Typical school day experiences of indian children in different contexts

Childhood Education, Winter 2002/2003 by Jaya, N, Malar, G

SCHOOL DAY PROFILE 2

Rohini is a 10-year-old girl from the tribal community of the Badugas, located in the rich green valleys among the Blue Mountains in southern India. The Badugas are a close-knit community that migrated from the neighboring state of Karnataka and settled in the mountain ranges of northwest Tamil Nadu. They adhere to distinct language and cultural traditions that vary from those followed by the local inhabitants, the Tamils. The Badugas are a farm- and dairy-based community that only recently began pursuing formal education. For example, Rohini's parents were the first generation of literates in her family; they encouraged their younger siblings and their children to pursue education as well.

Rohini attends a rural public school accommodating students (mostly the children of the Baduga community, as well as a few native Tamils) from preschool to grade 5. The medium of instruction is English, a second language in both communities, and the teaching content adheres to the state syllabi.

Getting Ready To Go to School

As is common in most Baduga families, Rohini's grandparents and other relatives live together as an extended family. Family members help cook, do household and farm chores, and groom the children for school. The children eat breakfast separately. The adults pack meals for the children's lunches, and then drop off the children at school. Rohini spends the 15 minutes or so traveling to school sharing anecdotes and jokes with her companions; she says that much informal instruction is imparted during these fun-filled trips.

Time Before Class

The children usually reach school only a little before the morning assembly begins; Rohini loves to be the first to arrive at school. She takes the opportunity to romp around the tiny but picturesque school campus that is her newfound world. The younger students like Rohini usually spend any spare time before the morning prayer engrossed in playing around the campus. The older students clean and dust; arrange desks and benches; water plants; and adorn the blackboards with drawings, adages, and details of students' attendance.

The prayer session in the school consists of a recitation and singing of the group prayer, and a short discourse by the head staff of the school. The talk usually centers on etiquette, traditional customs, and cultural and moral values. Honoring the national anthem is customary at the end of the daily prayer. Although Rohini is a bubbly child and full of energy, these sessions usually bring her to awe-inspired solemnity as she pays serious attention. Thus, from the very start, the school emphasizes the convergence of spiritual, national, and traditional sentiments.

Teaching Sessions

Instruction in school follows the standard state syllabi. The staff teach and converse only in English and Tamil, the official language of the state. In this way, all the students are able to understand and interact with them on an equal footing.

Curricular instruction centers on the "Ws." Although the school cannot afford teaching materials more expensive than a blackboard and chalk, the teachers make innovative use of their natural surroundings, conducting many of the learning sessions outdoors and incorporating a lot of music and movement activities. Rohini finds this approach particularly enlivening.