This is going to be a very critical post. I took this trip in part to work out my own feelings about volunteer tourism and to judge companies like IVHQ, which places volunteers. Well, I find myself heading towards the opposite side of the argument than where I started. I don't regret the experience in the slightest. It's easy to judge, it's much less easy to try and learn and understand. I am considering a masters degree in international education, so opportunities such as this one are giving me a foundation of experience and knowledge.
Here's the thing. I am a teacher. I studied at university to become a teacher, did classroom placements under experienced teachers to learn my profession, I have seven years experience and during that time I have continued to develop professionally in order to better my teaching practice and help the children I'm working with to become better learners. I am continually refining my ability to reach a diverse set of students with a wide range of abilities, talents and needs. I am regularly collaborating with other educational stakeholders ensuring standards are kept high. I am fortunate enough (and have lived in enough places) to hold professional qualifications in three countries.
Then I came to India and found a situation where anyone over the age of 18 was also, apparently, qualified to be a teacher. No training or experience required. You flew half way around the world and paid a fee? You feel good inside and want to "change the world"? Yay! Here's a class to teach for however many weeks you are here!
Immediately alarm bells went off. It's not that volunteers are ill intentioned. But the road to hell, as they say, is paved with good intentions.
My first working day here I accompanied a struggling volunteer to her class. ("You have teaching experience, you can help her!") Because I am a teacher, I immediately established some control in the small room and ran the kids though some basic, informal assessment tasks. I flipped through their books to see what they had covered so far. That's when I started to become concerned.
The students had clearly memorised the alphabet and numbers to 30. But ask them to show you 8, by drawing that many circles, and they struggle. Skip counting and basic patterning was a foreign concept. As a teacher, I could see the holes in their knowledge and understanding. I could see how these gaps would affect their future learning. Skip counting, for example, is what leads into multiplication and division, telling time and working with money. Past volunteers had taught them greetings (good morning, hello) and some nouns (words for food, words for body parts). They knew the days of the week, but not what they meant in relation to statements like "today is _____" or "tomorrow will be ______". They would just call out random days with no conceptual understanding that these words mean days or that they progress in order and then repeat. They had no idea about phonics or the sounds the letters make, let alone blends or sight words. Because people who have absolutely no education experience have been in charge of their education, a rotating cast of "teachers" have clearly struggled with what to do with them each day to keep them occupied. They have done their best, but the fact is that they don't know what they're doing. They aren't following any sort of curriculum. They're just trying to fill in time the best way they can think of. There is no assessment for or of student learning and no one to ensure that what's being taught hasn't been taught over and over again or that concepts that aren't understood are reinforced and struggling learners are supported. There is no structure in place where simple concepts build to more complex knowledge which can lead to creative and critical thinking skills.
Is this hodgepodge system utilising untrained, well intentioned volunteers a positive thing? Is it indeed "better than nothing"? Or is it causing more harm than good? I don't know yet, but I am concerned.
I attempted to raise my thoughts with some of the others, but was met with sound resistance. I'm not surprised. Who wants to consider the idea that we aren't doing a wonderful thing here?
The idea was brought up in defence that this is just how things are and we can't judge things here through Western glasses. But I reject that idea. Because I'm not judging their system, I'm critical of our involvement in it. We are imposing on their system and are doing so by invitation. We have been asked to come in and instruct and educate their children. So saying this gives us some sort of right to do whatever we want with no regard for the educational outcomes strikes me as very wrong. We are in a position of trust and as an educator this is something I take very seriously.
Anyway, I haven't entirely worked out my thoughts and feelings regarding a lot of this. I just know how I'm instinctively reacting. I will continue to consider this issue for the remainder of my placement.
Here's the thing. I am a teacher. I studied at university to become a teacher, did classroom placements under experienced teachers to learn my profession, I have seven years experience and during that time I have continued to develop professionally in order to better my teaching practice and help the children I'm working with to become better learners. I am continually refining my ability to reach a diverse set of students with a wide range of abilities, talents and needs. I am regularly collaborating with other educational stakeholders ensuring standards are kept high. I am fortunate enough (and have lived in enough places) to hold professional qualifications in three countries.
Then I came to India and found a situation where anyone over the age of 18 was also, apparently, qualified to be a teacher. No training or experience required. You flew half way around the world and paid a fee? You feel good inside and want to "change the world"? Yay! Here's a class to teach for however many weeks you are here!
Immediately alarm bells went off. It's not that volunteers are ill intentioned. But the road to hell, as they say, is paved with good intentions.
My first working day here I accompanied a struggling volunteer to her class. ("You have teaching experience, you can help her!") Because I am a teacher, I immediately established some control in the small room and ran the kids though some basic, informal assessment tasks. I flipped through their books to see what they had covered so far. That's when I started to become concerned.
The students had clearly memorised the alphabet and numbers to 30. But ask them to show you 8, by drawing that many circles, and they struggle. Skip counting and basic patterning was a foreign concept. As a teacher, I could see the holes in their knowledge and understanding. I could see how these gaps would affect their future learning. Skip counting, for example, is what leads into multiplication and division, telling time and working with money. Past volunteers had taught them greetings (good morning, hello) and some nouns (words for food, words for body parts). They knew the days of the week, but not what they meant in relation to statements like "today is _____" or "tomorrow will be ______". They would just call out random days with no conceptual understanding that these words mean days or that they progress in order and then repeat. They had no idea about phonics or the sounds the letters make, let alone blends or sight words. Because people who have absolutely no education experience have been in charge of their education, a rotating cast of "teachers" have clearly struggled with what to do with them each day to keep them occupied. They have done their best, but the fact is that they don't know what they're doing. They aren't following any sort of curriculum. They're just trying to fill in time the best way they can think of. There is no assessment for or of student learning and no one to ensure that what's being taught hasn't been taught over and over again or that concepts that aren't understood are reinforced and struggling learners are supported. There is no structure in place where simple concepts build to more complex knowledge which can lead to creative and critical thinking skills.
Is this hodgepodge system utilising untrained, well intentioned volunteers a positive thing? Is it indeed "better than nothing"? Or is it causing more harm than good? I don't know yet, but I am concerned.
I attempted to raise my thoughts with some of the others, but was met with sound resistance. I'm not surprised. Who wants to consider the idea that we aren't doing a wonderful thing here?
The idea was brought up in defence that this is just how things are and we can't judge things here through Western glasses. But I reject that idea. Because I'm not judging their system, I'm critical of our involvement in it. We are imposing on their system and are doing so by invitation. We have been asked to come in and instruct and educate their children. So saying this gives us some sort of right to do whatever we want with no regard for the educational outcomes strikes me as very wrong. We are in a position of trust and as an educator this is something I take very seriously.
Anyway, I haven't entirely worked out my thoughts and feelings regarding a lot of this. I just know how I'm instinctively reacting. I will continue to consider this issue for the remainder of my placement.