Reflections

The Pleasantries of Surprise

Is there anything more delicious than being pleasantly surprised by a situation or circumstance? The thrill of having your assumptions dashed away, like a dandelion when a puff of wind flutters by? My class at Audiah Memorial High School has been nothing but a series of lessons in the foolishness of placing stock in pre-conceived notions, and the spark of beauty that lies in a true surprise. Compared to the other classes that I teach here in Hyderabad, the kids at Audiah are outliers: they are mostly boys, where I otherwise only deal with girls. They are mostly Telugu-medium, while my other students are quite proficient in English. The children at Audiah are rowdy: students openly beat each other in the classroom, mini versions of Pacquiao and Mayweather. Children at my other schools appear to be oblivious to the outcome of a great right-hook. Thus, my earliest dealings with the nineteen students at Audiah were a veritable mixed-bag. They had little to no idea what the words that I was spouting meant: English was a foreign language in every sense of the statement. Homework was assigned, and then summarily dismissed by the students. Unlike the other schools I have been working in, I did not have proper teacher assistants that were able to help me on a day-to-day basis. I felt disrespected and alone. The hours I was spending on cultivating “perfect” lesson plans were for naught, and I felt as if I was failing those that needed failure the least: my students.

 

Frustration has a face!

Frustration has a face!

Then came a breakthrough, and it arrived accidentally, as most great things are wont to do. While frustrated at my lack of ability to convey the concept of a “point of view” I slipped in a phrase or two in Telugu. The kids were shocked at my hidden linguistic abilities, yet they gobbled up the information that I was presenting. The photography scavenger hunt that we were working on was a breeze, and resulted in some great shots. When friends and family ask about my experience so far with The Modern Story, they assume that most of my work is in teaching English. Strengthening existing language skills is certainly part of my job, but the focus is on digital skills and instilling creative confidence. By simply switching the mode in which information was being presented, students that I had deemed “difficult to work with” were transformed. My notions were dashed away in a flurry of surprisingly beautiful and engaging content.

 

Scavenger hunt challenge: "Find something beautiful"

Scavenger hunt challenge: “Find something beautiful”

 

The next great surprise came whilst we were deep in the bowels of producing our first photo story. The kids settled upon three topics: ‘Maths in Daily Life’, ‘What is Friendship?’, and ‘Welcome to Audiah’ (a love letter to their school). This entailed three separate production teams, all simultaneously storyboarding, location scouting, taking pictures, and editing final products. As mentioned above, we do not have teachers assistants at Audiah – the teachers are too busy with their own curriculum to undertake TMS projects. Thus, the decision to undertake three photo stories meant that I, as a facilitator, would have to rotate my assistance between the groups, and that at any given time two groups would be dealing with production on their own. I was initially terrified at this prospect, as previous projects had needed to be micromanaged, for the sake of creative integrity and the equipments own well-being. However, as this blog post’s title indicates, I was about to be surprised yet again. All three groups were exemplary in terms of efficiency. After returning with the ‘Maths’ team from photographing a local shop, I was thrilled with surprise at the photos that the ‘Friendship’ group had captured. The rowdiness that was once so prevalent in class had vanished. Students were patient with each other whilst editing their stories in iMovie. Fighting over notebooks and pencils had been replaced by helping one another detach audio or insert subtitles. The final results can be viewed below: the students hope you enjoy watching them as much as they enjoyed making them. My first two months at Audiah have been a lesson in surprises, and I cannot wait to see what else these kids have in store. Now it’s on to the first video projects! Cheers!

Welcome to Audiah!

What is Friendship?

Maths in Daily Life

 

14
Jul

On Community

Hello all- Nicole here with the two week report!  In some ways it feels like I’ve been here much longer than 14 days and in others I still feel incredibly new and disoriented.  We spent Monday and Tuesday of this last week finalizing schedules with the remaining schools and had a few more introductory classes on Thursday and Friday: Shivani started herclass at Audiah Memorial High School and Nelle and I started our classes at Sitaphalmandi.  Despite a little bit of initial confusion for all of us, the class I taught at Sithphalmandi was wonderful.  The students are really willing to be creative and share their ideas and seem super excited about TMS (it’s the first year for us at this school!)  Plus, our teaching assistants are incredibly supportive.

gita + sarala

We had our second week of classes at Railway where we’re beginning to cover storytelling and camera usage with more depth.  A lesson about the story elements of conflict and resolution led to a discussion and creative exercise surrounding issues the students see impacting their communities.  The students drew pictures showing water shortages, pollution, gender discrimination, poverty, child labor, and poverty and for homework were asked to draw what they thought the “resolutions” to those issues could be (so more on those Thursday!)  I’m really impressed with what critical thinkers the students are and can tell that I’ll be learning as much about Hyderabad from them as they do about digital storytelling from me.

photohunt 15.18.25

Railway girls on a photo scavenger hunt

On a non work-related note I was lucky enough attend a feminist collective meeting last night and a film screening hosted by a local LGBT organization this afternoon.  I was so thrilled to meet such wonderful folks at both events, but more so just incredibly excited to feel like I was joining a community that’s creating such a palpable progressive momentum in what is already such a beautiful, diverse and energetic city.

 

feminism

hyderabad for feminism

a lovely dinner party with some rad new friends

a lovely dinner party with some rad new friends

2
Jul

Landed + welcomed!

Namaste from Hyderabad and the 2013 fellows! We’ve had staggered arrivals (and a grand total of 48 hours of layovers) but we’re finally all together in our lovely new apartment.  You can learn more about each of us and how we ended up here over on the Our Team page.

Want to see our adventures? Follow us on Instagram (just search TheModernStory)! It’s the future! Except that everything will look like a 70’s polaroid!

Notes from Nelle    –    In the car from the airport, I felt like a puppy in a kitchen full of bacon crumbs. One minute I’d be chatting with Remy about his move to Boston with Piya; the next, following an idea I had jotted down last week about assessment; all of a sudden, my eyes would find massive boulders stacked precariously on a mountain ridge, silhouetted against a mild blue sky and a scratchy horizon line of trees. Bacon crumbs everywhere! Delicious morsels of instant friendship, TMS potential, and the backdrop of gorgeous, enveloping Hyderabad overwhelmed my tastebuds and my poor jet-lagged brain. . . but my tail was wagging really fast.
Thanks to the warmth and openhearted guidance of Remy, and my instantly lovable roomies, I am now re-grounded. My tail is still wagging. Yesterday I bought a cherry red kameez, and today I wore it to Railway Girls school, where we met the most unbelievable chorus of “Hello, Teachers!!” We begin teaching this coming Friday – a fact which had been causing some apprehension. But meeting the students and teachers that make this program work instantly melted away my nervous energy. Everyone was welcoming, with a sweet and poking sense of humor. We will be teaching at Railway for at least a week before we start at the other schools. I feel lucky to have the luxury of time to troubleshoot programming in such a friendly place. Also today, I negotiated the fare home with the auto-rickshaw driver, and made it across Mahatma Ghandi Road without giving myself a heart attack. Small victories. Wag wag.
xo! N
Notes from Nicole    –    The first 40 hours of my journey were completely packed with so much chaos (a flight cancellation, a reroute, a delay that resulted in a missed connection, a 24 hour layover) that I didn’t really even have a stress-free moment to stop and think about or process the adventure I was embarking on.  Somewhere between Life of Pi and an episode of Parks and Recreation on my final flight, though, it hit me: I was almost there, I was going to be in Hyderabad until December.  I smiled to myself, took a deep breath, and soon enough was walking away from the airport through the hazy early-morning air with Remy.  Since then it’s been nonstop sensory overload in the very best of ways.

This city is massive and it’s been hard to orient our friendly little neighborhood within it, but maybe that’s for the best.  There are all kinds of stories to investigate just within the few block around our apartment like the elusive moneys in an alley off of Mahatma Gandhi Rd. or the group of primary school boys who’ve formed their own little bicycle gang in our apartment complex’s parking lot.  Along with my wonderful co-fellows I’ve started tackling  challenges small (figuring out how to shop for salwar suits), medium (hailing the 8A bus during rush hour), and a little bit larger (impromptu teaching a class of 20 eighth graders).  Cheers to all that’s to come!

Snippets from Shivani  –  It has been so great being back in Hyderabad after almost 12 months! However, I return not with the intention to visit family or go sari shopping but to be in the classroom — and what a great first day it has been! After quickly meeting TMS Co-Director Remy and my lovely Co-Fellows Nelle and Nicole we all raced off to hop onto a bus to Secunderabad, a true experience in navigating the idiosyncrasies of  Hyderabadi traffic. After finally making our way to Railway Girls School in Lallaguda we met Mr. Prabakher, an enthusiastic teacher who’ll serve as our liaison for the semester. We also got a chance to chat with Waheeda, who will be joining us in the classroom as well. I’m already looking forward to using these two as valuable resources! Then it was off to to meet the 8th class batch of girls we’ll be working with for the next 6 months! All of the gals, ranging in ages from 12 to 14 greeted us quite enthusiastically and my Co-Fellows and I got the ball rolling on introducing ourselves and what we’ll be working with them on. Most of the students were already familiar with TMS from years prior which was great to hear. What started off as a small exchange between us and the students quickly (and unexpectedly!) turned into a flurry of chalk dust on the blackboard and the assigning of their first real piece of homework — impromptu teaching at it’s finest! I can’t wait to return on Friday for our first real class and to see what the girls have come up with. Here’s to a beautiful start to what’s already shaping up to be a great semester!

day number one at railway, super duper "VE-RY NICE!"

day number one at railway, super duper “VE-RY NICE!”

8
Feb

Garlands, Hugs and Final Achievements

A shrill noise shatters my sleep. It’s 4 in the morning, and the phone is ringing in my ear. Why did I go to bed with the phone on my pillow? For precisely this reason: my groggy ‘hello’ is met with a tentative voice asking, “Is this teacher?”  I was determined not to miss the chance to talk to one of the students. Since returning to the cold of Colorado, these moments of interaction keep me warm and help prevent my TMS experiences from fading into the realm of memory.  Treasures such as an email from Bansilalpet class or a Facebook message from a teacher at Audiah keep me going.  Even though we successfully completed our final ceremonies and have all returned to the US, I seek comfort in the fact that we did not have to say a final goodbye.

image

Emily and I held ceremonies at each school in addition to the annual end-of-semester event at Railway. The smaller ceremonies allowed us to recognize each student for their unique contribution to the class.  The events at Audiah Memorial and Bansilalpet were especially characteristic of these schools and are worth remembering in some detail. From cake to garlands to quavering voices (mine and Emily’s) and a lot of laughter, these ceremonies were a very special way to round out our TMS classes.

We arrived at Audiah early in anticipation of the usual technical difficulties. As expected, certain unknown and dark forces of the universe prevented the sound from working on the main computer, which was connected to the big screen. Luckily, Emily came prepared with her portable speakers. Her incredible agility should be recognized, as she had to play the videos on her laptop and the main computer at the same time while holding a microphone to the portable speaker so the sound carried right to the back of the room. Students of all ages and classes packed the computer lab, eager to be included in a TMS event. It was a hot day and we were certainly sweating by the end!

image

The videos captured the attention of the normally rowdy Audiah students, who burst into laughter to see Bhushan acting sick in Rainy Day, covered their ears at the clanging cacophony of noises in Sound PSA, and called out the names of the students in our TMS Oath video.  The grins on the faces of our TMS students, who were certainly the stars of the hour, let us know that the day was a success. We finished by calling each to the front to accept their certificates and plaques.  I will treasure their expressions and the hand-made yarn marigold garlands presented to us for the rest of my life.

image

At Bansilalpet, we weren’t surprised to discover that Prashanti, Geeta, Headmaster and the students had prepared a beautiful event for TMS, complete with speeches, cake and lush jasmine and rose garlands. We were incredibly moved by the kind words of our co-teachers and students.  Throughout our six months at Bansilalpet, I was especially appreciative of the way in which the teachers and HM never lost sight of the most important individuals at the school: the students. As usual, the TMS ceremony gave the students a chance to shine while simultaneously making Emily and me feel very special. Once we had handed out certificates, the students presented us with their gifts—a touching collection of knick-knacks and cards that reflected their personalities and thoughtfulness. Throughout the day, Emily and I refused to look at each other because we knew that seeing one tear would set both of us off (we later discovered at Railway that once you start, it’s impossible to stop the waterworks!)

image

I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to work at both of these schools with Emily. Tuesdays and Wednesdays were easily our most challenging days of the week, but at each of these two schools we experienced significant triumphs. At Bansilalpet, the class as a whole became more confident and creative and never lost enthusiasm for the projects. At Audiah, individual students became markers of success: Rohit stepped into the role of leader and Rahul becoming a pro at Windows MovieMaker.  Both schools will always have a special place in my heart. The friendships forged with the teachers and the larger-than-life personalities of the students made these schools some of our most memorable.

13
Sep

The dream of unity in diversity

Religious freedom and equality is a particular topic that resonates deeply with my personal conviction, life philosophy and ambition. Thus, naturally, given the opportunity to live within such a rich tapestry of culture and belief here in Hyderabad and have access to children from such varied backgrounds – it is a topic that I enjoy exploring. It is easy in the context of the classroom to cultivate some false sense of harmonious coexistence. Certainly, the unity in diversity within India that the students talk about is a reality that the whole world can benefit from paying attention to – but, sometimes, there are harsh realities in my confrontations with the ‘real world’ that force me to recognize how much progress still needs to be made.

The experience filming this small clip for the video I am working on at MGM is what has brought me to this topic. The MGM Project is called “Sita’s Life” and shows the two possible ‘tomorrows’ of a young girl who is having a problem in school and contemplating suicide. The video is supposed to reveal all of the small ways that our lives are interconnected to those around us and who love us, and to approach this difficult topic from the perspective that ‘Life is Beautiful.’ In order to do this, we show a day in the life of her family and friends, had Sita killed herself, alongside the normal day. At the end, mourners go to console Sita’s mother. The day we were to film this small clip, the two students playing the ‘mourners’ forgot their costumes. Half of this class is Muslim, and half is Hindu, so one Muslim girl suggested that they just wrap the scarf like a burka and we do a close up – nice idea.

“Wait!” one girl says.
“But, the girl’s name is Sita (a Hindu name) there would not be Muslims in her family”

I happen to be from a Christian family (with a much more complicated relationship to the spirit) that has Muslims (newly and warmly welcomed) into it…so, I said
“Why can a family not contain all faiths? And maybe these are not direct family but close friends who have come to mourn. Religious unity is a possible reality that we can show in our movie!”

The girls agreed, and went on with it.

Just as we were about to film, the teacher at this school that I work with came out and saw the girls. She said,

“That looks horrible, wrap it like this” – and re-wrapped the scarves in a religiously neutral way – obviously tending to imply that they are Hindu like the young girl.

I was put off by this reaction. I did not say anything to stop it, because I also did not want to offend the teacher, and we were running short on time. But I felt that it was worth a reflection on, and every time I see this clip I think about it.

It reminded me of other experiences we have had here in India that have put a thorn in our dreams of the peaceful coexistence we see in schools reflecting onto the scale of the city and country. About a month ago we were invited to a wedding in Charminar in the family of our teaching assistant and dear friend, Neha. The function started late, went late, and being the old and ‘dangerous’ part of town, when it came time to go home Neha and her brother decided to follow our ricshaw back to Abids (the area where we live) on his bike. Just as we were making our way home, there was some confusion in the street that forced us to make a U-turn. Neha told us that it was an imposed curfew because of violence. She blamed this violence on the Hindus and said that it was the result of what was happening in Burma to the Burmese Muslim minority, the Rohingya. (The following is a picture from that wedding)

Since June there has been mass violence against the Burmese Muslims at the hand of the Burmese Buddhist majority, and many Indian Muslims are upset that India is not doing more to help them. Tonight I asked Asma some more questions about it, and these are some notes from our phone conversation:

“Burmese want the immigrants to leave Burma because they think Burma is theirs. They killed 150,000 innocent people. Common men, innocent people, not in the army of Burma. They wanted help but no one was helping them. Turkey was the first country to help. They want to kill the Muslims because they belong to Muslim religion and they are Buddhists. They are saying, go to your Muslim countries, leave Burma. They are from Burma, only! They lived in Burma. In India, so many Muslims are there so they are thinking that they are doing wrong to the Muslims and they are against the violence of them. The Hindus want to fight the Muslims here in Hyderabad also, but they can’t do anything here actually because they have Hindu unity is bigger than Muslims, so the Muslims can’t do anything against them. It started with the Buddhists, but they are not showing on television.”


(A picture of dear Asma)

I wanted to learn more about it, so I went to youtube and clicked the link for “Burma Muslims Exclusive video: “They will Kill us all, please help us!”” but it could not play, saying it was banned by the government of this country. Maybe you in America can see it, here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X_Y1PL-eTA. I asked Asma about what was happening now, and she said that she did not know because the government and everyone is trying to hide what is happening.

“Last time I tried to see that video, it said it cannot open in your country. Muslims feel that India is not doing enough, hiding the whole thing! India wants to hide the violence. It started about 5-6 months ago, and it may be continuing but we can’t see in the news. Some people uploaded the videos on the net that’s the only way you can see.”

The Rohingya is said to be one of the most persecuted minorities on the globe – although they have inhabited Burma for years, they have been common victims of violence and the junta was hostile towards them since the year 1978. Many have fled to Bangaladesh, but are also not welcome in this country. Reflecting on all of this within the context of the 9/11 anniversary, and now, today, Emily, Dana and I being warned by our parents to be extra ‘aware’ due to the violence that happened in Libya against the United States embassies – I feel saddened. We have become so close to these two girls, Neha and Asma, who come from completely different background than us but we would never have difficulty being friendly and/or friends! with. All the time you experience beautiful moments of neighbors, friends, bus seat mates, school friends, colleagues, etc. working across cultural divides within this one city – Why is there so much fear of the ‘other’ on the big scale?


(Emily and Asma)

Sometimes I am humbled and energized by the dissonance between the ideals we love to believe in, and the way the world enacts itself around us. I think we all aspire towards love, and to find the beauty in our own lives. On that note, here is a message to leave you with from the same girls at MGM:

Until next time,
Kelly

5
Sep

Brother Praneet

Praneet Reddy first approached The Modern Story in late June. He had just completed 10th class and was home in Hyderabad for the summer, looking for a valuable way to spend his time before pursuing his Higher Secondary School Certificate in Bangalore. He had discovered The Modern Story the way many people discover The Modern Story – through a chance encounter with our website – but took the extra step of contacting us directly and asking whether he could get involved.

Its a rare and wonderful step if you think about it –  the type of gesture that makes non-profit organizations such as The Modern Story possible. Ideas are only as powerful as the number of able bodied men and women to act upon them and doing so invites a certain leap of faith.  I cannot count the number of times I’ve stumbled across a web page for a cause whose work I admired, whose photographs I picked through, maybe whose newsletter I signed up for to give my time, eyes, and momentary attention. But it takes a special amount of courage, initiative, and character to send a cold e-mail and offer yourself. Praneet did this very thing and for six weeks, volunteered his creativity and English-to-Telugu translation abilities as a co-teacher at Audiah Memorial High School (during production of A Rainy Day photo story). We gratefully accepted, little knowing just how valuable he would be to our teaching and just how beloved he would become to our 15 students.

In the five weeks we had the pleasure of working with him, Praneet juggled a multitude of roles with steadfast calmness and  cheer. As a co-teacher, he muscled through every technical failure, every power outage, and every change in the lesson plan with patience. As a translator, he managed to digest our lengthy explanations into an abridged Telugu version faithful to (and often more articulate than) the English original, choosing those very words that would would bring a wave of comprehension across the faces of our Audiah students and draw our classroom back together.

Most importantly, Praneet was an unfailingly kind friend and role model for the students, answering questions, sharing stories, and alleviating any mental roadblocks so our lessons had traction. The early confidence he inspired in these fifteen students, both in the technical process and in themselves (“Yes, I can do this!”), has made all the difference in their long-term engagement. This is especially evident among our male students – Rahul, Rohit, Bhushan, Vinay, Asif, and Nagaraju – who sat resolutely in the back row the first two weeks of class, physically distant and distracted. Once Praneet became a regular fixture, this pattern broke down. The boys began to talk. To follow their curiosity and ask questions. To share. Rahul, who barely said a word and shied the camera, was a different person with Praneet in the room. The two of them huddled in quiet confidence was a common sight before class. These days, Rahul is among the most active and technologically savvy of our students, inseparable from Windows Movie Maker and endlessly curious. He continues the legacy of his former teacher and friend in ever question that he asks and every technology that he masters. Today we set up Rahul’s e-mail account and wouldn’t you know – Praneet was the first person he wanted to whom Rahul wished to address his very first message.