DanaA_12
8
Feb

Garlands, Hugs and Final Achievements

A shrill noise shatters my sleep. It’s 4 in the morning, and the phone is ringing in my ear. Why did I go to bed with the phone on my pillow? For precisely this reason: my groggy ‘hello’ is met with a tentative voice asking, “Is this teacher?”  I was determined not to miss the chance to talk to one of the students. Since returning to the cold of Colorado, these moments of interaction keep me warm and help prevent my TMS experiences from fading into the realm of memory.  Treasures such as an email from Bansilalpet class or a Facebook message from a teacher at Audiah keep me going.  Even though we successfully completed our final ceremonies and have all returned to the US, I seek comfort in the fact that we did not have to say a final goodbye.

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Emily and I held ceremonies at each school in addition to the annual end-of-semester event at Railway. The smaller ceremonies allowed us to recognize each student for their unique contribution to the class.  The events at Audiah Memorial and Bansilalpet were especially characteristic of these schools and are worth remembering in some detail. From cake to garlands to quavering voices (mine and Emily’s) and a lot of laughter, these ceremonies were a very special way to round out our TMS classes.

We arrived at Audiah early in anticipation of the usual technical difficulties. As expected, certain unknown and dark forces of the universe prevented the sound from working on the main computer, which was connected to the big screen. Luckily, Emily came prepared with her portable speakers. Her incredible agility should be recognized, as she had to play the videos on her laptop and the main computer at the same time while holding a microphone to the portable speaker so the sound carried right to the back of the room. Students of all ages and classes packed the computer lab, eager to be included in a TMS event. It was a hot day and we were certainly sweating by the end!

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The videos captured the attention of the normally rowdy Audiah students, who burst into laughter to see Bhushan acting sick in Rainy Day, covered their ears at the clanging cacophony of noises in Sound PSA, and called out the names of the students in our TMS Oath video.  The grins on the faces of our TMS students, who were certainly the stars of the hour, let us know that the day was a success. We finished by calling each to the front to accept their certificates and plaques.  I will treasure their expressions and the hand-made yarn marigold garlands presented to us for the rest of my life.

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At Bansilalpet, we weren’t surprised to discover that Prashanti, Geeta, Headmaster and the students had prepared a beautiful event for TMS, complete with speeches, cake and lush jasmine and rose garlands. We were incredibly moved by the kind words of our co-teachers and students.  Throughout our six months at Bansilalpet, I was especially appreciative of the way in which the teachers and HM never lost sight of the most important individuals at the school: the students. As usual, the TMS ceremony gave the students a chance to shine while simultaneously making Emily and me feel very special. Once we had handed out certificates, the students presented us with their gifts—a touching collection of knick-knacks and cards that reflected their personalities and thoughtfulness. Throughout the day, Emily and I refused to look at each other because we knew that seeing one tear would set both of us off (we later discovered at Railway that once you start, it’s impossible to stop the waterworks!)

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I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to work at both of these schools with Emily. Tuesdays and Wednesdays were easily our most challenging days of the week, but at each of these two schools we experienced significant triumphs. At Bansilalpet, the class as a whole became more confident and creative and never lost enthusiasm for the projects. At Audiah, individual students became markers of success: Rohit stepped into the role of leader and Rahul becoming a pro at Windows MovieMaker.  Both schools will always have a special place in my heart. The friendships forged with the teachers and the larger-than-life personalities of the students made these schools some of our most memorable.

16
Nov

Big Dreams and Ice Creams

One of the first questions the TMS girls ever asked us was, “When do we get to visit Google?” Ever since June, they’ve been anticipating this extra-special fieldtrip. Judging by their looks when they entered the Google complex, I’d say the experience was worth the wait.

After an early morning bus ride involving many snacks from home, (I think the girls thought I would starve to death on the journey and so they came prepared) “truth or dare” and singing, we arrived at Google. The girls were impressed when Suchi, energetic and welcoming as ever, ushered them to the lobby and began punching their names into a screen. They were then given printed name cards, something that raised some amusing conversations—I’m so thankful our girls are always curious and always questioning! Once in the conference room, the nerves began to set in. The session began and our usually vibrant and loud class refused to make a peep, until I gave Sravs some significant looks and she took the leap. She stood tall and explained that Google is like a book, but gives us more information. Sometimes I worry that we put too much pressure on Sravs to always be amazing, but she continues to dazzle.

The girls learned all about Google Maps and literally saw the world from a new perspective in that hour. From an aerial view of Charminar, to my favorite beach in Australia, the girls learned that we can travel the world with these tools.

While the Google team prepared some great sessions for our girls, I especially enjoyed watching their worlds expand before my eyes with each new experience on the trip. There was the time we went for a bathroom break and I literally had to pull the girls away from the automatic sinks. The elevator ride, when we exaggerated our dizziness because it was such a strange sensation. There was the foosball table (look, a new game!) At lunch, the girls went wild. In the words of A. Sushma, the ice cream was “mind blowing!” They also appreciated the chance to chat with some of the Google employees, who were enthusiastic and very encouraging.

Everyone loved the lunch, but most girls told me afterwards that their favorite part of the day was the interview session with Kodukulla Suryanarayana (Suri). I was inspired to see our girls push aside their nervousness and conduct an engaging interview session. Suri encouraged the students to always take the extra effort to grow; for example, if you like film photography, learn chemistry to better understand the process of developing photos.  Needless to say, the girls were impressed.

The ride home involved more singing and even some dancing. The girls couldn’t stop grinning, and I have to say I was right there with them—what a great adventure to share with these students!

 

2
Nov

The Modern Story at Communities Rising

 

When Emily and I stepped off the plane from Hyderabad to Tamil Nadu, a giant stone warrior goddess watching over baggage claim immediately captured my attention. Our drive from the airport to Villupuram revealed several other huge deities, such as a two-story high Hanuman. The only other time I have seen gods this big was during Ganesh Chaturthi in Hyderabad, where icons are lifted by cranes to be submerged in the lake.

I didn’t know when I saw that airport goddess that her size and power would mimic the potential of the students we would meet through Communities Rising.  Over the past two weeks, we have been conducting short TMS photography and video workshops at several schools. Our students faced a very condensed curriculum interrupted by a multitude of holidays, but still they managed to take to the concepts and cameras with amazing creativity.  These students made our stay in Tamil Nadu unforgettable.

Anilady Boys Stand Tall

At Anilady School, we taught 7th and 8th standards. With Philip as our trusty translator and Siva as our go-to for drawing out the best in the kids, we found a new rhythm in our teaching. The students were clever, eager and kind.  Each class had a “free-shoot” period in which we would break into small groups, venture outside and explore the beautiful school with our cameras.

What was striking about this experience was the fact that most of the students did not speak any English.  We wanted to push them to incorporate other useful skills in their photographic pursuits (such as emotional expression, English practice and teamwork), but to do so made the support of our teaching team essential. We needed more than just translators; we needed teachers who truly understood the objectives of the program. The individuals we worked with far surpassed our hopes and stand as prime examples of how programs such as TMS can overcome immense cultural and language challenges with the right help.

These classes were very gratifying for us as teachers. In spite of having a large number of students, we were able to form special relationships. I also feel that we achieved our key goal of having each student contribute his or her ideas and have hands-on time with the equipment.

Arul Prakash, a star student

One student in particular comes to mind: Arul Prakash, a Vikravandi hostel boy whose friendliness and intelligence shone through even on our first day of class. Arul is a student that any teacher would dream of having; quick to learn, dependable and sweet with just a hint of mischievousness and humor to make working with him a joy. I taught Arul how to edit on iMovie using my laptop and spent some extra one-on-one sessions with him. By the end of the stay, he could easily put together a basic stop motion animation, add text and transitions and burn his work to a DVD.

These two weeks at Communities Rising have been some of the most memorable during our time in India. Just as that first image of the stone goddess stands out in my mind, the smiles, creativity and joy in these students will stay with me forever. I certainly plan to be back!

A student makes bubbles during a clean hands video shoot

 

10
Oct

New Projects, New Adventures

The past few weeks have been intense, with extreme highs (like celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi with our students) and quite scary lows (like Kelly ending up in the hospital with Dengue fever).  We’ve all taken a step back to be thankful for our blessings, from health to children’s games and everything in between.  Our students are now sitting their exams and being away from them has made me realize how much they anchor us in our life in Hyderabad. I’ve felt pretty lost without our regular routine of laughing, learning and producing with the students!

As much as I love Hyderabad, I’m very excited to be heading to Tamil Nadu with Emily for our Communities Rising adventures. This should be a challenging couple of weeks, filled with projects, interesting people and of course a whole new group of students. I’m looking forward to posting about our experiences and sharing some new videos!

Our students met the challenge of moving from photo stories to video projects with new confidence and bright ideas. We’ve explored a wide range of formats and concepts, from public service announcements and silent films to full-blown dramas.  At Railway 8A, we divided the class into two groups and had each produce their own videos. Interestingly, the group with all the girls who love to dance ended up acting, while the group with the girls who aren’t as interested in dance ended up dancing!

A highlight of the short video production at Railway was when Prabhaker and HM called one of our students at home to congratulate her on her good work in the video. Her joy at this recognition was infectious and very gratifying. There were many benefits in dividing into two groups, such as getting to work more closely with each student and ensuring maximum participation, but the best part was the fact that some of the shyer, quiet girls were able to come into the spotlight.  While the videos address completely different issues, they share a similar theme: bravery. Fighting for your rights and recognizing that your own talents and interests are of value require the kind of strength in character that we hope all our students will develop. They certainly seem to be on the right track!

We had decided long ago that the public service announcements were the way to go at Audiah Memorial for our short videos, because these students seem to have an endless supply of ideas along this line (perhaps stimulated by our early “cause and effect” lessons). These students recognize that “consequences” can be interesting to portray on camera. Since we were sliding into festival season at the time of pre-production, they were especially excited to make videos about their favorite celebrations. On our first day of shooting for the Sankranti PSA, I was dismayed to discover that our main actor was absent. Looking back, I realize that this was actually a blessing in disguise, as it required one of our shyest students to suddenly become the main character. Rahul really stepped up and it was so nice watching him finally relax and have fun in front of the camera. I enjoyed teaching the students about silent film and showed them some classic examples that amused them.  While Sankranti production took several lessons, the Diwali team tends to be a bit more focused and was able to finish filming in one day—incidentally, the day that my parents visited the school. This was truly special for me to show off the students in action!  Both PSAs address actual dangers that our students and their families face during what are otherwise joyful times. Every year, explosions from fireworks cause serious harm and small children flying kites from the rooftops are in serious danger of falling or being electrocuted. I feel that our PSAs captured the spirit of each festival while expressing a subtle message to enjoy carefully.

At Bansilalpet, Emily and I wanted to have a lesson about point of view to kick start our brainstorming session for the short videos.  We thought of a way to demonstrate how individuals can see the same event differently. We split the class in half and lined them up on either side of the room while we stood in the middle. Then we hugged each other, while I smiled at one side of the class and Emily pretended to cry while facing the other. We asked the students to describe what they saw. They were surprised to discover the difference! My group of students came up with a story that looks at the perspectives or opinions of three people in one family: a grandmother, a mother and a daughter. I enjoyed this project because I felt I was gaining a small glimpse into some of the family dinner conversations of my students.

Below are several of the short videos, and the rest will be posted to our Vimeo and Youtube channels in the coming days. Goodbye to Hyderabad for now, but our return will mean launching into our final projects, a trip to Google headquarters and reaching new heights with our students!

6
Sep

Who Says?

I have to thank Selena Gomez for helping me achieve a recent feel-good moment.  Her song,
“Who Says,” lent itself to a lesson I created about bullying. For those of you less strangely in tune with the world of Disney Channel music than myself, here are her lyrics:

 

 

 

“I wouldn’t wanna be anybody else

 You made me insecure,

Told me I wasn’t good enough.
But who are you to judge
When you’re a diamond in the rough?
I’m sure you got some things
You’d like to change about yourself.
But when it comes to me
I wouldn’t want to be anybody else.

The girls did not know what I meant by bullying. Besides the fact that this is a strange English word (if you say it enough times you will start to feel that you are speaking gibberish), they did not know how to identify bullying’s basic components. Why? These components are built into the everyday school life of these girls. I’ve watched one girl pinch another into submission. I’ve overheard conversations about excluding a girl that is not as well liked. I’ve grown impatient as the girls who always listen when their friends speak in class deliberately talk to each other while another who never shares finally gets up the courage.

There is not anything particularly sinister about these incidents. These girls are eighth graders; middle school is famous for being one of the most difficult times of adolescence. We’ve come to know and love all of our students and I’m 100 percent confident that each one will grow to be a thoughtful and compassionate adult.

What does bother me is the institutionalized nature of bullying in our schools. The brightest students tend to be favored to an extent that can squelch the chances of others to thrive. While I was able to find a few campaigns against cyber-bullying in India, I struggled to uncover any anti-bullying efforts or resources for schools. Ten minutes into my lesson, I realized I was in over my head. How can you teach anti-bullying in a twenty-minute rotation when its basic premises are just not the norm? At the end of the day I felt quite discouraged and fairly certain that the only part of the lesson that worked was Selena’s peppy video.  Imagine my joy at coming across this original story in one of the student journals the next day:

“Once upon a time there was a garden. There were many flowers with beautiful colours except the Datura Flower. All the flowers in the garden teased Datura Flower. Datura Flower felt, “it’s not my fault to be like this!” All the flowers are colourful and they tease the colourless flower, saying “dirty flower,” etc. But one day God appears and takes the Datura Flower. All the other flowers say, “it’s not a colourful flower.” God said, “oh, I know but it is a good flower. This flower is not bullying any one.” So good people do not do bullying.”

She also included this drawing:

Sometimes the surprises are the best part about teaching, and these little gems are what make any moments of doubt seem irrelevant.

(Disclaimer: be prepared to play Selena’s video more times than you thought possible if you ever decide to show it to a group of girls in a school in India!)

 

 

 

 

23
Aug

The Birthday Biryani and The Rainy Day

The time has come to officially post the TMS photo stories of 2012!  All the videos are available for your viewing enjoyment on our Youtube and Vimeo channels, but I wanted to write specifically about the Audiah Memorial and Bansilalpet photo projects. While the students of Railway School were assigned a poem by William Wordsworth to interpret photographically, our AIF schools had the added challenge of writing and storyboarding their own original ideas. With the hopes of prompting some “change the world” thoughts, Emily and I held a cause-and-effect lesson.  We talked with the students about how one action can often have multiple, unforeseen effects. We crafted several mini-stories out of photographs pulled from the web. The classic example of someone throwing a stone into still waters and thereby causing continuous ripples proved particularly helpful in getting our point across.

From this lesson we moved into a brainstorming session, which was easily one of the most fun and exciting days for us at these two schools. The students thought of stories about the carelessness that can lead to life-changing traffic accidents.  They talked about the dangers of bad habits such as smoking, and the impact of one person using a trash bin instead of the street. Once everyone’s creative juices were flowing, we moved into making a full story based (loosely) on the cause-and-effect theme. Emily and I really tried to sit back and let the students take the reins. We were rewarded by two very different stories: one about the good and bad effects of Hyderabadi rain, the other about the rewards of perseverance.

We liked both stories for their connection to life in Hyderabad and for the fact that they were pieced together by all of the students in each class. That is, every student contributed in at least one way to the final product.  Since some of our students are significantly less outspoken or less brave with the cameras than others, we felt that this inclusiveness was an important achievement.

At Audiah Memorial, we discovered that a balance is needed between action and planning. While our brainstorming and storyboarding sessions were very useful, some of the best ideas came spontaneously when we were shooting images for the story. Bansilalpet stuck more closely to the script, but also came up with some excellent on-the-spot solutions when their original ideas weren’t living up to their expectations.

At both schools, making the photo stories was an incredibly fun and rewarding process. We have high hopes for the next piece in the TMS puzzle: video shorts!

14
Aug

Caterpillars and Characters

“Wow! That’s a very green caterpillar! Don’t come near me!” I watch as Tulasi, normally quite reserved, stretches her face into a grimace and shouts these words at the camera. Earlier, I had shown the girls a short clip of an actress “reading with expression.” The actress changes her voice to represent various characters in a story, and the girls were impressed. We watched the clip several times (upon request) and then launched into a “reading with expression” session. I shocked the girls a bit by going first and choosing to sing about the green caterpillar. My fake opera seemed to encourage them to be a little more daring, and they giggled as they used exaggerated enunciation and varied their tones for the different words.

A few days before, Kelly, Asma and I had listened to the girls’ first few rounds of voiceovers for their “Spring Morning” photo story. The girls knew the lines, but rattled them off in a monotone, unintelligible breath before ending with “thank you.”  We knew we needed to help them discover how to convey emotion with their voices. In the process of practicing, I learned that we have several potential actresses in our class. Sudeepika wrote down her caterpillar line and promised to rehearse reading in different voices as extra homework. While some girls would blurt out the lines in the first silly voice that came to mind, Sushma thought about which parts she wanted to emphasize before speaking. All the girls improved their voiceover “style.” And we certainly had fun changing our voices!

One of the best parts about the last few weeks has been solidifying our relationships with each of our students. We’ve come to know more about their individual personalities, family backgrounds, strengths and weaknesses. At Bansilalpet, Bhavani dreams of being a fashion designer and is one of our master photographers. At Audiah Memorial, Rohit is our go-to for brilliant ideas. Divya keeps Bhushan in check while Yakamma is always cheerful. The students have become more comfortable in class, and we have come to genuinely enjoy and appreciate their individuality. This new familiarity also brings forth new challenges. As Kelly pointed out, the “novelty” of TMS has worn off. The students are more restless, completing tasks more quickly and ready for more. While I prefer to have our students less in awe of us as teachers and less timid around the camera, we must find ways to expand our lessons to keep pace with their growth.

Our first short video unit lessons have also uncovered some hidden strengths in some of our students. Mamatha has a knack for thinking of follow-up questions on the spot, and Divya Sree can quickly direct and frame an interview shot. I greatly enjoyed watching the girls work together as a team during these first practice interviews!

I also want to give a shout out to our volunteer Praneet, who has been an invaluable help with translations and with encouraging the students at Audiah. He is embarking on the next phase of his education and we will miss him in the classroom!! Meanwhile…we will continue to mine the gems hidden in the imaginations of our students as we progress through our first video stories.

19
Jul

From Toy to Tool

Last week we wrapped up the annual TMS photo scavenger hunt with all of our schools. The scavenger hunt is one of the first exercises that really allows the students to get creative with the camera, and we came to class excited to see what the day would hold. Railway’s 8A was as energetic as ever, but within the first few moments of the hunt we realized something was missing. We had spent several classes working on writing and visualizing letters to the world—notes that express the girls’ thoughts on local and global issues.  Some girls wrote about the importance of education, others wrote of tolerance and still others described the value of passion and friendship. We spent a day making collages of the letters.  The thoughtfulness and sincerity that came from the girls during these exercises made us very hopeful for our future projects.  So now that the girls stood with cameras at the ready, where was that sense of purposeful thinking? Most of the girls were creative enough in terms of turning every item on the scavenger hunt list into a way to take snapshots of friends. We really had to encourage them to think like photographers; to take a moment to plan the best way to shoot a topic; to deliberate as a team; to pay less attention to whose turn it was with the camera and focus more on why we are using the camera in the first place. As expected, the scavenger hunt was incredibly fun for everyone involved, with tree climbing, dancing and even teachers running across the yard. More importantly, it was our first chance to move from viewing the camera as a toy to thinking of it as a tool for expression.

At our other schools, scavenger hunt day gave us a chance to see our AIF students in action—and we were amazed! Since we only see these students twice a week, we are still becoming familiar with the class dynamics and the students’ ways of problem solving. Language barriers tend to make self-expression in these classes a bit more difficult. The fact that the camera uses a language of its own broke down inhibitions and drew the students out of their shells. We learned that the camera can really be used to instill a quick and effective dose of confidence. I can’t wait to get the cameras back into the hands of these students!

24
Jun

Railway Potential

Potential: The first word that comes to mind after a week of teaching Railway Class 8A. The girls have strong personalities, a willingness to learn and seemingly endless excitement. Perhaps even more importantly, our classes have already seen hints of the girls’ creativity come into play. This combination could lead to truly remarkable outcomes from the semester.  As the three of us navigate the newness of living and teaching in India, it occurred to me that these girls are simultaneously starting on their own journeys of discovery. We will both be faced with many challenges. As fellows, we seek to find ways to fall into step with the rhythm of Hyderabad and to develop our voices as teachers. At the same time, I especially hope that we can help the girls build their own sense of belonging in the digital world.

Our first three classes introduced photographs as sources of stories, the concept of matching words with pictures and the difference between subtitles and voiceovers. We integrated drawing exercises into each class. One girl drew Kelly and me in India:

Kelly and Dana in India

We appear to be saluting the Indian flag. This topic was not the assignment (we had asked them to draw a visual interpretation of a letter they had written for homework), but the drawing conjured all kinds of emotions in me. I was touched that Devipriya wanted to draw us and pleased that she gave us bindis and smiles. Mostly, I was curious about the salute. Is she hoping that we will come to love India? In a strange way, the drawing gave me a strong sense of humility. I’m so thankful to have a hand in contributing to the global education of these students. The next several months will be spent working to live up to both the legacy of past fellows and the sense of obligation to the students—who truly deserve a chance to raise their voices.

14
Jun

Introducing: Dana

Hello TMS! This is Dana, one of three new fellows eager for the 2012 semester. I’m writing this first (of many!) posts in my backyard in Colorado. It’s spring here, with roses blooming in full force and robins singing with gusto.  As I sit enjoying the unusually warm breeze, I am also savoring an undercurrent of excitement. There is nothing better than a new beginning, and in just a few days I will be embarking on a truly fantastic journey.  I’m looking forward to getting to know Hyderabad and to practicing Hindi, but mostly I cannot wait to become a part of The Modern Story.

I graduated this May with a B.S in Journalism and a Certificate in International Media. I studied diligently in many classes that taught the ins-and-outs of global journalism. In one of my reporting courses, we read a book called Telling True Stories. I still have my copy, because this poignant book revealed that storytelling– journalistic or otherwise–makes the world go ’round.

Pulitzer Prize winner Jacqui Banaszynski wrote the first chapter, titled “Stories Matter.” She says, “stories make us human…stories are our soul.” Like Banaszynski, I believe that stories provide voices and perspectives essential for tying humanity together. Luckily, today’s age of digital technology allows us to easily share our stories with the rest of the world. This process of sharing can be empowering, educational and moving.

In many ways, The Modern Story carries the same message as Telling True Stories, which is why I am thrilled to have a part in fulfilling the mission of TMS.  So while enjoying these last few days in Colorado, I’ll be dreaming of the stories we’ll be telling in the coming months!

TMS Meets Dana from The Modern Story on Vimeo.