A special education teacher at the Children’s Learning Center of United Cerebral Palsy in New York, Laurie has always dreamed of going to India: “I didn’t really financially have the means to take a gap year, which is becoming very popular in the States, so I was looking for a program to which I could commit for a shorter time. India got to the top of my list because the country has got a culture that’s so completely different to my own: I was looking for a culture shock.”
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Working close to the Leave UR Mark apartment, Laurie can walk her way to her work place, a small daycare, where she takes care of the kids of Bangalore’s middle class families. When asked what one of her biggest challenges is at the school, Laurie is quick to reply: “Behavior management is where I feel Indian schools, all over the country, still have a long way to go. Especially where the younger children are concerned, or children with special needs, one can see there is a system of rewards at schools in the States, whereas here there is a system with punishments.” She smiles: “Of course both classrooms get results, but from my experience in the States, I’ve found it’s just more enjoyable for both the kids and the teacher when you work with positive stimuli.”
Reaching the small daycare center, Laurie is greeted by the little kids, who are having some free time in the play area before class. She explains that the other teachers will arrive soon and that she loves working with them in class. “Before we all start the day, though, the little kids get into a communal classroom and say the pledge. What’s really nice is how they sing a song of love afterwards: it’s a song with lots of movements and the kids love it. It’s easy to see how a person can bring a lot of joy here. Still, these kids act their age behavioral wise, and guidance from adults is definitely needed. It’s here that the cultural differences can be quite sharp, and sometimes I see some of the teachers yelling at kids that are out of line, where as a teacher in the States, I’m not ever allowed to raise my voice.”
These cultural differences also bring some advantages to her work, however, as Laurie explains: “I do get to make quite an impact through the fresh ideas I bring about the curriculum, the rhymes the kids sing and actually also some of the behavior management suggestions I make. I just show these teachers how I do it in the States, and ask them whether they’d like to give my methods a try. In the end, education is changing, no matter what country you’re in, and although we can’t always know where it’s going, it is definitely going to evolve.”
This, Laurie concludes, also holds true for the system at her school in the States: “Now that I’ve been here, I’m definitely going to do a unit on Indian culture with my students. I’ve got some great material now, and some real, first-hand experiences which I can talk about.I really feel that my time in India has made me a more rounded-person, and I truly love the people here: I know that a lot of them are curious, but I don’t care, and I simply stare back at them because I’m curious as well. On the whole, my time here has been wonderful, and I loved walking through the city, smelling the flowers, and making that trip to Goa. I will definitely return.”
