Chandrika’s Questionnaire

Please be completely honest in your answers and do not give them too much thought, often the most impulsive answer is the most honest one.

How do you feel about yourself and your work at the Tushita Foundation?

I feel as though this was a wonderful experience. Teaching the children six days of the week was extremely fulfilling and I really enjoyed myself. It was a great summer experience.

How do you feel about the Foundation as an institution?

I think it is a good place for children to come and have fun! They certainly all enjoy themselves, which is so nice to see. And I think the co-teachers really enjoy themselves as well, and we all (co teachers and volunteers) learn a lot through our discussions.

How do you feel about the students and the teachers there?

I absolutely adore the students and I think that the teachers are some of the kindest people I have ever met. I miss them all dearly.

What has been the most challenging aspect of your experience?

Definitely getting over the language barrier in the first week. I remember the first week being daunting after seeing my students being mostly quiet on the first day, but of course, that didn’t last!

What has been the most rewarding aspect of your experience?

Getting to know the children. Giggling with them, playing with them, learning with them, was the perfect experience, and the thing I was really looking for this summer. It was a nice way to get back into touch with the child inside me. 🙂

What do you wish you would have done, but you couldn’t?

I wish I could have done more science experiments with the students, but I didn’t do that merely because I didn’t have enough time. Indeed, I think that most of the things I wished I could have done but didn’t was because of time constraints, but of course this applies to all aspects of life.

Do you think that this experience has in any way changed you?

I think it has solidified my passion for physics and made me realize I love to teach, and that I really enjoy working with little children (but I do not think I will go on to teach younger people, I would like to teach at a university in the future…) Also, my overall trip to India has certainly changed me: I learned a lot about a new culture and I learned a lot about traveling and about myself.

If yes, how?

Oh please see above, I didn’t see this question before answering the previous one!

What do you hope to have left behind?

I hope to have taught my students that they themselves can answer questions they have about the world, either through direct and simple observation, or through creative experiment. Had I stayed longer I would have liked to demonstrate this to them even more!

If you knew this would have been your experience, would you have done it anyway?

Yes! Thank you for your very precious collaboration Thank you! The Tushita Foundation