has really taken care of us. So we decided that on the weekends when it is the whole family we will use this driver and on the weekdays, John and I will use Ola. Now I have to teach John to be comfortable with using Ola and then he can go out on his own adventures. For now, John walks the kids to school and picks them up. The kids ride their bikes to the gate and then they walk to school with John. John walks everywhere and stays local unless I am home. I am using the free University shuttle and carpooling with other faculty at the ...

Many of you are familiar with the debate as to whether people from another country should assimilate to the place they are living or continue with their own habits from home creating a salad bowl--different vegetables in the same bowl--. John and I had a very rich discussion about whether we are trying to assimilate or retain some of our "American" habits. Through the course of our day, we were able to come to some conclusions about our choices as we "live" in India for 6 months. This morning I wanted to make pancakes for JJ and Ash, something we do on Saturdays or Sundays when we have time in the States. Finding all purpose flour is not easy in India. We could have bought King Arthur flour on Amazon India for $84 (I am not joking) (btw Amazon India has 1 day delivery and Prime is only $15) We opted for the Indian version of all purpose flour entitled Self Raising Superfine Flour (less than $1) .   And I ventured into making pancakes with John's guidance of...