The last day in Delhi. Our group is working on the debriefing and sharing our experiences of teaching and working in different schools throughout India. The rest of the group shared some of their stories over supper last night; but I was so exhausted that I ordered room service and then slept.
It has been hard to stay focused on work when my mind keeps drifting to the fact that I will be at the Taj Mahal in the morning. Even though I am in India and I have seen so many wonderful things my excitement is almost unbearable.
Our group has been sharing what we experienced at our schools. I have been working on my definition of global education. It sounds simple enough but it is so much more than I teach World History, so I am a global teacher. I kept coming back to the work that we did in our online classes as well as what I experienced. What I saw in all of the classes that I observed, was teachers asking questions that caused students to think deeper and look for relationships between different causes, countries, or time periods. As I reflected on the lesson plan that I had submitted with the online class I looked at it to see if the questions I asked caused my students to think about relating what they learned in history to modern topics or problems.
We finally finished our work and board the bus that will take us to Agra. Afternoon traffic in Delhi was even more hectic than I could imagine. Then traffic gets interesting. On the road to Agra I saw many strange, to Americans, things. I saw more people than I could ever imagine squeezed into various vehicles. I saw all sorts of animals out the windows. Then there were trucks that would stop for traffic and all of a sudden herds of people would stream from the side of the road, climb onto the back of the truck and ride down the road. The funniest was the flatbed of farm equipment. There were people sitting on the seats and all through the machinery.
We arrive in Agra in time to see the light show at Agra Fort. After we weaved through the numerous people selling items we begin the climb up to the fort. This was one of the most imposing sites that I have ever seen. There were no lights illuminating the path so all I could see were huge shadows from the walls and gates. I had to stay focused and pay attention to where I was walking because of the limited light. The gates were massive and I kept trying to think what would it have been like to walk through them hundreds of years ago.
The show begins with different colored flashing lights and sound effects as the history of the fort and the emperors is told. I will admit my knowledge of the time period was limited and I struggled to pay attention to the story that was being told. I kept trying to look and see exactly how big was the fort and how tall were the walls. I wish that there was more time for me to explore the fort and see if it is as scary in the day as it is at night.
After we arrived back at the hotel I pulled the books I had on both the Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal to learn more information on each. In my research, I found out that the fort's surrounding moat was once filled with crocodiles.
It has been hard to stay focused on work when my mind keeps drifting to the fact that I will be at the Taj Mahal in the morning. Even though I am in India and I have seen so many wonderful things my excitement is almost unbearable.
Our group has been sharing what we experienced at our schools. I have been working on my definition of global education. It sounds simple enough but it is so much more than I teach World History, so I am a global teacher. I kept coming back to the work that we did in our online classes as well as what I experienced. What I saw in all of the classes that I observed, was teachers asking questions that caused students to think deeper and look for relationships between different causes, countries, or time periods. As I reflected on the lesson plan that I had submitted with the online class I looked at it to see if the questions I asked caused my students to think about relating what they learned in history to modern topics or problems.
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| Just one of the many different types of transportation. |
We arrive in Agra in time to see the light show at Agra Fort. After we weaved through the numerous people selling items we begin the climb up to the fort. This was one of the most imposing sites that I have ever seen. There were no lights illuminating the path so all I could see were huge shadows from the walls and gates. I had to stay focused and pay attention to where I was walking because of the limited light. The gates were massive and I kept trying to think what would it have been like to walk through them hundreds of years ago.
The show begins with different colored flashing lights and sound effects as the history of the fort and the emperors is told. I will admit my knowledge of the time period was limited and I struggled to pay attention to the story that was being told. I kept trying to look and see exactly how big was the fort and how tall were the walls. I wish that there was more time for me to explore the fort and see if it is as scary in the day as it is at night.
After we arrived back at the hotel I pulled the books I had on both the Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal to learn more information on each. In my research, I found out that the fort's surrounding moat was once filled with crocodiles.
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