Courtesy of Aidan, Nicola and Sarah
Day 1, Monday 26th
They say always expect the unexpected, however I’m pretty sure that when we set off this morning no one expected an earthquake. Yet an earthquake was what we had. Thankfully Delhi remained unscathed, though our thoughts are with those in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Despite this reasonably disorientating experience and a slight delay in our lunch arriving, we found the energy (or sugar rush) from the Frooti mango juice to carry on and were pleased with the results of the day. We saw some fantastic teaching and were able to bring teachers together for an enthusiastic and engaging reflection on the day’s teaching.
Day 2, Tuesday 27th
Well, today we experienced some seriously awesome teaching when Sangeeta busted out her science experiment and Palavi turned her classroom into a market with real money and goods. It was clear that the session on active learning had really resonated with these teachers.
We were very happy that lunch turned up on time, fuelling us for the thoughtful and collaborative session on reflective practices. The iPads have proved very useful. Having filmed a number of sessions, teachers were able to consider their own practise and that of others by identifying effective strategies and areas for improvement, paving the way for the next generation of Impact middle leaders. The only let down of the day was the single Frooti, which provided only a short sugar buzz, leaving us thirsty and listless and wanting more.
Day 3, Wednesday 28th
Today the words of the immortal Vanilla Ice, “Stop, collaborate and listen.” rang true. However, it was not a brand new invention, but instead an infectious collection of teachers discussing and debating effective teaching strategies and ideas for spreading good practice throughout their schools. We were a buzz with the teachers’ impressive observational skills and eagerness to support their colleagues and network with middle leader trainees from other schools. The day filled us with confidence that this group of schools are prepared to face the exciting challenges of setting regular teacher observations, practicing self-reflective teaching, and starting their portfolios before impact’s return in February. Being in Delhi, not London, we celebrated the day’s successes with a saccharine yet refreshing Frooti and rode the sugar rush all the way back to the hotel.
Day 4, Thursday 29th
The word of the day is ‘zabardast’, effortlessly translated by Anubhav, our STiR representative for the day, as ‘one who possesses mad skillz. The first example of this happened in the morning when our driver Irshad breezily reversed across 4 lanes of heavy traffic. Whilst this sounds dangerous, our driver’s zabardast meant that the manoeuvre was performed with a plomb.
We thought this move could not be topped until our rock star teachers pulled out some serious zabardast observation techniques. Yet again we feel confident that the children of Delhi are benefitting from the teacher collaboration and commitment to engaging & meaningful learning (not forgetting some serious zabardast).
Delhi it’s been a slice 🙂
