Science and Technical

Dear dedicated reader,

So, I suspect that our appreciation of the Varkel biology, chemistry and technical labs may have been a little too vocal (despite the fact that we were only being polite).

Why do I suspect this, you ask?

Today, “sir” called us to his office. Apparently, 7th and 8th periods of our day were to be a tour of Kadod High School’s own science and technical labs.

We followed the principal, slightly confused at this summons, into the chemistry lab at the far end of the school. A dark affair, even with the light switched on, the room’s corners were covered in cobwebs and the cement of the floor looked cracked, dusty, and worn. It was the first time I had seen the lab and, on observing the vials of mysterious chemicals labeled on peeling stickers in scrawling handwriting lined up in rows and rows of wooden racks on the long lab table, I couldn’t help but think of Harry Potter’s potions class or alchemy lab of old.

Despite the dismal looking site, the principal explained that the science education at Kadod High School is first rate, which I had already suspected given the sharp, inquiring minds of my 11th science students when I had them in English class.

“You see,” he said, “there is no chemical that is too dear in price for us to purchase for the good of our students. It is not this way at all schools, but at Kadod High School we think this is important. So, no chemical, priced more or less, is too dear for our students.”

It was after this speech that I began to suspect from whence the inspiration for this sudden tour of the facilities had come.

He showed us each of the chemicals, carefully reading out the labels to our appreciative oohs and aahs. Genuinely impressive, however, was the cabinet of chemical mixtures that the students had made themselves. “This is toothpaste,” he showed us. The cabinet also included amongst its many vials, stamp ink and baking soda. Unfortunately, he explained, the students were no longer allowed to make these things as per government regulation. I briefly wondered what horrible accident could have occurred to prompt such a regulation’s passing.

We moved on next to the biology lab, where the kindly science teacher who always smiles at me in the staff room showed us the collection of preserved small animals: frogs, squid, snakes, insects. I kept my distance from these specimens, happy to look from afar. There was a reason I was happy that AP Biology didn’t have time to do any real dissections. The biology lab had the same dilapidated look as the chemistry lab. The bottled specimens and human skeleton only added to the haunting feeling I had walking through the facility.

Finally, we saw the technical labs. The technical labs are the equivalent of shop in the US except that this subject is taken with a far greater seriousness than you usually find at most schools in the US. The technical students, along with the science students are some of the top-scoring students in the school. The bell had rung for recess, but for 8F it was not be as the principal gave them a stern look as they left to join their free peers in 10 minutes of revelry. They were made instead to repeat for us what they had learned in the previous lesson.

Soon, the next class, 9F came in for welding instruction. As we walked to the building in which these students learn how to weld metal structures with precision, the principal pointed out one unusual facility: a “Science Park”, located behind the technical building.

As it was raining, we ourselves could not go out to explore the science park, so of course one of the school peons was called. The park itself resembled a jungle gym or a traditional playground, except that each structure was designed to illustrate a different concept in physics. The principal patiently explained each of the different experiential learning games from our dry position under an awning as the peon, who was quickly becoming soaked in the beating rain, unhappily followed his instructions to demonstrate each game for us. The whole idea of it was exactly the kind of instruction you want to bring into classroom learning, especially physics, so I was very impressed (though sorry for the unhappy peon).

The tour finished with our traipsing into the physics lab where we received a forty minute physics lesson in rapid English from the physics teacher, who attended an English medium university. While his instructional English was exceptional, his conversational English left a little to be desired. Most interesting for me was that my 11th science students were called in to listen.

Afterwards, as the girls went to leave, I asked them, “Could you understand him when he speaks this quickly?”
They nodded and smiled.

“I will have to change my lessons, I think,” I replied, thinking of the slow, simple English I use in class because my accent is difficult for the students to understand.

Throughout the tour, I kept thinking: Why wouldn’t a student want to go into sciences when all the most interesting class activities and instructional methods are employed by the teachers in this discipline. The principal showed us the many opportunities that students have to think critically, to solve problems on their own, to do hands on learning in small sections. What student wouldn’t want to have more opportunities to do this? And yet these opportunities are reserved only for the top-scoring students.

In contrast, we recently finished a unit in my English class where I wrote an essay on the board and the students copied it word for word, ostensibly so they can memorize it perfectly to reproduce it exactly for the exam. They will memorize not one, but three or four of these essays. Teaching them in any other way is out of the question as, if they make ANY mistake in grammar or spelling on the exam, they will lose significant marks. The system itself reinforces such ridiculous teaching methods for learning languages here. Why would any student willingly choose to focus on humanities when this is how they are taught and assessed?

But then I have to wonder: which came first? The teaching methods and assessment systems or the jobs which they are training students for? Indian scientific and technical jobs which pay well and ask the employees to use such critical thinking skills are more numerous than humanities jobs here which do the same. Is the educational system merely training students in the skills that they will need for the vocation that they qualify for with the marks that they receive?

I find that the longer I teach here, the more food that I have for thought.

Best,
Cat