100 Days in India!!!!!

Week 15: Day 100!!!

I can’t believe that I’ve been in India for 100 days now. At some point each day, I am still in awe that God granted me one of my dreams – living abroad!!!! I am simply grateful beyond words. Making it to the 100 day mark is significant for me because this time last year, I had never even been outside of the United States (well, I’ve been to Canada, but I’m from Detroit and it’s only a 15 minute drive across the bridge lol) and to make it 100 days so far away from my family and friends is a true testament to how good God is and how he/she will never take you somewhere that you cannot handle. Time has been flying by and I can say that I have made a home for myself here. You know, India isn’t as scary as it was it I first got here. I have no doubts that the next 5+ months will bring forth even better experiences and growth.

 

 

Also, the 100 day mark has me thinking – “what do I have to show for myself after 3+ months of living in India???” I’d like to think – a lot! First things first, I have grown to enjoy teaching – as much of a roller coaster ride as it is, I love my students and I am learning a lot about being an educator. I am seriously looking forward to teaching long term. When it comes to my experiences at school, I must say that I am very fortunate to be teaching at such a welcoming place – in my opinion, KV- Andrews Ganj rocks! Now don’t get me wrong, I have my fair share of bad days and minor annoyances, but that’s everywhere so I can’t complain. My fellow teachers are so sweet and seriously treat m like their child/younger sister – always feeding me and making sure I’m okay. It’s so funny because sometimes they watch me when I eat to make sure I like the food and when I got my hair braided, we talked for days about it. And when it comes to my students – they are like any other group of 12-15 year olds –smart, inquisitive, crazy, mischievous, sweet, funny, active . . . just kids. And I love them for it! I find myself growing attached to some of them and it’s going to be really really hard to leave them in April. I’ve been able to build a rapport with my students and we are getting to know each other fairly well – they’ve become accustomed to my facial expressions and how I look at them when they are acting a fool. I’m learning their personalities and depth is being added to our interactions. All in all, the reason I came here is to teach and I’m learning and growing so much because of my kids that I couldn’t be more grateful for this opportunity.

Oh and I must tell you all about my roommates. I. Love. Them. One of the reasons that India has been so enjoyable for me is because I live with great people that make life easy for me. I really do not think that I could have adjusted so well to the many culture shocks of India without good people at home. Let me tell you about these wonderful (albeit crazy lol) people with whom I live. [See the pic above - from left to right, we have JoJo, Me, Abby & Krish].

• First up we have my beloved JoJo (Joanna) aka “Radio Jo” because this girl sings all day, every day. I’ve gotten so used to it that if she didn’t randomly create tunes for our everyday life, I would be a bit worried about her. But back to how wonderful of a person this Chicago native is – it’s impossible to not have a good time or be in a good mood when this girl is around – she’s thoughtful, super smart, outgoing and a great friend/roommate.
• Now on to Abby (Abigail) – this girl is such an inspiration. A Maryland native, she’s the healthiest person that I’ve ever personally known and I’m becoming a better/healthier version myself because of her. I look forward to our Saturday morning workouts – she goes hard, but she’s so patient and super positive. Also, she maintains a positive outlook on our experiences, even the frustrating things that everyone else complains about, Abby takes it as part of the experience and I admire how genuinely dedicated she is to being the best teacher she can be and how much she wants to truly immerse herself in Indian culture.
• Last, but certainly not least, we have Krish. Hailing from Alabama, I knew during out DC pre-departure orientation that we would be friends when I said something was dumb and he replied “really dumb” – making reference to Antoine Dodson. I’ve never lived with a man before, but Krish makes it easy. He’s hilarious so we’re never out of laughs in this place. He is a super smart dude who has plans to attend law school when we get back stateside and I have no doubts that he’ll rise to the occasion there. All in all, I couldn’t be happier with the people I share my space with and I trust that we’ll collect many memories along the way between now and April.

Hmmm, what else is there? I’ve simply been enjoying myself. I have seen a lot of New Delhi and I am doing my best to soak this place in. I am so lucky – I really am. My favorite part of India has to be the people – especially the children. Aside from the sheer volume of people and the fact that waiting in lines is a completely foreign concept in India, the people I meet tend to be kind and helpful. There are people I see every day on my routes to and from school and the market and I look forward to their welcoming and smiling faces each day. I’ve also gotten more comfortable in auto rickshaws – I even listen to music in one ear during the ride (but believe me, a whole lot of praying is still going on because Indian roads are a dangerous place to be lol). I am learning my way around the city and can recognize the way home from many points now. I have found a church home here and God has shown me that he/she can be found anywhere. The services are in Hindi and English and it feels so good to be surrounded by God loving people who seem genuinely concerned about my well being. I seriously have to wonder what I’ve done to get so lucky. . . But you know, I won’t question God – I’ll humbly accept his/her blessings and do my absolute best to make the most out of this opportunity.

All in all, I am happy to report that not only am I surviving here in India, I am thriving and I believe has given me this opportunity as a prelude to some plans in store for my future. And I am looking forward to it all :-) To the next 176 days - let’s go!!!!

*I had many more pics to upload, but the site chose not to cooperate with me. Hopefully I'll have more luck on the next post :-/

Learning to Teach - This Will Be a Lifelong Journey for Me

A few weeks ago, I had one of those days with one of my classes at school. Boy oh boy, they had tapped danced on my last nerve, yelling was involved and I lost my cool – it’s as simple as that. The next day, I apologized because I don’t think that it was okay to yell at them and I will be the teacher who respects her students as human beings first. But, you know, this incident kind of shook me up because I have made a decision to become and educator and eventually a superintendent. And I got to thinking “If I can’t control/get through to these kids, what in the world am I going to do when I begin teaching with Teach For America and have students of my own?” It was then that I reminded myself that even the best of teachers have bad days, and good teachers got that way through years of practice and by making many mistakes.

I have so much to learn, but I know that I must take things one step, one day at a time. Thanks to some inspiration from JoJo, I have started listening to podcasts about Education. I try to listen to at least one podcast a week and over the past month or so I have realized that there are so many people who are so passionate about Education and improving America’s schools. [check out ]I am ready to join in that fight. If I had one wish, it would be to see education declared as a Constitutional right in America before I die. Now, I won’t hold my breath for it to happen, but I will do my best to help make equal access to quality education a reality for as many American children as possible.

When it comes to what worries me the most, I need to learn (in no particular order):

1. Effective classroom management
2. How to motivate students (even the ones who think they are too cool for school)
3. Strategies to attend to the needs of students at different levels
4. Ways to create a culture of community, responsibility and positivity in my classroom
5. What to do when a student comes to me with a serious life problem
6. Effective and creative lesson planning
7. Effective organization techniques
8. How to prepare my students for standardized tests without teaching to the test
9. The art of remaining professional yet personable yet respected in my classroom
10. How to focus on the big picture and the day-to-day learning simultaneously

I certainly have my work cut out for me, but knowing that God has placed me here, I eagerly accept the challenge of improving the quality of life for my students. Knowing that I have a responsibility to each student who enters my classroom, I have drafted an ABCs of Teaching list – this is the type of teacher I want to be and these are the things that I am committed to giving my students. I’m bringing my A-game to them because they deserve nothing less.

Jessica's ABCs of Teaching

A - Always put the student first
B - Believe that your students are capable
C - Create innovative ways to teach your subject
D - Demand the best from your students
E - Engage students in the learning process
F - Find something good in each student
G - Give your students your absolute best
H - Have a command of the subject matter
I - Invest in each student
J - Joyfully teach
K - Kindly correct errors
L - Love your students and Love your job
M - Motivate your students
N - Never think you know everything
O - Offer yourself as a resource to your students
P - Prepare, prepare, prepare!
Q - Quit??? Never!
R - Reflect often and find ways to improve your teaching methods
S - Supply students with the tools to succeed
T - Treat students with kindness and respect
U - Understand that students are people too
V - Value each student’s opinion
W - Walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk – practice what you preach
X - X-plain everything – never assume the students know what you expect
Y - Yield to the greater good, not your ego
Z - Zealously try to make students better people – academically and personally