Visiting schools and meeting volunteers

It has been long few days since my last post. On wednesday I boarded a public bus and took a hour ride to the town of Batala to visit two primry schools and interview those who work there.

The mercury in the thermometer was well above 100 degrees and I was really struggling with the heat. It was all worth it to meet some amazing volunteers and the children they teach. The emphasis in Prathams Parrho (read) Punjab program is to change the classroom dymanic in order to increase the speed and quality of the childrens learning. This involves the volunteers nd teachers leading the class in a number of learning games designed to make the class room a more interactive place for the student. In the past, the classroom dynamic consisted of a teacher lecturing while the young students quietly listened and took notes. This method was non existent at the schools I visited where I saw first hand children from each class leading their peers in reciting the alphabet. This was all the more impressive when I was told that only days before the majority of these children had no knowledge of the alphabet. Each child took turns leading the class in the recitation while the volunteer stood by to assist if necessary. In another game instituted by Parrho Punjab a hopskotch-like grid was drawn on the floor with individual letters drawn in each square. The kids, one at a time, were told to jump into a square with the correct letter when the teacher or volunteer prompted them. It was clear from the start that the kids loved this game and they were actually pushing and shoving each other in line so tht their turn could come sooner. I was told later that these and other games were designed with the cultural heritage of the Punjabi people in mind so as to make it even more engaging to the children.

On a more personal note, I am enjoying my time here in Amritsar. It is a very pleasant city (despite the at times unbearable heat) and I cannot wait to go and see its most famous monument, the Golden Temple. This temple is known as the spiritual center of the Sikh religion, similar to St. Peters in Rome and Mecca. The roof is made entitrely out of gold I am told and absolutely spectacular when it is lit up in the evening. In fact I mabout to head there right now. In the next post I shall write bout my time in Jalandar, which is a city two hours south ofAmritsar where I met more great volunteers, childrenand one very enthusiastic government official. Stay tuned...

_____________________________________________________
www.readindia.org
www.pratham.org.uk
www.prathamusa.org
www.pratham.org

Amritsar and beyond

First off I woudld like to apologize in advance for the shortness of this post. I arrived yesterday in Amritsar and took a rickshaw to my hotel after meeting my contact here in the Punjab. I like this region already. It is harvest time and everyone is in the feilds and things are lush, green and very hot. Unfortunately during this time many children are taken out of school to help the family with harvest. To make things worse this is exam period at the end of the school year so these children will not be tested which makes it even harder to gauge any progress made in their education. I will be conducting a number of interviews over the next few days with many people involved with Pratham in the area. The next post shall be filled with information and quotes (hopefully pictures as well) from these volunteers who work hard every day (for no pay) to get these children properly educated. Watch this space.

______________________________________________________
www.readindia.org
www.pratham.org.uk
www.prathamusa.org
www.pratham.org

Welcome Back!

Hello to everyone. My name is Brent Phippen and I shall be continuing the fledgling tradition of Pratham summer bloggers. I hope that I can continue the high standards set by Pushkar and company last summer. I shall try my best. Before continuing allow me to introduce myself. 

I was born in Seattle, Washington which is tucked away in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. For those unfamiliar with Seattle, here is a short list of what the city is famous for: suicidal musicians (including Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain), Starbucks, Mircrosoft and unending rain. At the tender age of three my father uprooted our family and transported us across the Atlantic to London, England. Upon graduating from high school in London I then attended New York University in New York City. I graduated from NYU in January of this year with a degree in History and absolutely no idea of what to do next. 

Five years ago a few friends and I visited India. It was during this visit that I first heard of Pratham and the amazing work that they do to not only get young children into school, but ensure that they are learning well, (hence the title of this blog). A few months ago I contacted Pratham asking if I could help in any way and after numerous emails and a very long plane flight, I arrived in New Delhi four days ago.

Tomorrow I will board an early morning train out of New Delhi and ride the rails up to the city of Amritsar in the state of Punjab where I shall begin my work for Pratham in earnest. Along with writing this blog (hopefully daily) I shall also be attached to the Pratham team in Punjab. I shall be conducting interviews with the many people involved in Pratham's volunteer recruiting across Punjab from the rural to district and state levels. The goal of these interviews will be to identify what works well and what needs further improvement in the process of volunteer recruiting in the region. I am chomping at the bit to get started and cannot wait to begin. 

I must sign off now as I have to venture out into Delhi to find myself a temporary cell phone for the duration of my time here in India. When I next post in this blog I shall be in Amritsar and settled in a hotel that shall be my home for the next few weeks. Thanks for reading!

______________________________________________________

www.readindia.org
www.pratham.org.uk
www.prathamusa.org
www.pratham.org