Thursday 13th August

'Carrom'

Boys from the homes

Me with Abi

More activities in the school

The last couple of days have been amazing. I have had the chance to spend a good couple of hour each day with the teacher staff at the school in Goa. We have put together a behaviour system and decided on 6 main school rules. I have been designing posters for the rules and badges to use as rewards. The staff seem to be responding very well to the sessions and they seem very passionate about changing the school for the better. We have also been talking about the structure of the school day and maximise the time in lessons. India is not well known for it's time keeping but I explained to the teachers that keeping the pace of lessons and the school day going can often reduce behavioural problems. It is so good being able to have an impact on a school in it's very early stages. They have a lot of respect for the educational system in England and so they are so willing to learn the strategies we use. In the afternoons, I have been spending time with the children in the homes. It has been great getting to know them and improving my abilities in playing 'Carrom'. They don't have a huge amount of entertainment at the home and most of the time is taken up sleeping, doing chores, playing carrom or learning to play musical instruments. They have specific times when they do their homework, eat and pray. One of the staff members at Vision Rescue has two children in the homes and he asked me if I could get some photos of them. Today I met with his son Abi and tomorrow I will meet with his daughter Bharti. They were put into the home as their was an alcoholic. He has gradually been rehabilitated by Vision Rescue and is now helping with the teaching on the buses. Tomorrow will probably be the last training session I will have with the teachers in Goa, and I have been ask to spend a few minutes in each class talking to them about the importance of their learning.