Our Friend Reports- more than just writing

One day, a concerned fourth grade student shyly approached me and explained that she had been in a big fight with a good friend and did not know what to do. After speaking with this student, I began to notice the tension that was dividing the class. In a class that consists of six students (on  a good day) there is no room for animosity between peers. So, I decided to design a project to help students explore what makes a good friend, and hopefully bring a sense of cohesion back to the class. 

Before designing the project, I reviewed the class four government curriculum standards. Learning adjectives (describing words) is emphasized in the curriculum. Writing simple paragraphs is included as well. Reflecting upon my student's learning styles, I recognized that the class consists primarily of visual learners--students who learn fluidly through the use of pictures and visual aids. Thus, the idea of "friend reports" came to mind. I designed the week-long project to include an intensive study of adjectives and vocabulary words that are used to describe "good friends" and "bad friends." Subsequently, through guided writing, students reviewed what makes a sentence. This served as a transition into studying what makes a paragraph.  Once this was understood, each student wrote and illustrated their own unique "friend report" showcasing their new knowledge of adjectives, paragraph writing, and their respect for a friend/classmate. Check out the process through pictures below: 

Students use post-it notes to categorize adjectives that describe "good friends" and "bad friends" 

Girls practice their teamwork skills by working with partners 

Bad friends are "greedy"! 

The two girls who were fighting worked together as partners 

Bad friends are "rude" 

I made an example of a friend report about one of my friends to show the students what I expected them to do. 

Lisa is also a Fulbright ETA and is a good friend of mine! 

Students diligently write their rough drafts. 

I gave students guiding questions for each paragraph to frame their writing like:
1. What is your friend's name?
2. How old is your friend?
3. What grade does your friend study in?
4. What are two positive adjectives that describe your friend? 

After the students were able to write the answers to the questions, they re-wrote the answers (without the questions) to create a simple paragraph. 

For three days, each student wrote a new paragraph each day, following the same guided writing process 

Students worked very hard

The students were very focused on their work

After finishing their rough drafts (and correcting all mistakes) students were given nice paper and colored pens for their final drafts 

Purnima carefully designs her cover page 

The students are in the focused zone! 

I could hear the goats in the field while the students worked 

Purnima's portrait of Sumitra 

Sarsworti's portrait of Sangita 

"Look, it's you!" 

Students are excited to show and share their work! 

(and...our next unit will review capital and lower case letters...) 

The final draft! 

Sumitra smiles as Purnima shares her friend report with the class 

We CAN draw! 

We CAN read! 

We CAN write! 

We CAN smile! 

Songwriting Workshop at English Access Camp

This week, Lisa, Ellen, and I packed our bags and hit the local buses to give a presentation on American culture and lead some workshops at the English Access Microscholarship Program Camp in Pokhara, Nepal. Sponsored by the US Embassy and NELTA, the "Access" program provides a foundation of English language skills to talented 13-20 year-olds  from economically disadvantaged sectors through after-school classes and intensive leadership learning activities, like English Access Camp!  (you can learn more about the Access Program  here)

It was really exciting being a part of the camp! The students were exceptionally friendly, thoughtful, creative, and represent a bright future for Nepal. 

Highlights from my experience include leading eight 40-minute songwriting workshops with Lisa. Each workshop consisted of ten students. In each session, students discussed why people make music and explored how different songs can make us feel different emotions. After singing "Country Roads" by John Denver, we learned that to write a song, we must first select a topic. Students then had a short 1-minute meditation in which they turned inwards to find meaningful song topics. Once all the topics were shared and listed on the whiteboard, the students democratically voted to determine their group's song topic. Subsequently, students brainstormed phrases and words related to their selected topic with a buddy. As a group, the lyrics from each song were pulled directly from the students' brainstormed ideas. 

You can check out a video of the student's songs below! Enjoy. 

Meet Sarswoti

This is a picture of our newest 1st grade student, Sarswoti Tamang. She is only four-years-old. About one week ago, she ran away to school with her brother Prabin Tamang, who studies in class two. At lunch time, her mother tried to take her home, but Sarswoti refused, demanding to have a chance to go to school just like her brother.

Sarswoti has not missed a day of school since. She comes to school each day with the biggest smile on her face. She has enjoyed making new friends, and loves all of her teachers. She can already draw a circle and write the letters "L", "T", "C" and "O" perfectly! That is very fast progress for a four-year-old who has only been in school for a week! I have never met a child who is so genuinely excited to learn. Her name "Sarswoti" is truly fitting because "Sarswoti" is the Hindu goddess of knowledge and learning. What an exceptional child!

Sarswoti, Prabin, and class two friends play pretend school during their break time. 

Village Sister, City Brother: The Script of our 5th Grade Play

It is hard to believe that almost eight months have gone by. My heart sinks when I think about how difficult it will be to leave my students and host family in only one month. I have fallen in love a thousand times over with the resilient smiles of children who are ready to learn each morning despite the myriad sufferings of life's unyielding journey. In these last days, I try to capture how lucky I am as I embark upon my beautiful morning walk to school, amid the rice paddies and farms, the warm namastes from everyone I pass—I will not forget that this has been my home.

On one of my morning walks, I began to write a story in my mind as I reflected upon the countless times I met mothers along the dirt path asking me to take their children to America. I was overwhelmed with the impulse to leave my students with a story about the struggle of experiencing a sense of belonging in today's developing world. But, I did not just want students to hear the story, I wanted them to experience the story. Thus, later that night, I sat down and wrote the following play for my 5^th grade students. The play will be performed on my last day of school, along with songs, and a learning gallery in which each class will present the beautiful work they have created over the past eight months. In many ways, this play is a metaphor representing what I have learned from the exceptional students through our eight months together. I hope that the play will touch their hearts like they have touched mine.

Village Sister, City Brother

Narrator 1:
Once upon a time, in a small village, a twin brother and twin sister were born. Their mother and father were very happy, and they loved them very much,

Narrator 2:
When the twins were twelve years old, there was a very cold winter. All the plants in the village died, and there was no food.

Father:
We are going to the city to look for food.

Mother:
We will return to the village in one week.

Narrator 3:
But a month passed by, and they did not return. Soon, news came to the village that the twin's parents had died.

Narrator 4:
The twins were very sad, and did not know what to do. They had no money, and no food. They missed their parents very much.

Narrator 1:
There was one man in the village who owned a small restaurant. He wanted to help them.

Restaurant Owner: (to sister)
If you come and clean and cook at my restaurant, I will give you some food.

Sister: (to brother) 
What should I do?

Brother: (to sister)
You should do what you can to survive.

Narrator 2:
So, the young girl agreed to cook and clean dishes at the small restaurant. She was very sad because she could not go to school.

Narrator 3:
The restaurant owner also had a brother who lived in the city.

Restaurant Owner: (to brother)
A young boy like you does not belong in a village like this. You should go to the city and live with my brother. In the city     you can study at a good school.

Narrator 4:
Thus, the young boy decided to leave the village to study in the city.

Brother: (to sister)
I will miss you.

Narrator 1:
And with those words, he left the village where his grandfather's grandfather had been born.

Narrator 2:
A year passed by, and both the brother and sister were very sad.

Brother:
I dislike the city very much. I have no family here, I have no friends. All I do is study. I miss the clean village air; I miss the farms and the friendly people—I miss my sister.

Sister:
I dislike the village very much. People treat me like property because I am a girl. I want to go to school. I want to  learn. I want to make a difference in the world. All I do is wash dishes and cook food all day. I wish I was in the city.

Narrator 3:
One day, the brother called his sister.

Brother: (talking on the phone)
I want to come back to the village.

Sister: (talking on the phone)
Good, because I want to go to the city.

Narrator 4:
So, the brother and sister decided to change places.

Narrator 1:
At first, the brother was happy in the village. The air was clean, and the people were friendly. But soon, he too became tired of washing dishes and cooking food all day.

Brother:
I dislike the village very much. I miss going to school. I miss my sister. I don't belong in the village, and I don't  belong in the city. I don't know where I belong.

Narrator 2:
At first the sister was happy to be in the city. She loved going to school, but the other students were not kind to her.

Unkind Student 1:
 Hey village girl, go milk some goats.
(Unkind Student 2 and Unkind Teacher laugh)

Unkind Student 2:
Village girl can't even read.
(Unkind Student 1 and Unkind Teacher laugh)

Unkind Teacher:
Village girl is so stupid.
(Unkind Student 1 and Unkind Student 2 laugh)

Narrator 3:
The girl felt so sad. It was not her fault that she had not been allowed to go to school when she was small because she was a girl. All her life, she had dreamed of going to school, but now she did not want to go to school anymore because her teacher and classmates were so unkind.

Sister:
I dislike the city very much. The people are so unkind. I don't know if I ever want to go to school again. I don't belong in the city, and I don't belong in the village. I don't know where I belong.

Narrator 4:
One day, the brother called his sister again, and told her that he did not belong in the city, and that he did not belong in the   village.

Brother: (talking on the phone)
I miss you sister, I want to see you again.

Sister: (talking on the phone)
I miss you too dear brother. Let us meet in between the village and the city tomorrow and we can  talk.

Narrator 1:
The next day, the sister and brother traveled to the town between the village and the city. Before they could talk to each other, they met a kind teacher on the side of the road.

Teacher:
Welcome! Come quickly, you are going to miss the lesson. 

Brother:
But...but….we are not…

Teacher:
Oh, don't worry, we have been waiting for you to come.
(The kind teacher takes them to his school. The brother and sister are very confused.)

Kind Student 1:
 Welcome! Where are you from?

Kind Student 2:
Welcome! What is your name?

Kind Student 3:
Welcome! Do you want to visit my house after school?

Brother:
Maybe we should stay here, the people are so friendly and kind.

Sister:
Yes, maybe we should stay here, this is such a nice school.

Brother:
And there are farms with fresh vegetables.

Sister:
And the air is clean.

Brother:
We can keep what we love about our culture, but also move forward.

Sister:
And we can be together.

Brother:
Yes, we can be together.

Whole Class:
We all can be together.

Our Morning Verse

Inspired by the Waldorf model, I  created a morning verse for my students to recite at the beginning of each class. Since implementing the verse in grades 2-5, I have found the students to be more focused and ready to learn.

Building routines and setting high expectations for student learning and participation have been essential ingredients in creating a safe and nurturing classroom environment where all students feel comfortable speaking in English. The repetition of routines like our morning verse, days of the week, weather girl/boy, and word of the day, have brought forth tremendous progress in the never-ending process of learning English.

The following video shows my forth grade students reciting the morning verse. When I first arrived at my school, I was told they would never be able to speak English because they were so shy. While it took a few months to get the students speaking, once the barrier was broken, through the help of routines and repetition, each student has become an active participant in the classroom, eager to speak in English with enthusiasm.

I learn with courage 

I teach with love 

I grow with knowledge 

I know with truth

A 35th Wedding Anniversary

On January 22nd, my Nepali family gathered for a very special celebration--the 35th wedding anniversary of our wonderful host parents. My two sisters came all the way from Kathmandu to celebrate alongside Samjana (my second youngest sister), Sankelpa (my youngest sister), and Saugat (my brother).

Typically, wedding anniversaries are not celebrated in Nepal. A few years ago, though, my host siblings were watching a television show and learned about the celebration of wedding anniversaries. Shortly after, they decided to start the family tradition of celebrating our parent's wedding anniversary each year as an expression of love and gratitude for our wonderful family.

It has been fascinating to learn the story of how my host parents got married, grew to love each other, and eventually created a family. The concept of marriage is very different in Nepal than in America, because the vast vast majority of marriages, even today, are arranged. I have been inspired by many of the couples I have met and the depth of love that they have for one another. Of course, this is not always the case, but it has been interesting to meet so many happy couples that are the result of arranged marriages. It makes me wonder about and question the ingredients needed to create a loving, trusting, and successful relationship.

My host  mother was just twelve years old and was studying in fourth grade when her parents told her that she was getting married. Can you imagine? She was forced to drop out of school, and moved into her in-law's house, where she was forced to cook, clean and do intensive farming labor. My host father was slightly older, a fifteen-year-old sixth grade student, when he was married. He continued going to school, and for most of his teenage years, looked to my aamaa (mother) as a friend rather than a wife.

As the years passed, my host father continued his education and began to understand some of the oppressive practices that marginalized the village women. He began to have more respect for women and the laborious work they did to sustain life in the village. Through his work as a teacher, he began to work towards empowering the women of the village by giving them knowledge, which in many developing countries can be a ticket to freedom. Slowly, my host parents began to love each other as my aamaa began to feel respected and valued as a hardworking wife.

In 1989, they welcomed their first child into the world--a daughter. They decided that no matter what, she would go to school and have an education to open the doors of her life. Shortly after, a second daughter was born, then and third, and a fourth. Today, not only do each of the girls understand the value of education and attend school, but all four of my host sisters are the first students' in their respective classes. My didi (older sister) is now twenty-six-years-old, and is finishing her studies to become a nurse. She was married a year ago, at the age of twenty-five, instead of twelve. It is amazing to see how opportunities for women have changed from the generation of my aamaa to the generation of her daughters. Not only is the 35th wedding anniversary of my host  parents worth celebrating, but the resilience of them growing into love and creating opportunities for their daughters is inspirational and worth celebrating on many levels.

Yum!!! My host siblings had a special cake made just for their parents!

My wonderful Nepali parents! 

The family! (minus Saugat, who took this picture)

The Family!

My host siblings saved their money for a few months to buy their parents a special anniversary gift!