Smiles Workshop – Day 3

Today was the limit of all the students. I had to wait for 1 and half hours for the students to come. I glared at them as they entered the classroom. I told them to sit began the class. First checking their home work , then revising what had been done the last two days. Made them do role play again and then i moved to the day’s schedule.

I finished their modules of 5 , 6 & 7  which were the last , which dealt with conversations and how to ask questions. I first worked on them with this by explaining it to them in Tamil as well and then i made them do a role play. I did their activity 3 which involved a 3 x 5 box with words in it. I will tell the meanings of those words , and the girls would strike off the correct word that goes with the meaning. I again made them frame sentences , this time on their own . I did not help them. They did it quiet well. I had also finished the other modules 2 & 3 , so i revised it with them again. I then gave them the last 3 worksheets of pronouns , which they did find a bit difficult to do. I then taught them opposites. I also gave them a few exercises on spellings.

We then ended the class. I was not too happy with that day , but it was progress.

Smile Workshop – Day 2

It was not such a happy day. The materials were not printed properly and it took me forever to figure out if everything was there or not. Then the class started with a little harder syllabus. The girls were a little slow. I did modules 1 – 4 today as i misunderstood the module book in the first class… and had taught them a different module.

WE had our second activity where the students had to tell me the meaning of the word i chose from the vocabulary list and used it in a sentence. SO that took sometime but they caught up with it. We then did Sentence sheets , where i made them tell me the sentences and write it down. I then taught them how to frame questions using question words and negative statements and things like that. I finally gave them the last 4 worksheets for pronouns as homework.

I made the students do role play for modules 3 & 4. I took a video of them and showed it to them. They were fine. I then checked their homework. All had got almost everything right. I was happy. We ended our day here.

Junior Masterchef Australia – Team Challenge & Pressure Test

The next challenge for the top 12 was the TEAM CHALLENGE :O . They had to run the Tuck Shop of Hunters Hill High School. There were 2 teams : Red Team & Blue Team. Their mentors were : Gary & Anna.

Each team had to put up 3 dishes : Hot , Cold & Sweet. The Teams have to serve these dishes at lunch time to 100 students. The Team with the most votes win the Challenge , each contestant gets 6 points each and a day off from cooking . The losing team on the other hand will get no points and will face a pressure test to earn those points .

Pierre was the Captain of Red Team & chose Anthony to be the captain of the Blue Team. At the end of the Team Challenge , the Blue team won with 68 votes. The Red had to face the pressure test next day.

In the Pressure test this time , the contestants  had to recreate a dish called Poached Pear with Cranberry syrup. Well , the top 3 dishes were selected and given points accordingly….  

I’m waiting to see what happens next week…

For more details plz see : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_MasterChef_Australia_(season_1)

P.S : I didn’t read the whole thing as i didn’t have patience. So everything is still a suspense to me

Junior Masterchef Australia – Mystery Box Challenge & Invention Test

The top 12 chef-lings were all geared for the first battle against each other. The Mystery Box Challenge. Their theme for today was Pie. The Mystery Box challenge was for 45 mins. Callum’s Pressure test was for 1 hour 15 mins. 

Today is where the contestants will be awarded points for their dishes. 1 , 2 , 4 6 are the points. Their Mystery box were opened and they found  chocolate , lamb , vegetables and lots of other ingredients. This challenge was won by Isabella. She got the chance to select the core ingredient for the Invention test and 5 mins time in the pantry.

All the other chef – lings got only 3. SO they started off their invention test. They had 45 mins to make a perfect pie. The core ingredient for this test was LAMB. I never knew there was such variety to pie until i saw this episode. And as i knew it my favorite contestant won PIERRE Lamb Wellington Duxelle. This gave Pierre the power to be the captain of next team challenge…  

Junior Masterchef Australia – Invention & Pressure Test

With the 5 heats and the top 20 selected. The top 20 face their first INVENTION TEST. They have to invent an recipe of their own and wow the judges to get into the top 12. The Invention Test gives spot only for 6 contestants , while the second round : PRESSURE test gives position to the final 6 contests for top 12.

Well , the Invention Test had 2 core ingredients : Chicken & Veggies. The things these kids made with it was wow!! They took the invention test LITERALLY. The chicken was perfectly cooked with beautiful vegetables as accompaniment. It was mouth watering. The invention test was over after 45 mins and the first 6 to go into the top 12 were selected.  

The PRESSURE TEST , it sure was a pressure for them , they had recreate Callum s Chocolate Croissant Pudding with Berries :O . The kids were losing control of , they were tensed about their pudding breaking , getting the chocolate right etc… But in the end as they always do , they put a WOW show of the pudding . Finally , the top 12 were selected .

Now is where the ultimate challenge starts. ….  

Junior Masterchef Australia – 5 HEATS!!

Well after shooting first season for Junior Masterchef , they finally aired it in India. The top 50 went thro 5 heats so as to get selected for top 20. They were all so cute and adorable and so talented . All i could do was jaw drop and stare at them .

HEAT 1 – International 

There were 10 children here , who were specialized in international food. The pantry for them was WOW!! :O :O 

They got 45 mins to cook any international dish they wanted. I can still not say all those names. I was so fascinated and wonder struck that these kids could not just cook those dishes but could also actually pronounce their names and the components in them. There were all kinds of meat dishes , pasta , noodles , crepes etc… 

HEAT 2 – Desserts

Again 10 kids who specialized in making desserts were called forward. They too had 45 mins to make their awesome dish. All those dishes were FAAAAAAAAANTASTIC There was chocolate cake , cup cakes, founde n all!! These kids were perfect. 

HEAT 3 – Sea Food

I have never seen that much sea food in my life. Every single possible sea food ingredients were there. Fish , crab , lobster … you name it!! The same procedure as the first 2 heats were followed. 

HEAT 4 – Meat

That was the first time i saw that much of meat in one place and in so many varities. These kids just got the kitchen in flame. It was so good to watch them cook. Procedure as above

HEAT 5 – Signature dish

The last heat of kids made their own signature dishes. Anything they wanted.

 

 

 

Satyamev Jayate – Dowry

This is the third week of Satyamev Jayate. This weeks issue was on Dowry. Yes , I’m sure all of you of heard about Dowry. Dowry is that concept in India , where the daughters side of the family is to give money or jewelry  [ expensive ones ] or car etc… to get their daughter wed. These dowries are a huge burden , specially for the poor families. Their option is , give dowry and do the marriage or find someone else. Just for their daughter , these people from poor and middle class families take loans , sell their property , use their retirement money to give the dowry and do their marriage in a grand manner. 

http://www.satyamevjayate.in/issue03/videos/hqlzA8MwZBg/

It has always been the case in India that a girl is considered a liability and Dowry is one of the major reasons. When a girl is born, specially in poor families , the first thought crossing the parents mind is , the saving of money for her marriage , her dowry , her education , her expenses. The child at that time of course does not understand all this , but as she grows older she makes a stance and understands her parents plight. 

The parents do anything and everything to give the dowry demanded and what do they get in return? Their daughter beaten , tortured , more dowry demanded , and finally leading to the daughters suicide or burning her alive. 

This episode took the story of 2 woman and one man. The man s story was altogether different. In his state , the people dragged him and took him to the mandap to get him married. Why? This was one way to avoid dowry. The 1 woman who fought dowry herself by sting operation and now is happily married. She did not want her father to give dowry to get her married. So she kept a spy cam in a pen and recorded all the happenings in her home about the dowry and showed it to India. That was a very brave move a woman could make at that time. On the same date on which she was to be wed to the horrible fellow.. she was married to her prince. 

Now , unless we fight against dowry , its not gonna go. Unless we stop dowry , nothing will change. Dowry is the most sinful act , and aamir khan has done all the woman in the world a huge help broadcasting on dowry. This is how woman in India still are. Let’s hope things change and they get their freedom from dowry and so do all other girls who are yet to be wed. 

Eureka Smiles Workshop – Day 1

Hey!! I sadly don’t have a photo to show you guys on my today’s class. But it was a lot of fun. Now lets get down to it and see what happened.  

With over 1 hour of drive to the place and not knowing how to find it as it was in the interior of a particular and unknown area in the city ;(  , i reached late for my first class but only to learn that just 1 student had come till now . Her name was Priya, she had finished her 10th and wanted to pursue computer science in 11th and 12th . Just as i had finished inquiring about her, 2 other girls came , Thenmozhi & Nisha. Thenmozhi also has finished her 10th and wants to Bio Math in 11th and 12th , while Nisha is entering her 12th std and doing Bio Math.  

We were expecting about 10 students to come , so we waited 15 mins for the students come. Unfortunately for today Priya , Thenmozhi & Nisha were my only students . I’m the English teacher for this Spoken English Workshop:D  . So we started the class with basic introductions from all of them . I spoke in Tamil & English , so that they understand what I’m telling them & get accustomed to listening to English and grasping it. So i asked them to tell me , 5 to 6 sentences about themselves and their family in English. All 3 of them did just fine except for a few minor mistakes which i corrected. 

Our materials also had not yet reached us . Very thankfully i had a few materials for the day which gowri mam lent me , so i could use that with the students . I was still waiting for other students so my next task was i gave the 3 of them a topic each and gave them 2 mins time to think 5 sentences and tell about that topic in English. They were a little scared and uncertain. I also told them if they did not know to express in English , to tell in Tamil. I would translate it for them later and teach them. Nisha had no prob except with few minor mistakes. Thenmozhi was very shy but told 3 sentences well. I took her topic and told her what all she could tell . Priya’s topic was hard so i had to change it. She still struggled , so i helped her too in what kind of sentences she could think of.  

With this basic exercise of knowing how well they are able to speak English and frame sentences. I moved on to the next part of the schedule : Dhamsharaths with vocabulary . I gave them all 2 rounds and told each one a word and its meaning in Tamil and asked them to enact it. They did a pretty good job of it. They could find out fast. I even asked them the plural for “time” and “sound”. I made them each frame sentences with the words they found and the plurals. I helped them out with it.

We then moved on to Framing Sentences. I gave them 1 sheet of Framing Sentences which had pronouns on them. Mostly. the connecting words mostly were: am , are , is… with ending words in the third column. The girls picked up the task pretty quickly and were able to frame sentences. When they did not understand words i gave them the meanings in English and Tamil. 

I then taught them basic pronouns as they were finding some sentence framing difficult . I explained what pronouns are. Showed them sample sentences. Told it with action in Tamil as well. Then from my material , i made them fill up pronouns in sentences 1 at a time. I then gave them home work of 40 sentences … each 10 sentences in different ways to fill a pronoun.  :P

Lastly , for today i worked with them on ANSWERING QUESTIONS. I read the question to them in English and translated it in Tamil. I then made them give me made up answers for them in English and Tamil. Over all , the girls grasping speed was moderate. I will be revising it all with them tomorrow.  :)  

So this first day was a good experience for me. I learnt a little bit of tamil too from them They very thankfully enjoyed it I hope to see them back tomorrow. Til then Adios!!!  

English Teaching Workshop @ SMILES – a breifing

Well… After 4 years of following AID INDIA – EUREKA CHILD organisation, I’ve finally found the time to VOLUNTEER with them . I’m so glad . My first volunteering event is , i need to teach Spoken English to around 15 kids who are doing their 9th,  10th , 11th and 12th. They don’t have fluency in speaking English, so up to me to make sure they are able to speak at least very basic words and sentence which will be essential for their daily use fluently.

They explained to me the schedule , what i have to do , what are the methods i can use [ they even said i could use my own methods , games etc.. depending on the students grasping ability ]. I looked at both the Trainer’s and the Students Materials. There were teaching material , question sheets and answer sheets. They fairly simple and i think i can do it and so can the students. The materials for the students [ some of them ] had tamil translations on them so its easy for the students to grasp and remember. I smiled as i could not read Tamil well  and took it as an opportunity to learn Tamil from the students [ a way of making them interact and talk ] . It’s up to me to make the classes as interactive and fun as possible to make the students response and take interest in the class and come back from more classes.My workshop starts on Monday. I am a little nervous , but let s see what happens on monday!!  

Well so now ill sign out and have a full go through of the documents and see what i can do with them ADIOS PPL!!! 

Satyamev Jayate – Child Sexual Harassment

The second episode of Satyamev Jayate was about Child Sexual Abuse. We always think that the safest place for children is their home or their school.. But we ‘re wrong. In fact those are the most dangerous places. I was shocked to learn that 53% of the children in India are going thro this abuse if taken boys alone it was again 53%.

2 of the abuse survivors spoke to the audience and public. I wish to not mention their names. There were 2 other people from the audience as well who told their stories.. Each one of them had been abused/ raped for 7 – 11 years. The person who abused them was not a stranger but their own family member or friend. It occurred to me then that my thought was right. A child is safe no where.

http://www.satyamevjayate.in/issue02/

As each told their story it brought tears to my eyes. I brought back a lot of bad things which happened to me. But not as worse.  I thought how could anyone be such a sexual psychopath? How can anyone want to do such things to babies and children? Dont they have children of their own? I sometimes wonder what makes them behave like this? What is that they seen in these children that satisfy them, which they do not seen in their spouse?

I wish i could repeat those exact words the victims of sex abuse said on the show. But its too horrible to tell. Their trauma too much to bear. I could not breath as each word made their situation go from bad to worse. Tears were streaming down my eyes. Fury was engulfing me. What angered me the most was that , the parents did not trust their child when the child tried to talk about this. Why? Because when adults themselves dont talk about such things , how and why will they believe the child? The first thought is always ” he/ she is just a child. they dont know what their talking”… right?

Child Sex Abuse happens everywhere the child goes. It is up to us to make sure the children are safe and know how to defend themselves. This is why we need to conduct workshops for children , advice them , train them , repeatedly and at frequent intervals. The stronger and bolder our children , the safer they are. More than anything , the children should be assured that they can talk to anything to their parents , even something such as traumatic as this. There are many people who will not be able to get over things like this , but some have the courage to do so and go on with their lives , hold their head high and be successful. This is how every child must be.

I was more shocked to learn that India did NOT have a law which spoke against this abuse. Why? Because the touching of various parts could not be openly put into the act or something like that. I’d rather have vulgar words in an ACT which keeps people safe rather than not have and destroy people’s childhood and take it away from them. From all this, i should say we all should consider ourselves lucky to live the life we are living and make the best of it.

Let’s see what next week holds for us. Truly this episode has taught India a lot of things and was an eye opener.