Education, Literacy, and Justice

 This is what I had planned:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VfRNOQ1cfhJOaNnzYHMABrFqq-wKWxiWwO3o52VJ-CA/edit This time, the class went more or less according to what I had planned (note to self: don't succumb to a false illusion of control). I started by asking if everyone is comfortable writing and commenting together on google docs, and realized some found it uncomfortable because they were not sufficiently familiar with google docs and it was difficult to navigate the document since many were commenting together. I had expected students to do the exercise in the previous session without explaining google docs functionality--this was a major oversight.  I'm also mentioning this because the assumption that students already have a certain digital literacy or will easily adapt to working online is pervasive in many teaching contexts at the moment. I teach in a more privileged context, yes, but this assumption needs to be checked every time. Differential digital liter...

This is what I had tentatively planned:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/17VO1PaGRoYT6Q3JM3G-zNTiWjWP33jt_tIsdrxcTrbw/edit This is what actually happened:  While I had originally planned to just do a roll-call to ascertain how many are present and welcome everyone, I decided at the last minute I would ask them to mention a random fact about themselves. This turned out to be quite interesting--people mentioned interests or quirks I couldn't have remotely anticipated. It was funny in bits. However, as I hadn't planned for the initial intros to stretch beyond 15 mins, I started feeling a little anxious as we crossed 15...20...25...30 minutes. A reassuring voice in my head, however, pitched in: no, this is bonding, this is fun and endearing and interesting, so it's okaaaay there'll be time for everything else.  Ah well. It was nice.  Then we moved on to the word association exercise. Again, I changed it a little bit from what I had planned, I asked them to spontaneous...

 I have the first class in a few hours. I know what I will do--teaching notes and slides are ready--but I want to introspect a little on what it means to design and conduct the first class. Here are some of the approaches that I have been exposed to:  a) broadly introduce the thematic orientation of the course, anticipate the content to be taught in subsequent classes; b) have an informal conversation with students, get to know each other, create a comfortable atmosphere, informally introduce the themes of the course, defer a more elaborate introduction to the second class; c) establish ground rules and expectations for students, inform them of the syllabus and requirements for the course and give them a peek into the content-to-come; d) gauge student interest in the themes and issues to be taught, ask students to talk about what they already understand about the themes in the course and build on that knowledge/intuition. These approaches are obviously not mutually exclusive a...

This blog is meant to critically document my experience of teaching a course titled 'Education, Literacy, and Justice' as part of the Critical Writing program at the Young India Fellowship. I will write about the various aspects of the teaching process: reading and ideation, class planning and management, engagement with students, and most importantly, critical reflection on various pedagogic concerns and experiences. Students will be encouraged to comment and contribute to the blog, to think through the different aspects of the course.  For now, a few honest thoughts and feelings:   It is 6 AM; a pale bluish light seeps into my room. The morning air is still; the street is yet to wake up. I am sitting at my desk, feeling nostalgic for a different time, a different set of possibilities. The first day of class...waking up early, taking the metro and the shuttle, excitedly discussing my plans with friends/colleagues I bump into, entering the classroom, registering a few doz...