Zaynab Zaman and Markus Specht
Questionnaire : Zaynab Zaman
At the end of the volunteering program at the Tushita Foundation
Q. How do you feel about yourself and your work?
I feel that I’ve learned a lot during my time working at the Foundation; particularly skills that will help me succeed as a student in college. I feel that working at the Foundation presented a new set of challenges, but overcoming them gave me immense confidence in myself and my abilities.
Q. How do you feel about the Foundation as an institution?
I feel that it is a very needed institution, and I am grateful to have witnessed the crucial work being done there. However, I think that the power structure can prove problematic sometimes; the teachers are almost never asked for their feedback or opinions, though they are the ones directly interacting with the students. While most decisions are good, I think it’s very risky to make decisions from afar about circumstances at the Foundation, because then things that are functioning well are easily disrupted.
Q. How do you feel about the students and the teachers there?
I was so happy to work with the teachers and the students, and to spend time with them. The teachers are exceptionally warm and friendly, and made me feel very welcome. The children are also unusually sweet and open to learning, and even if they are not always attentive, I know that they really value the Foundation and are making an effort to learn.
Q. What has been the most challenging aspect of your experience?
I think being alone in a classroom with 15 or more students, for several batches a day, was the most challenging. This happened to me both with Ruksar’s class and Ruchi’s class for a period, and it was hard, because I had to stick to the topics that they were familiar with (grammar) rather than the creative writing I was hoping to make progress on. Once the teachers were back, though, circumstances greatly improved. Students definitely recognize a difference between teachers and volunteers in terms of respect, so the two are not interchangeable.
Q. What has been the most rewarding aspect of your experience?
After practicing certain exercises for weeks, for example the “how are you and why” exercise every day with every batch, there was a moment where I felt it finally click with the students! They started asking Federico how he was and why, and understanding what a good and not good answer was. I felt very proud of them that day!
Q. What do you wish you would have done, but you couldn’t?
Near the end of the summer, I had them write a simple letter to a loved one. Through that exercise, I learned what their major grammatical weak points were, and I wish I had learned that sooner, because we could have addressed them both through grammar lessons and through writing exercises, and even poetry.
Q. Do you think that this experience has in any way changed you?
Most certainly.
Q. If yes, how?
I had a difficult second year of college, where I think I lost track of my priorities in life. Being at the Foundation allowed me to think a lot, and to realize what constitutes as important, and what is not. I liked being able to teach children and work with teachers to better everyone’s English; I knew that this kind of work does matter in life. I’m hoping to remember these priorities and lessons during my next two years at Princeton.
Q. What do you hope to have left behind?
I hope to have left behind better spoken students, certainly, but also beautiful friendships with the inspiring women and men at the Foundation. I hope to always stay in touch with them, and to have left behind a good impression on the students as well.
Q. If you knew this would have been your experience, would you have done it anyway?
Though the internship was certainly challenging at times, I learned infinite amounts from it, and I know I have become a better, kinder, healthier person because of it. I think I would have done it still if I knew exactly what it entailed.
Questionnaire : Markus Specht
At the end of the volunteering program at the Tushita Foundation
Q. How do you feel about yourself and your work?
While I know that I could have done better in some regards, I feel very good about what I have tried to do and what I ended up achieving. When the time came to go back to France, I really dreaded leaving everything in India, but I also enjoyed repeating all of what I did with the children and sort of ‘wrapping up’ this chapter of their education at Tushita. I was so very proud of how much they learned, seeing them being able to have an entire simple conversation in English.
Q. How do you feel about the Foundation as an institution?
What I really like about the Foundation is how much it is at the very heart of the community it serves. What I also really came to appreciate is the fact that it is learning environment for everyone involved – the children, the teachers, the volunteers, and even someone not in a direct learning position like Virendraji who joined grammar lesson or Kanchan who used to sit in on my class.
Q. How do you feel about the students and the teachers there?
The teachers are just the most welcoming and caring people I have met in a long time. We felt at home and cared for right away which made the entire Tushita experience so special. The same goes for everyone involved, from Veenaji to Bimji and Virendraji. One also notices how the students are influenced by this. The new ones behaved very differently from those who have been with the foundation for a longer time. This just goes to show how much of an impact the interpersonal skills they learn at the foundation have on them.
Q. What has been the most challenging aspect of your experience?
As much I loved being with the children, it was sometimes hard to stay motivated and give one hundred percent every day. While I think it is natural to not be able to give it your all at all times, I wish I had worked a little harder sometimes, including new activities instead of sticking to old ones because it was more comfortable for me.
Q. What has been the most rewarding aspect of your experience?
First of all, seeing the children, especially the new ones, adapt to the foundation and sort of “thawing” – being more open-minded, having fun with each other, and most of all having fun learning and speaking English. While these small moments were usually the best – when Diprianshu said his first English word, when Muskan wrote a short text – I also have a few favorite memories on a larger scale, most of all celebrating Rakhi together and playing Kabaddi on our last day.
Q. What do you wish you would have done, but you couldn’t?
I wish I had had more time for a long-term project, maybe teaching dancing step by step for a period of a couple of months. However, I soon noticed that this would not be possible because of the time constraint. This does not, however, mean that a two-months period is too short to achieve anything. One just has to adapt, as I tried to do with teaching questions and answers.
Q. Do you think that this experience has in any way changed you? If yes, how?
I was most notably changed through the friendships I made and the people I met. Our relationships with the teachers were very important to us and I learned so much from these smart and kind ladies. I loved the fact that they felt comfortable sharing their thoughts with us. Beside an extraordinary insight into Indian society and its ailments, one of the most valuable lessons I have learned from this experience is to acknowledge problems in other societies without putting the place you are from on a pedestal. There is much to change in Europe as well and while the teachers talked about what they liked in other countries, I am now realizing that we Europeans can learn from India just as much as they from us – maybe in other areas, but nevertheless.
Q. What do you hope to have left behind?
I hope to have touched some people – from students to teachers or anyone else involved – in the same way I have been influenced by them, to have made a good impression and brought positive feeling into their days. The only things I think I might have left behind (if I did a good job) would be the English skills and joy of learning with the little ones and the friendship with everyone in general.
Q. If you knew this would have been your experience, would you have done it anyway?
Absolutely, anytime!