In July, 2023, I went to India with a cohort of 14 other teachers to learn about Indian education and culture. We spent five days together in New Delhi and then split into smaller groups to experience specific schools in various cities on a deeper level. Read on to see the details of my experience!
Daily Blog
July 3: I made it to India and had an excellent first day! We were given a warm welcome by members of the the Delhi Board of Education and several Indian Fulbright Fellows who had been to the U.S. There was a very special welcoming ceremony and reception. This afternoon, we learned a little bit of Indian history and culture. Everyone is extremely friendly and I’m grateful to be a part of this expanding network!
July 4: Today, one of our group leaders, Rajesh, who is a former Fulbright teacher to the US, brought us to his home village, and we met all the siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews. They were so gracious and happy to host us and show us how they run their house and farm. We got to try out a lot of the activities as well!
July 5: Today we visited a Delhi school and got to observe some classes! We also met the Delhi Education Minister (equivalent to a US state Secretary of Ed) Atishi Marlena who visited the school with us. It was all very special and the school had lots of decorations and treats in honor of the visit. We observed students doing a mindfulness / happiness exercise (which all students in all grades do every day as part of their state curriculum), and several high school science classes. We then visited a school store stocked with handicrafts the students themselves had made (this was part of a state entrepreneurship initiative).
Later in the day we visited a Sikh gurdwara and learned about the history of the Sikh religion and their mission of service.
July 6: We visited the District Institute of Education and Training to meet pre-service teachers and observe their school. In India, teachers do a 2-year program to teach elementary grades and a 4-year program for secondary. The students were eager to meet us and very excited to become teachers! They were so happy to be at the school and proud of their career choice.
We also got to go to a regional robotics fair which was really cool. In addition to the robot competitions, we talked to students on the exhibition side about apps they had created and other projects.
Today we went to an elementary school and saw students doing yoga as part of their morning routine. We popped into a classroom for a performance of The Three Little Pigs and then a meeting with their teachers about best practices. We also toured the grounds, where they teach the children about different trees and how to care for them.
Tomorrow I’m flying to Hyderabad to work closely with a single teacher for a week. I’m really enjoying this experience and meeting so many wonderful people!
July 7: My partner Sofia, an English teacher from Cicero, and I flew to Hyderabad to visit the Gitangali Senior School and learn from our host teacher, Deepa Mathur, a former Fulbrighter to the U.S.
July 8: Today we went to a science fair at our host teacher Deepa’s school (yes, on a Saturday— her school attends on Saturdays once a month, and many other schools have a 6-day school week every week!). It is a private high school. The overall topic of the fair was sustainability, and the individual projects were outstanding, ranging from growing organic plants to reducing water use to a home device that can detect earthquakes at the earliest stages. The students were so proud of their work and eager to explain it to us.
There was a ceremony as well welcoming parents and guests, and the really cool part was that dancing and acting was incorporated throughout the scientific description. One dance was about how the goddess of science commissioned humans to study science; a drama was about evolution. It was a true integration of the arts and humanities within STEM! We saw these beautiful dances amid the display of project after project that involved intense scientific research. Really inspiring!
July 9: We had an awesome day today sightseeing and shopping in Hyderabad with our host teacher Deepa and our Fulbright IREX leader Lynn. She took us to the best places and she is a fierce bargainer! After shopping for bangles, we had a traditional lunch on banana leaves and it was delicious. Deepa was a wonderful guide and got us through the crowds smoothly!
July 10: Today we observed some English, art, chemistry, and specially-abled classes, and saw part of a regional debate competition held at the school. A heartening thing that I’ve noticed is that many of the girls are planning to study engineering or IT in college.
The traffic here is nuts! Somehow it all seems to work though. My American colleagues and I spend a lot of time holding our breath when we’re on the roads!
July 11: Today Sofia and I gave presentations about American culture, our states, and our schools to the students at our host school. They were extremely interested in what we shared— I talked about Philadelphia and its history, but they were more interested in hearing about Scranton and specifically The Office! Of course I was delighted they watched it and knew all about it. As my husband always says, there is a Scranton connection wherever you go!
We observed some more classes and then we went to the US Consulate here in Hyderabad and met the Public Affairs Officer there. He wanted to know which one of us was from PA and told me he grew up in Chester County! Small world. We had a great discussion about what we were seeing in schools here and how the US could continue to interact with India around education.
Hyderabad is also the “pearl capital” of India so naturally Deepa took us to her pearl shop after 
. Another great day.
July 12: Today we went to a local school for deaf students, along with our host teacher and students from our host teacher’s school. It was a powerful experience. Many children here do not get diagnosed for hearing loss until age 8 or 9, and the teachers here spend a year assessing them and getting them up to speed to be put in the proper grade. We visited several classrooms and the students were eager to interact and ask questions about the US. The students take classes in coding and computers from an early age, and when they graduate, the school supports them in getting further IT training and jobs. Hyderabad is the Silicon Valley of India; the largest tech companies in the US (Apple, Google, etc) have their 2nd-largest locations in Hyderabad.
This afternoon, I presented to the English teachers at Deepa’s school about Reading Responses and they loved it! The students in the school are very motivated, so hopefully this technique will help teachers make their classes even more student centered.
July 13: We had a busy day observing more classes and teaching a couple of our own.
We saw a social emotional learning class with the students in grade 7. These classes are built into their schedule every week; this week the students explored the concept of self-esteem and the factors that nurture it. They made lists of what makes them truly happy during the day, so they have a plan to combat negative thinking when it creeps in. it was beautiful to watch!
There seems to be a consistent and genuine focus on mental health here, at least in the schools we’ve seen. On Wednesday we saw a whole school assembly during which a 12th grade class gave a presentation on mental health, which included skits that they wrote themselves about several scenarios, such as cyberbullying and test pressure.
Later in the morning, Sofia taught a poetry activity to a class of 11th grade students. It was a wonderful identity poem activity. The students really liked it and I think the push to be so personal and creative in that way was something somewhat new for them.
I also taught one of my favorite creative writing lessons – a character sketch where I lead students through a detailed brainstorm of a real person in their lives. About 60 students voluntarily showed up for it and they seemed to really enjoy it.
In the afternoon we saw several elective classes and clubs, including aerodynamics, drawing, Interact Club (I told them about our own at Abington!), and traditional dancing (Sofia and I joined in for a bit but the video of this will never be shown lol).
At the end of the school day, we had to say goodbye to everyone there since our flight back to Delhi is tomorrow. Even though we had only been in Hyderabad a week, it was a bit emotional as we had grown close to our host teacher, Deepa. She really was so kind and generous to us and had an amazing schedule planned for us each day. Her daughter lives in Virginia Beach, so I am hoping one day soon we will meet up again!
In the evening we went to the Buddha Statue of Hyderabad. At 58 feet tall, carved from a single piece of granite, It is the largest monolith of Buddha in the world. May all beings be happy!
July 14: Sofia and I traveled back to New Delhi!
July 15: Road trip to the Taj Mahal! It was unspeakably beautiful, one of those lifetime moments that I will always have.
July 16: Today we debriefed with our colleagues about our experiences. One group went to Chennai, and another went to another part of Delhi. All of us had different experiences and it was fascinating to hear about them all! We talked with other Indian Fulbright teachers about ways we can keep the collaboration going internationally. I could not be more grateful for the people I have met through this experience!
Guiding Question and Reflection
Going in to the field experience, my guiding question was the following:
What is the nature of education for girls in India? Are there differences between how girls and educated and how boys are educated? Does region, class, or caste play a role in the education of girls? How can I bring back information to my own students in the U.S.?
We saw several schools and classrooms spanning all grade levels and abilities. In every setting, there was no difference that we observed between the performance of boys and girls. Girls participated in class regularly and equally, confident to raise their hands and offer their thoughts. This was particularly true at the Gitangali Senior School in Hyderabad, where I was delighted to see the poster shown here on the wall!
One thing I really appreciated at the Gitangali Senior School was the emphasis on computer and science classes, and the number of girls in each. The classes we saw were at least 50% girls. It made me think about how, in the U.S., teachers campaign to get more female students into their stem classes.
Hydrabad is the “Silicon Valley” of India, and the emphasis on computer skills is prevalent throughout. We visited a school for the hard-of-hearing, and learned that after the students progressed through the regular grades, they were trained in film editing and digital media in a special post-graduate program. From there, students were hired by companies in the area, and given additional support from the school if needed. It was an inspirational visit, and we noticed both genders fully represented at all stages.
At Gitangali, we also saw several dances and skits; these were performed by both genders. We also saw several boys in an after-school traditional-dance club. They made up about 15% of the group, but the fact that they were in the club at all impressed our host teacher. Other after-school clubs included, rollerblading, karate, and volleyball, with both genders represented.
I was impressed by what I saw with regard to girls’ education in Delhi and Hyderabad. The drive for girls to succeed in STEM classes is something I can discuss more with my colleagues and students. We were in two major cities, and thus did not observe schools in rural areas and villages. Things might be different there– that is a topic for future research!
Disclaimer – “This website is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and information presented are the participant’s own and do not represent the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, the U.S. Department of State, or IREX.”
