Millo at Large

It is my second day in Delhi, and I am ready to teach. I have my tote bag filled with essentials: a book, extra pencils for students, and mosquito spray (spoiler alert, it did not help). We drive to the school, which is 45 minutes away with traffic and 20 without, and the only time there isn’t any traffic in Delhi is never.

I arrived at school 30 minutes early and walked in, excited to meet the fellow (Teach for India teachers are called Fellows) I was paired up with. I was going off his WhatsApp profile, but it was easy enough to find him. After a brief introduction, he took me to the staff room, where I met all the other Fellows and Volunteers.

It was time to go to class. I was helping out with 6-B, a group of 60 energetic 10/11-year-olds. As I walked into the room, I was greeted with a warm welcome. It was introduction time, and while I presented myself, they were all in awe, thinking, “What is this big giant doing in our classroom?” Morning classes were from 9:40-12:00, and lucky for me, this morning was a mellow entry—it was test week. I walked around the room shaking students’ hands while also making sure no one was being sneaky.

It was time for a lunch break. I went back into the staff room to sit and mingle with the other Teach for India Fellows/Volunteers. They were all extremely nice and very interested in what brought me to India to teach. I told them it was my passion to teach and that I was exploring education systems all over the world.

The second set of classes rolled around, and it was time to go back. From 1:20-2:00, students have their last period of the day, and I was taught to always schedule the most mentally challenging classes in the morning when students have energy, and have the more mellow subjects in the afternoon when everyone has lower energy. To be honest, I do not think energy is a problem for these kids!

The day had ended, and though I was exhausted, I still managed to keep a big smile on my face.