During these introductory lessons, I’ve been acutely aware of the role that gender plays in our students’ lives, perhaps due to the fact that both schools are single-sex. As Danny mentioned in his post, the boys at Nalgonda are really kinesthetic learners–in order to keep their attention, we must plan activities that engage their whole bodies. On the other hand, from the first day of classes, it seems as if the students at the Railway School are much more comfortable with traditional teaching methods that require quiet concentration.

As a high school student, I very neatly filled the stereotype of a quiet, hardworking Asian girl. I always felt guilty for not being a more active participant, a feeling that spread to my academic life in college as well. Whether in a moment of self-empowerment or one of self-validation, I slowly began to defend my introverted nature and tell myself that being “shy” was not a bad quality, but one that could in fact be of enormous value. Since then, I’ve continued to ask myself why we as a society place such importance on being outspoken and energetic. It always seemed to me that along a scale, one where shyness was at the leftmost extreme and extroversion on another, we always seek to push children to the right.

In our first class at the Railway School, I immediately found myself in a dilemma where my personal attitudes were pitted against my need to evaluate understanding of material as a teacher. First, in an ‘icebreaker,’ we asked the students to show us their favorite dance move, which evolved into each student giving the same short wave of their hand. Even as a college student, I remember having to do these activities and wishing that somehow I would fall sick and have to leave the room once it was my turn. Why then was I frustrated that the students were uncomfortable with the activity? Once we realized that half of the girls were really not fans of the icebreaker, we amended the exercise and asked the other girls to just tell us their names, and if they wanted, show us a favorite movement. I was disappointed that the exercise had failed to stimulate excitement among all of the students, but was happy that as a teacher, I identified the feelings of my youth in the classroom, and acted to alleviate them. As the class progressed, and few students volunteered examples of responses to questions that we posed, I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated. While its easy to dismiss our students’ quiet nature as disinterest, I’m realizing that it is my challenge to find better methods to assess how well students are understanding material.

On the other hand, I’ve been so impressed with the girls, and their drive to achieve – today, one student who was absent on the first class showed up with the entire homework assignment completed, and asked for additional homework for the following class. Knowing that they have limitless potential and overwhelming barriers, I strive to be a positive female role model for these students. However, I am confused when I think about the types of behaviors that I want them to emulate. Do I exhibit the confidence and independence that will be necessary for them to break down the barriers that exist in their homes and communities? I’m only one of many woman mentors that they will encounter in their lives, so it feels rather self-important of me to think that I will have some impact on my students. But these questions will continue to be on my mind as I think about effective ways of building a classroom environment that will be conducive to the girls’ learning.