A lesson followed by an interactive session…? A double treat indeed! On the 12th March 2009, we had a wonderful time interacting with Ms. Elizabeth Burr, an English teacher from Reepham High School, Norfolk. She was here, in India for 8 weeks on a teaching assignment, a different experience during a year long sabbatical.
It was certainly nice of her to stop at Chennai to visit our school. She took a class on descriptive writing which was very enjoyable. She told us to work in pairs and pretend that our partners were aliens! We then had to describe any object on earth in such an effective way that the alien would recognize it. It wasn’t as easy as it seemed to be, and after this fun activity, we analyzed and concluded by deciding the key points of an effective description.
After the class, we had an interactive session with Ms. Burr in our Dean and Director, Mrs. YGP’s room. She told us about her experiences in India. She said that she was just back from Sivakasi after teaching at Sruthi Vidyalaya (an ICSE board school). She had learnt a lot about Sivakasi from her host, Ms. Durga, the principal there. She helped the 9th and 10th graders with Descriptive writing, in addition to helping the 10th graders prepare for their ICSE board exams. While teaching the sixth, seventh and eighth graders, she worked on storytelling, drama and Shakespeare. “The experience was great…,” she said with a smile.
When asked about Reepham, she told us quite a lot about the school. It is a government funded school and they have an extensive curriculum including subjects like agriculture, for those interested. The school organizes a series of extra curricular activities like dramas and plays, and they work from 8:40 in the morning to about 3:30 in the afternoon. The parents there are very supportive and the children are extremely enthusiastic and disciplined.
On a comparative note, “Students in PSBB and Reepham High School, all have the same concentration span,” she said with a laugh. “Children are interested to learn in both schools, and they all share a similar enthusiasm and eagerness to participate.” She added that the teaching was very good in Reepham and the infrastructure a bit better because of greater availability of space and the generous funding by the Government.
Reepham holds students upto class 10 right now, but they hope to expand to accommodate upto class 12 by September, when Ms. Burr returns to Norfolk. She said, “There are about 870 students now, and we expect to have 150 to 200 more.” She also told us that two astronauts had come to Reepham. “Our Head of PE, Ms. Lake went to Florida in the school holidays and when she visited the space centre, she arranged for two astronauts to meet the students of Reepham.”
She then told us a little about herself. In answer to a question posed, she said that although teaching isn’t the first choice for many, it was for her. She loved the company of young people and she loved to teach. “There are no teachers in my family, both my parents were nurses, but I chose to teach, and I have been teaching for 16 years now, having started at the youngest age possible.” She is doing a course on creative writing, which she would like to pursue. She wishes to continue her own writing and develop her creativity. She loved her stay in India and feels that the hospitality here is great. “Outsiders are welcomed heartily. They are quick to talk to you.” She laughs, “The British are known for their reserve, but in India, people are easy to speak to!!” She feels glad that teachers are respected here. “They are held in high esteem and people are interested in learning from you and from each other. It’s very rewarding” she concludes.
By:
Abhiroop Bose
Anuradha Rao
Mayanka P.
Padmapriya G.
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