Lots of Time, So Little to Do!

Wait. Strike that. Reverse that...LOTS to do, SO little time to do it!:)

It's been a busy week or so since my last blog post! Anu and I have been working extremely hard on our research and have learned many things, had a breakthrough in information, and continue to revamp our ever-changing schedule. Last week, we went to several places to gather information, all relatively close to Banepa. This week, I've been in Kathmandu running errands and getting a few things done while Anu attends her cousin's wedding.

First, we went to a nearby town called Dhulikhel, where you have an amazing veiw of the Himalayan mountains (sadly, that was the day I forgot my camera), and where there are several organizations we'd been told that we should speak with. Despite putting in an 8-hour day and having all intentions of being productive, our day ended with very little information. During the day, we went to three government offices that deal with education in the Kavre district, and fortunately found many cooperative people, who unforunately, had very little information for us. Ultimately the day was spent walking from office to office, drinking tea, meeting with a number of people, and riding the bus. One place, the Education Training Center, was most helpful, as they provide professional development courses for teachers, including a brief (12 day) sign language class for teachers of the deaf. I was most impressed by the effort put into making the professional development courses useful for the teachers - schools are scouted to see what the teacher needs are, and then there is follow-up with the teachers after the training to ensure that they have learned from the training and are implenting what they've learned in their classrooms. Help is also provided to those who need it.

The majority of the time last week was spent in Bhaktapur, a beautiful old town that is a world heritage site due to its ancient temples, palaces and sights. We met with the president of the Bhaktapur Deaf Association the first day, and then spent the following three days at the CBR Deaf School and finally went to the CBR (Community Based Rehabiliation) office on Friday. I met the principal (and teacher) from the deaf school in September during the deaf parade in Kathmandu and she had invited me to see her school when I got the chance. It was wonderful to see her again, and she warmly welcomed us into the school. The school is situated inside the campus of a hearing school, but is run separately, and operates as a separate entity with different schedules, rules, and protocols. There are 3 classrooms, and the students range from beginners (early preschool) to class five. Each of the classrooms house 2grades - Beginners & Class 1, Class 2 & 4, and Lower Primary (Kindergarten) & Class 5. The splits are a little different, but the principal explained to me that the largest split (K & 5th) allows her to her instruction time on the 5th graders who have more a more difficult curriculum, while the younger students are able to work by themselves. I have mixed feelings, but it seems to be working well in Bhaktapur. Having some experience teaching multiple grades, I think that there are extrordinary challenges regardless of how the grade splits are done.

While at the CBR school, I was able to observe all three classes, taught by 2 hearing teachers (who are fluent in Nepali Sign Language) and one deaf teacher. All three teachers have been teaching and signing for a long time, and this is evident in their instruction. One observation I did make, however, was how a lack of subject specific (in this case, deaf and/or special education) training can cause problems in the classroom. While one teacher who had the least training was a talented teacher and understood how to teach so his students would understand, he lacked the proverbial "toolbox" learned in training to deal with a student who had some cognitive delays. As a result, the student received very little behavioral modification, and little to no academic instruction. Had the teacher had formal education training, despite the challenges of having a multi-grade classroom with students who are deaf (and the student who is deaf plus), he may have been able to come up with ways to better handle the situation. This observation, as well as discussions with the principal (Yojani-ji), led to the idea of taking my research - when it is more complete - to several universities in Nepal and broaching the idea of beginning university programs for teachers of the deaf and interpreters. As of now, there is only a 6 month training in sign language for new teachers, and no higher education degrees in deaf education or interpretation. Even if the discussions don't bring about immediate changes, informing the universities of the need may start the ball rolling for future implementation.

Also at the Bhaktapur Schools for the Deaf, Anu and I observed a weekly sign language class for students' family members that is held after school on Friday. I was extremely impressed by the number of family members (mainly mothers, but including siblings, a grandmother, and a lone father) and their enthusiasm for learning Nepali Sign. The class was held in a classroom at the school and taught by one of the teachers.

On Friday, we went to the CBR center (an NGO who founded and runs the school), to speak to the director and founder. The Bhaktapur CBR is a very impressive organization that was begun as a program that would help all individuals who are differently-abled in the Bhaktapur district with whatever they need to be successful. This includes education, medical care, technological assistance, job searches, and anything else the individuals may need. The program is run by locals for locals, and while they now work cooperatively with the governement and generally receive funding from other international NGOs, the work is carried out by local employees who are determined to improve conditions for people who are deaf, blind, have physical challenges, or any type of cognitive challenge. They are currently struggling with funding, but continue to work hard to provide for the needs of the people they serve. Also, while there, I found out that a list of deaf classrooms and schools in Nepal does exist! - and apparently there are around 140 of them! While I was a bit shocked by seeing something that I had asked for for the last 3 months and assumed didn't exist, and the sheer number of schools, I am so grateful for the information.

Now Anu and I are faced with the task of reprioritizing and scheduling our next few months. I believe our first priority will be the independently functioning deaf "schools", the second, the local deaf organizations and NGOs around those schools, and then finally we will attempt to visit as many classrooms in as many parts of Nepal as possible. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it, but I truly believe the research we come up with will be worth the hard work. Right now, our biggest challenge is remembering to schedule some free-time for ourselves on the long trips. Yesterday, going day by day over one of our trips, I realized we had just given ourselves 17 straight days of full time work and travel... I think we'll be doing some adjusting!

More stories about day-to-day life in Nepal coming shortly! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!