Karis

MGM takes on Swachh Bharat (before Modi)

One of India’s currently most talked about civic works movements is Swachh Bharat– Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign to sweep the country’s streets clean of rubbish. MGM students were a step ahead of the Prime Minister, pointing out the issues with garbage on the streets and the poor infrastructure around trash pick up before the campaign even began. With this in mind, they have created a visual letter to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) discussing their issues and complaints around garbage in the city. They also include short fiction stories about how garbage affects citizens’ lives.

These students also brought up an important detail that specifically pertains to Hyderabad: population growth and infrastructure issues that arise because of it. From 2001 to 2011, Hyderabad’s population grew 87 percent, now resting at about 8 million. This massive influx of people, mostly from rural areas searching for better opportunities, has drastically changed the city and infrastructure has not necessarily kept up. I was really impressed with these students for noticing the nuances and context of this issue. Perhaps PM Modi should take notice!

This video is one of a series of three short movies that the students produced focused on spreading a message about an issue in their community. The students came up with the concepts, scripts, and shots on their own, in addition to doing all the filming and most of the editing.  Given these are their first movies, I am really impressed at the outcome!


Hyderabad, India to Ranong, Thailand

October has been a bit of a “swiss cheese” month in terms of classes given a 15-day Dussehra break, Eid al-Adha, quarterly exams, and (this week) Diwali, but students have been working hard with the few classes we have been given.

My school, Seetaphalmandi, is doing a classroom exchange with my friends (and fellow Loyola alums) Nick and Kristin’s class in Ranong, Thailand. We sent them this short video about our school just before the end of September and were thrilled to get a response video about two weeks after! Here are the first two videos in our exchange, and be sure to stay tuned for more updates about Seetaphalmandi Government High School and Anuban Ranong School!

 


Seetaphalmandi: Brothers and Sisters

Here is the first project from Seetaphalmandi Government High School in 2014. Though we got started a little bit later than other classes due to some administrative confusion, the late class schedule corresponded perfectly with a popular festival in India called Raksha Bandhan which celebrate the relationship between sisters and brothers.

Essentially a sister ties a “rakhi”, which is an embroidered bracelet, to her brother’s wrist and the brother gives the sister gifts. They both promise to protect and support one anther. Since all of the students at Seetaphalmandi have siblings and celebrate this holiday, we decided to show off an important tradition by explaining the Raksha Bandhan holiday and exploring what it means to be a good brother and sister. Enjoy!


MGM: “Our Precious Parents”

Proud to show off the first project by MGM Government Girl’s High School in 2014, “Our Precious Parents.” Initially I wasn’t sure what we would do our project on. MGM is filled with many unique and multi-faceted students that surprised me with new thoughts everyday. I wasn’t sure what would bring them together. For homework I asked them to draw a picture of something that was precious to them, giving an example of my bike as something that was precious to me. However, as they worked on their drawings it became clear what, or should I say who, is most precious to them: their parents.

Almost every student had something kind to say about their mother or father and sentences about lessons they had learned and experiences with their parents. With that in mind, I thought why not look into this relationship? So students brainstormed lessons their parents taught them, a poem about parents, and what makes a good daughter. Here is the final product. Enjoy!


The Day That Hyderabad Stood Still

Ask any of us fellows to describe Hyderabad, and inevitably one of the adjectives will be “chaotic.” Hyderabad is notorious even among Indians for its complete lack of traffic etiquette, in which everyone from the pedestrians to busses to cows thinks they have complete jurisdiction over the road. Walking, biking, and driving as though everyone should get out of your way is not a choice, but the only means to survive in the gnarly traffic congestion. Aside from the traffic, the city’s diverse population offers different languages, religions, and cuisine on every corner. In our schools, cramped classrooms, and constant festival interruptions can also foster a sense of chaos while teaching. Combined, it is a lot for the brain to handle, but rest assured it is never boring. Which is why we have all come to love it.

But that all changed for one day this week. On Tuesday, Rachel and I decided to run an errand. We had class off due to a government-mandated holiday, but different holidays and festivals pop up quite often so we didn’t think much of it. Then we actually walked outside.

Our normally bustling street was entirely deserted. Not a single auto, car, motorbike, or even a stray dog in sight. There were one or two people walking silently, alone, down the block and a man at a nearby samosa stand quietly frying his snacks, but that was it—Hyderabad had shut down. As we walked to the main road, the silence and lack of traffic persisted, and became almost creepy. We made it to the main four-lane road that usually teems with traffic, but on Tuesday we could have walked down the middle of the avenue safely for miles. We quickly realized the errand wasn’t going to happen.

The reason for this shut down was a massive survey of Telangana. It was sort of like a census, but with more economic implications—government workers asked for things like bank account numbers and property owned. It was both to take measure of how many people qualified for welfare programs, but also to fully understand who makes up the state of Telangana and what they need. For the newest state in India, taking note of these statistics will be key to making the state successful in the future.

But in the meantime, students and teachers are especially feeling the growing pains. One of my principals said he feels the current group of students may become a “lost generation” as their schooling may end up riddled with assessments and surveys to better understand how to improve Telangana’s literacy rates and school systems. As Andhra Pradesh and Telangana grapple with dividing electricity between two separate states, frequent power cuts darken classrooms and cut into any digital learning efforts. Teachers are also being tasked with many of these extra efforts. While Rachel and I were able to at least go home and continue lesson planning, teachers at both my schools were appointed to conduct the survey because they are government workers. This meant taking precious days off to knock on citizens’ doors and ensure they had given their information to the government.

Though these steps are necessary for the greater good of the state and students and India, it made me think about how we ensure students learn, even while we search for solutions to education’s issues.

Here in India, being as consistent as possible has been key. Even though the last month has been riddled with holidays, interruptions, and festivals, whenever we show up to class students seem increasingly confident that we aren’t going to let their sometimes helter-skelter schedules get in the way of making films. Talking about it is good too—both with teachers and students. Teachers appreciate a well-deserved sympathetic ear and students are eager to talk about their festival celebrations. Other than that, the basics of being a good teacher apply: be as enthusiastic as possible, encourage thoughts outside of class, convince the students to be as hungry for TMS class as possible—a task not too difficult given they get to take photos and videos most days. Even after a two-week break from Railway Girl’s School due to holidays and an Independence Day celebration, I was so impressed that students jumped right back into their project without missing a beat.

I also think this has implications in the United States, where education reform is a divisive topic. Right now public education is being tested, prodded, and examined from every possible angle by activists, politicians, and business owners. Think about the methods we are trying out as solutions: Common Core, charter schools, Teach for America. Will they work? Many are gambling students’ only education in hopes that these programs make a difference.  Who’s to say we may look back one day at kids who are currently in class and call them the “lost generation” of students in the US?

It used to be that thinking about the attempted solutions in the US gave me more worry than hope. I still remain skeptical about most solutions, especially when they come from business-backed initiatives or claim to solve the problems of underserved districts by closing public schools. But being an educator has actually given me faith in one area of education: teachers. If teachers can create a sense of excitement passion and about learning that extends beyond the classroom, students will thrive even if a charter school ends up shutting down or assessments don’t provide conclusive results.

I’m still getting to that point in my own teaching, but I do feel that TMS has curriculum and projects that bring out intrinsic motivation that can carry with students for the rest of their lives. Critical thinking, creativity, and the ability to visually convey ideas far outlast any power cut or missed class. The key anywhere in the world, to me it seems, is supporting teachers that bring that out in their students, regardless of the policy solution of the day.


Packing “jugaad” in our toolbox

They said it takes about three weeks before you feel comfortable in front of a class, comfortable with the language barriers, surprise holidays, and commuting confusion.

Well we’re about three weeks in, and I’m happy to say that I, along with my fellows, have started to become comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Classes have been cut in attendance and size due to holidays and festivals that have dotted nearly every weekend of this month (particularly in Hyderabad, as the sizeable Muslim population has been celebrating Ramadan). Miscommunication with school administrators led to some classroom snafus. The language barrier has led to many an altered lesson plan, finding ways to communicate with students who have so much enthusiasm but without a verbal way to convey all their ideas.

But part of the beauty of these moments, while infuriating, has taught us the importance of thinking on our feet, and embracing “jugaad.” Jugaad is a Hindi phrase that Piya and Remy taught us when we first went though training. Roughly, it translates to “an innovative fix or a simple work-around” and is used to signify applying creativity to make something simple work. I’ve found that this is something learned best by experience, and the last few weeks have offered experience by the ton.

Then, when something finally works, the reward is that much more gratifying.

For example, in our Railway class last week, Nandini and I spent two classes devoted to audio recording and photography. The tasks were simple (record a sentence about something you like to taste, smell, touch, hear, or see, and take a photo of the drawing that represents the student’s sentence), but it didn’t entirely go as planned. Many students were thrilled for the chance to use the equipment, but struggled to record audio without cutting off their sentence and not burst into giggles, or take a satisfactory (in their minds) photo. Regardless, all the students completed the task, and Nandini and I put together a short video that combined all their recordings and photos into one video montage that showed off all the things that Railway Girls like to taste, smell, touch, hear, and see (ranging from smelling lotus flowers to seeing new words –see below). When we brought the finished project into the class to show the students, they watched it over and over, grinning with pride at their work and brimming with ideas about how to make it better. All were filled with a newfound confidence on the equipment. It was a good reminder that even if it feels like your creative solutions do not work, these little efforts pay off in the end.

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Outside of class jugaad has also come in handy. From realizing that Uber is much less likely to overcharge you than an auto driver to Rachel’s impressive creations on our one-and-a-half burner stove, adjusting has just become a part of everyday life. And going with the flow has led us to meeting some wonderful new friends and exploring Hyderabad. Below, you can see one of our adventures, a trip to the Bonalu festival in Secunderbad.

From here we move onto our classes’ first project: photo essays. No doubt it will bring little challenges, but at least we have jugaad in our toolbox.


Hello from Hyderabad!

Already I have found a hobby: active instagramming! Follow @themodernstory for more!

Already I have found a daily hobby: instagramming! Follow @themodernstory for more!

Hello! Karis here. I write this from our living room table, sweating in the 80-degree heat (though it is well into the night), and mind buzzing with the events of the last week.

I had an uneventful (even – dare I say it – pleasant!) trip to Hyderabad. My 15-hour flight from Chicago to Abu Dhabi was mostly filled with sleep and catching up on movies. I was bumped to business class from Abu Dhabi to Hyderabad. Though my second flight was slightly delayed, Remy also ran into a delay (in which the cab driver ran out of gas on the highway and they had to push the car to a gas station in order to get it running again), so we met at the international arrival gate at the same time. Despite visa, luggage, and flight anxiety, it all worked out quite smoothly. I am very thankful, and also hoping this doesn’t mean my luck will turn and my next flight will be a disaster (knock on wood).

Thankfully the theme of this past week was also easing anxiety, namely about teaching, living in India, and our responsibilities as a TMS fellow. From welcome activities that immediately got our mental gears turning about our own cultural identity, to teaching methods boot camp, to discussing ways to encourage and evaluate creative confidence, I felt immediately immersed in the TMS mission of telling personal, community, and global stories through building self-confidence and technical skills. It is what initially drew me to the organization, and having the chance to actually see what that will look like over the next six months was truly thought provoking and inspiring. It has also been wonderful getting to know my co-fellows. We often remarked throughout the week that we all come from very different backgrounds and have very different strengths, but we meet at our love for education and storytelling. What a great thing to have in common!

That being said, this week really laid out the challenges that lie ahead. Navigating language barriers, organizing with administration, and a brand new culture is quite intimidating and I am certainly feeling the pressure. However, I also believe the most beautiful moments in life happen when you feel lost. I found those moments this week when we visited Railway Girls School, and had a chance to see the bright, smiling faces of our future students, and a centering night of community with local teachers, artists, and filmmakers at a Hyderabad community center (where I even ran into someone who previously lived in the same neighborhood that I did in Boston!)

Hyderabad can feel kaleidoscopic in its chaotic traffic, cultural diversity, and overflowing streets. I’m looking forward to finding more little windows into its soul through moments like the ones above in coming months.

In other words: I’m thrilled to be here. Stay tuned!


Meet Karis

When you’re young, you’re likely to have big dreams. Mine were pretty much as big as you can imagine. From year to year I decided I was destined to be a professional soccer player, a fashion designer, a CEO, and even a dolphin trainer. However, throughout all of these ambitious career choices, I kept doing one thing, just because I loved it: storytelling. I made newspapers for my friends, classes, and family starting at age seven, and started taking photos daily when I was 12. Finally one day I wised up and realized that I should probably think about doing what I did everyday anyway for a living. So I decided to become a professional storyteller, or as I usually call it, a journalist.

That dream has become a reality in some of the most incredible ways. I’ve reported for major newspapers and radio stations, and traveled to every corner of cities and around the world in the search for a story. To me, storytelling is the best way to make sense of your life, explore a new place, and interact with others. If you can put a human face on an issue or explain a complicated idea in a simple way, oftentimes you have made sense of it yourself and you can convince people to make a difference in the world. I’m motivated by action, and I’ve found a notebook and camera is the best way for me to spur action in the world. Storytelling was also the only way that I dealt with some tough issues in my life. Growing up, especially when you’re young, can be quite challenging. Asking questions, writing down thoughts, and expressing yourself in words and pictures is one of the best ways to explain your feelings and show the world the importance of your story. With that in mind, while I did journalism on my own, I also volunteered and worked with students to help them tell the stories of their communities and their lives in order to empower the next generation of storytellers.
So when a friend sent me information about The Modern Story, I knew it was the perfect opportunity for me. I’m so excited to travel to a new place, meet new people, learn about Hyderabad (and India), and instill a love of storytelling in more young people. Though it will be quite a bit hotter than my current home, Minnesota, I’m ready and absolutely thrilled to brave the temperatures and travel to Hyderabad to work with The Modern Story and its partners.