http://themodernstory.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/kidnapped-in-india-getting-to-know-our-students-through-their-stories/

Ghani: I was kidnapped when I was two years old. My brother found the thieves. He fought to take me home. He brought the criminals to justice. The police approached my brother. They paid him money for his good work. They also paid him money so they could take credit for the arrest and get promoted. Now my brother catches criminals for a living. The police pay him. He works by night. He teaches guitar by day.

Me: Did this really happen?

(Many students shout in agreement at the same time): Yes! We heard it from many in the neighborhood.

Me: Sounds like a fiction, a comic.

Ghani: No, I am the fiction!

Ghani snaps a photo of our boys at Nalgonda, a residential school outside of Hyderabad

Conversations like this occur after checking the journals and notebooks of our students every week at Nalgonda, an all boys boarding school 3 hours outside of Hyderabad, India. I think one of my favorite parts of teaching is the moment before checking student homework. The moment of anticipation before the kids shove their notebooks in front of us, wanting to be the first to have their stories read. The best students don’t always produce the best work. I can never tell where the sharpest stories will come from. Some of the most fascinating narratives come from students who have previously been quiet or too rowdy to concentrate.

Today was a good lesson in delegating responsibility to rowdy kids. I took one group around their campus to snap photos for their project. At first the kids were yelling, screaming and jumping around for the camera. I asked one of the bigger students, Saleem, to be the ‘Control Man’ who enforces ‘quiet on the set.’ A big boy who is a newcomer and a bit of an outsider immediately set to keeping away older kids from interfering with the shots, organized his classmates into position for the photo and restored order. The transformation was impressive. Saleem, usually a passive boy who causes trouble, took more interest in the aesthetics of the frame, ensuring people were in their right places and the camera was focused. Vidya had suggested this effective approach to maintaining discipline over the weekend. This delegation of responsibility ensured the group’s work was completed in a timely manner and also that the students took an active interest in the aesthetics of the camera.

Group 1 snaps a photo of a cook near her wooden fire and the air pollution she breathes on the job

Rather than the frenzy over the camera or laptop  they focused on getting the right shot. This was a big step. Afterward, Saleem opened up. He started telling me more about himself and his life story that had not come through in his homework assignments. He’d seemed a stranger this whole semester. Then he got engaged in taking a few pictures and changed. How about that.

Sometimes I feel the message only hits home when a small group is listening. It could be the language barrier, but sometimes it seems the newness of cameras and the excitement of the underclassmen catcalling through the windows and banging on the classroom doors in distraction draws students in our big classroom (22 students) away from the lessons inside the camera: the shot, the story, their unique way of looking at the world.

Today, we had to change our lesson plan as the lab was closed unexpectedly. I would advise future fellows and teachers to have back up lesson plans for these surprises. We went back to basics of story telling. Identified possible stories and scenes and read examples of student work.

Mubeen poses with his latest illustrated story

In most of their stories the boys talk about money, corruption, friendship, cheaters, grandparents, family trips, poverty, traditional dances, weightlifting and housing. But even when the stories are true, the boys love to begin ‘once upon a time.’ Especially Mubeen, an amazingly talented artist who has turned his frustrations on the pages of comics he draws.

Rich Man - Illustrated Story by Mubeen