Kiwis teach Indian educators

Dr Cheryl Doig works with Indian teachers who are dedicated to helping local children out of the slums through education.

Two passionate Christchurch educators, Sahita Balzer and Dr Cheryl Doig, delivered the gift of learning to a group of Indian teachers in early December 2010.

As part of six volunteer Kiwis, both travelled with RATA Teacher Support to Dehradun in Northern India to teach Indian educators. While these local teachers are dedicated to lifting children out of the slums through education, they have no formal training to do so.

“Yet, the passion and enthusiasm for education in these privately established schools was a privilege to observe,” says Dr Doig, an Affiliate and board member at the Christchurch based CORE Education.

“This trip reinforced the importance for us as educators to not accept mediocrity. We need to appreciate what we have got and use it to the fullest,” she adds.

“We all learnt so much from them about what commitment to teaching is all about. They have very little, but they just get on with the job in a positive way and with much humility – they just want to make life better for the kids they teach.”

Schools and teachers across NZ often complain about the lack of resources, but Dr Doig emphasises that it is the teachers who really make the difference. 

“Being in those schools shows you what hardship really is, and while each teacher faces their own unique challenges, it was interesting to see that regardless of your culture, your country or classroom set-up, teachers universally face many of the same challenges.”

Getting parents and communities involved in the children’s learning journey, meeting individual student’s needs, leading teams and managing different levels of change within a school, head the list of generic educational challenges.

Dr Doig says the children learn by rote in cramped classrooms, often with no power and little equipment. “We want to try and move them beyond this rote learning and encourage higher order thinking by providing different teaching and learning alternatives.”

The trip included visits to several of the schools the untrained teachers work in. 

Dr Doig says the excitement and enthusiasm of the students was a powerful reminder of the value of education as a way out of poverty.

RATA Teacher Support take trained NZ teachers into developing countries to encourage, equip and inspire untrained teachers, so that they can confidently teach children entrusted to them with excellence, professionalism and passion. 

Lessons for the untrained teachers included how to run an effective classroom, how to teach basic numeracy and literacy and leadership skills and strategies for principals. 

“What this trip did reinforce for me is that what makes for a good school is great leadership; where there is trust and strong relationships, which support what is happening in the school. 

“It doesn’t matter what country you are in, what language you speak or how poor and impoverished the students are, if the leaders are committed and passionate, the students will succeed.”