Jennifer Koszyks Essential Question Essay India 2014

Please include your two-page essay about your essential question for international travel. Please
include your inquiry, discoveries, refections, and lingering questions post-international travel.
Essential Question: How can I improve my classroom and school after my experiences in Bangalore & New
Delhi
!t the fall "lo#al Education $ymposium in D%&%' I drafted an essential (uestion focusing on how
accessi#le college is for Indian students% )ost*secondary education has #ecome a huge focus of the ur#an high
school I currently teach at' and I+m interested in the road high school students in other countries ta,e to get into
college% !s we #egan to learn more a#out our three*wee, agenda for our trip to India via email' I reali-ed a
(uestion li,e this was too specific and might not get answered% $ince we would #e spending the #ul, of our trip
in one school' I would only #e getting the perspective of that one school% .hen we first arrived in Bangalore'
India we shared our (uestions with each other in a session% /o try to avoid a (uestion that generali-ed all of
India' I said I wanted to explore how the schools I will #e o#serving during our time in India reflect unity in
diversity But now you can see my essential (uestion changed from that 0 which I+m glad #ecause when we
finally all came #ac, together in New Delhi to discuss our pro1ects on the last day everyone had 1umped on the
2unity in diversity3 theme% !s I loo,ed through my notes from the three wee,s in*country' I #egan to reali-e
what I wanted to share most with my school and my students was what I had o#served and what I wondered% I
had ta,en a lot of notes a#out what I had seen in the schools I had visited and I wanted to share them in a way
that would improve my school and inspire change% $imple things li,e when an 4
th
grade student at 5endriya
6idyalaya )ushp 6ihar as,ed me what my first name meant and I didn+t ,now% 7et she and numerous students
around her #egan to each explain the meaning of their names% 8)andy 7u,ta 0 yu,ta is a person who ,nows a
solution to every pro#lem9% It reminded me of $andra &isnero+s vignette My Name and how names can #e
central to one+s culture and one+s identity% .e get so focused in my department on speeding through the
curriculum 8:ome' ..I' etc%9 that students lose a personal connection to history class% "rowing up I had
conversations with my mother a#out how I got my name #ut after #eing as,ed #y the students I went online
and loo,ed up the 2meaning of ;ennifer3 and the first hit .i,ipedia gave me a load of information% It was ,ind
of cool to ,now that ;ennifer was an uncommon name #efore <=>?% Now I have ideas for a lesson a#out one+s
name that I can introduce the first wee, of school that involves a #it of research and reflective writing% I+m
excited for my students to explore their name and share with our class the parts of their identify that it reflects
8ethnicity' religion' family ties' etc%9
@ur lecture on 2/rends in the Education $ystem in India3 #y Dr% !shwin Aahesh focused on the
importance of innovation 8an the unavoida#ility of it9% He posed the (uestion: How do you ma,e society learn
In !merica we tend to focus on how to ma,e individuals learn which pushed our teacher group discuss how we
help children imagine what they can #e 8#eyond 1ust their career9% .e discussed social action' change'
community investment' etc% Dr% Aahesh told us to #e intentional a#out inspiring students% !t my school' I see
that we often forget how to help children learn instead we teach them how to 2study3% ! student can write a
report a#out how an engine wor,s #ut have never actually seen one% Ay students can read their text#oo, and
tell me the most important Hindu gods and the main sacred texts #ut that doesn+t mean they are any closer to
understanding Hinduism than #efore they opened the text#oo,% Instead #y showing the videos from our temple
visits and as,ing my students they same (uestions the Indian students as,ed me' I can help my students to
reali-e that Hinduism li,e any religion has a wide variety of #eliefs%
! presentation #y /he /eacher Boundation opened our eyes to the < million ?*<< year olds in India who
don+t attend school 8not including drop*outs9% /heir 2C 5eys to Dnloc,ing India+s Education $ystem3 provided
a great foundation #efore we spent a full wee, in our assigned schools% <% India is complex% E% India is
grappling with many challenges% C% India is a land of tremendous potential and opportunity%
.hile at 5endriya 6idyalaya' we were a#le to ta,e part in the morning assem#ly 8one day in English
and the next day in Hindi9% .hile my school has morning announcements over the )! system every morning' it
was different to see the morning shift of over E'>>> students standing outside listening to the announcements%
/heir morning program seemed much more organi-ed than our daily announcements and they incorporated a
lot more music% I+d love to see more music involved in our morning announcements to create a sense of school
unity% !lthough some staff did present at the morning assem#ly' the students ran most of the program whether it
was reading a news article' school pledge' trivia for the day' introducing a guest' etc% @ur school could #enefit
from having the students read the morning announcements to ma,e them feel more ownership in the school%
.hile we don+t have the physical space for a daily morning assem#ly it has #rought up a (uestion to explore
with the staff at my school: how do we start each day at our school to feel li,e one community
.hen we stepped into a classroom' we would see in the right hand corner of the chal,#oard the
attendance% /he total num#er of students for a period' #elow it the num#er present' and #elow that the num#er
a#sent and then their names written out% .hile we are privileged at my school to have an electronic attendance
system' seeing the names on the #oard actually got me thin,ing% I can (uic,ly loo, at my seating chart and
mar, who is a#sence and start my lesson #ut the students might not even ,now who is a#sent% If I wrote the
first names of the students a#sent in my room each period on the #oard' then the other students would notice
and may#e they would gra# a handout to #ring to that student or ta,e the time that afternoon to email or call
them% )lus if the next day' a previously a#sent student sees their name on the #oard 0 they may reali-e that their
a#sence was noticed% Bor some' it might #e a reminder to see, out their teacher for the wor, they missed 8in
hopes of getting their name erased off the #oard9% In classes of forty or more students' another classroom
procedure I noticed was that students always stood up when they spo,e in class 8whether they were called on to
give a response or had a (uestion9% I+ve spo,en with other teachers on our trip a#out this and whether they
thought they could implement it in their classroom% Aany of my freshmen are very shy and have a hard time
presenting pro1ects to the class% I thin, if I started with something as simple as standing when they spea,ing to
the class it might help improve their comfort level 0 plus it might ma,e it easier to hear a student% I li,e the
idea of them commanding the class+s attention and other students not tal,ing while they are standing% It+s
another classroom management style that might prevent my students from sleeping and get them moving at
least once in the F>mn period%
!fter giving a presentation on 2!merican &ulture3 a#out &hicago and the school I teach at the most
as,ed (uestion was' 2.hen do the students study3 /he Indian students were surprised that many of my high
school students had part*time 1o#s and were involved in various athletics and school clu#s% /hey didn+t
understand when they studied which led to a great discussion a#out the importance of education and how
people prioriti-e it differently in their lives% @ther fre(uently as,ed (uestions were: .hat do we thin, the
#iggest difference is #etween !merican and Indian students Do we ta,e our students on field trips .hat ,ind
of playground e(uipment 8recess9 do we have .hat do our students eat for lunch $ome of these (uestions
were the same ones that my !merican students had written on note cards to #e answered #y the Indian students
I visited% $tudents are innately curious and 1ust want to ,now what school loo,s li,e in different countries%