Hello once again, Bloggers and Bloggees.
If you have read my recent posts, you’ll know that I spent the last 40 days travelling and volunteering across India. Now, I have returned safe and sound to the West in all it’s luxury and sanitation! I have to say though, I was really looking forward to the slight crisp in the air that comes as August fades into September – I was not expecting that the Indian heat would follow me through my 14-hour flight and hit Toronto with it’s second heat wave of the summer.
Neema and Hanan at work doing crafts.
Which must be confusing students in the area, because believe it or not, summer is virtually over. Labour Day weekend signals for so many students around Canada that the carefree days of summer sunshine, pointless hangouts with friends, and trips to the cottage or camp won’t be enjoyed again for another ten months. But while they may kick and scream and drag their heels until they’re back in that plastic seat in front of the chalkboard, they’re much better prepared to tackle another year of learning after that two month window to relax, have fun, and reboot. Having a break from the assignments, papers, and exams of school is a great opportunity for kids to unwind. Extracurricular activities like sports, clubs, and the arts also serve the same purpose. Could you ever imagine a childhood without music lessons after school? Or without little league hockey or baseball tournaments?
I know I couldn’t. I love thinking back to Gr. 5 when I would sit at my desk in the morning after singing O Canada, so happy that it was a Monday and I had basketball practice to look forward to that night. In high school, I fidgeted in class all day until I could get to rehearsal for whatever play I was involved in. You know what they say – all work and no play makes Carly a very dull student.
Which is why I was so puzzled during my visits to various grade schools in the Southern Indian city of Puducherry. My travelmates and I were interested in doing some workshops in a local school – drama games, newspaper writing, English tutoring, etc… – but at most of the schools we visited (which were quite a few – there were A LOT of schools in Puducherry), the kids didn’t have time for extracurricular activities. School days were similar hours, but for many kids the end of class means the beginning of tutoring. For those who attend school, it is a full-time commitment. Gym wasn’t even taught at the girl’s high school we visited.
I don’t want to say that this is fundamentally wrong – it’s just a difference in culture, circumstance, and priority. Education is taken incredibly seriously in India, which is ever emerging as a superpower in IT, science, and business, and no one appreciates the opportunity to compete in a global workforce more than the Indian people. So they do whatever they can to give themselves an edge, or rather, to give their children an edge.
In North America, we are fortunate enough to have free time to participate in sports and hobbies, to develop in areas other than knowledge. To think of a childhood of constant schooling may seem almost traumatic to us. But to Indians, taking as much time out of the days as we do to play games may seem frivolous and useless.
In this case there is no right or wrong answer – just an interesting cross-cultural clash. But I know this much for sure – my lay-ups wouldn’t be anywhere near what they are today without the Kanata Cavaliers.
I think its wonderful that they have schools for children in india. It gives the children a place to go, and possibly call a home. I know that there are many troubled teens out there that doesn’t’ care to have an education.