Meeting the children: Go ahead and ask me if I'm in my element!

After our lunch on Dec 26, the director academics took us on a tour of the two schools. Upon finishing this two hour walk-about the campus, we came to the main school yard where all 125 children were seated in the sand under the sun, sitting in perfect rows in complete silence. They were waiting...for what, we were not quite certain but the teachers and head-mistress told us to take a seat in the four chairs that they had placed in front of the anticiapting crowd. The chairs were for us! You know one of the final scenes in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe where the two sons of Adam and the 2 daughters of Eve take their place on the throne? Well, it kind of felt like that, minus one son of Adam and no crowns or royal status, just a very interested audience who wanted to hear from us.

So I said: Hi
They responded in unison: Hello. How are you today?

Then I asked the headmistress if there are any sisters in the school ages 8 and 5 because I would like to meet them. You see, I told my daughters I would find them their first pen-pal. But the head-mistress misunderstood and I ended up with a line up of all the students who have siblings. Not wanting to disappoint, I greeted each one and shook their hands.

The following images were taken today, December 27. It is Saturday and yes, the kids go to school but they get to wear a more relaxed uniform of white. The students were doing exams and tests today and had to clean up the yard - yes, yousee correctly, the kids are picking up sticks and stones out of the sand. It is common to see people without shoes on so the floors and grounds have to be kept clean.

Harish, the academic director, told us that the classrooms are too cool (it's their winter now with 23'C during the day and 15'C at night)so the teachers take the lessons outside...in the sand...under the sun...in the shade of amazingly large mango trees.

The children are so well disciplined that I asked to meet with a boy and a girl in grade 2 who are considered to be troublesome and/or hyper-active. They brought me the little boy and girl you see in the fourth picture from the top. We chatted a bit and just as I assumed: all children are the same everywhere! They need love, support, guidance and an adult who believes in them that they can grow up to be and do whatever they wish in so long as they learn how to work well and hard. This is the philosophy of the teaching staff and Dr. Chandra and his sister Hema. They teach it to the kids and 25 years of teaching with this philosophy in mind has produced a generation of strong, bright, literate, educated adults.I do believe this is what they call success.

Namaste.