National Training Days One and Two

Yesterday, we began our first day of National Resource Person training at the AIPTF office.  The participants are from the various states in India and many have traveled great distances to be here.  Some have traveled two days by train and many of the participants are staying in dormitories on the top floor of the AIPTF building.

Many of the participants were there last year and some new ones have also arrived.  The new people are exiting to have along because they have been involved in the state level training and are enthusiastic about what they have learned and are eager to lead others.

The first day of training went very well.  The participants’ familiarity with Tish and Murray and their understanding of how interactive workshops run helped move things along faster than last year.

I really enjoyed meeting people and observing the dynamics of the room as the day progressed.  As with all adult groups, it took a while to get everyone relaxed and participating.  Our first active strategy went very well.  When we gave them an opportunity to demonstrate how they might apply it in their classrooms, they really shone.  It was exciting to see that teachers are the same everywhere – creative, innovate and interested in doing a better job.  I found the activity to be a great preassment for me as it gave me a clear picture of the capacity of the group.

Later in the day, I got to experience the fun of cultural and language differences.  (Tish and Murray stood on the sidelines and watched me take my turn at this baptism by fire.  They had theirs last year!)  I was setting up a group movement strategy called directional partners.  People need to make an appointment with a north partner, south partner and so on.  Our participants were sitting around a large boardroom table.  I explained the process and turned them loose.  We could tell they were struggling, so when I finally sat down beside one of the participants he told me he couldn’t find his west partner because there was no one sitting to his left!  It dawned on me that they were thinking literally about N, S, E and W, not figuratively.  We had a great laugh about that after the workshop ended!

Today, we extended the learning of the participants in the area of facilitation skills.  They worked extremely hard all morning in a jigsaw activity combined with concept formation activity.  The afternoon was spent discussing how to give constructive feedback.

The people at the workshop are wonderful.  They are bright, energetic and there for the right reasons.  Many are passionate about the Professional Development Program and the use of instructional strategies – they make rousing speeches about the benefits of the program whenever they are given the opportunity!

One of my favourite things during this time is getting to know the people.  The group from Tamil Nadu are great fun and extremely enthusiastic.  Their energy is infectious.  The folks from Bihar are great as well.  Everyone is very gracious and generous and they treat us like royalty.

We’re all having great fun talking about weather and food.  They are amazed that we can live in a country where the temperature goes to -30 or 40.  One of the Tamil Nadu fellows asked me how it is I can be so active.  It took me a minute to figure out that he was wondering how I could be so active when it is so cold.  It was about 18 degrees in Delhi today.  I told him I was just comfortable.  He was freezing.  Many of them are wearing scarves, jackets and winter hats.

Today is Pongal, a Hindu festival, celebrated every year in mid January - mostly in the south of India and especially in Tamil Nadu - to mark the harvest of crops and a special thanksgiving to God, the sun, the earth and the cattle.  The days often start with prayer in India, but today Vidya, one of the participants, sang a responsorial prayer.  She has a beautiful voice and it was a special time to witness.

Our first two days of training have been long, tiring and very rewarding.  It is exciting to see these teachers take their professional development so seriously.  They truly have a a vision for improving both their and their colleagues’ practice.

Here is the group of National Level leaders in Delhi:

And, as always, my update on wait staff in India.  Last night we were the only people in the restaurant we went to and were waited on by at least 7 staff.  Tonight we had at least 5 servers and one literally stood behind Tish and I and watched us the entire meal.  I’m hoping I’ll be a good patron when I get back to Canada.

We’ve been seeing a few more animals around lately.  There are various pigs, dogs and cattle roaming the streets, but not as many as I had anticipated.  We’ve seen some monkeys here and there and that’s about all.

Tonight I passed my first lesson at the Tish Karpa school of haggling.  I managed to haggle the price down on some silk scarves that were already “on sale”.  If I keep shopping with her I should be able to get some amazing deals by the end of the trip!

Here is one of the streets we travel down every day on our way back from work:

More to come!