Notes from India #3: An Attempt at Invoking Curiosity through Critical Literacy

This article is part of a series of articles written by Mathujitha Sankaran about her experiences during the year abroad in India. Click here for part one and part two. My initial contact with the Eureka Koovathur Model School involved glimpses of the Social Science classroom. The subject teacher (Ms. Umarani) was teaching a chapter on the wildlife

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A walk around Kathmandu

There is a lot to do in Nepal, especially adrenaline-pumping activities such as mountain climbing, paragliding, bungee jumping and much more. But if you’re interested in history and religion, a very important factor to help you understand Nepalese society is a visit to Kathmandu. Various important Hindu and Buddhist temples are spread around Kathmandu. These

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Commencement at ECLA

“Commencement”: though the word is rhetorically indicative of a beginning, it has trouble escaping its connotation––at least for students––as the official conclusion, the shake of the hand, and the goodbye to the thousands of pages and hours, myriad lunch debates, late-nights, page-tabbing, research forays, and all that comes along with the pursuit of a liberal

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Of Memories Old and Present

Jelena Barac is an ECLA of Bard BA student who spent the 3rd year abroad at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro When I was little, two ladies that were our neighbors took care of me while my mom was at work. They would feed me delicious smoked bacon, allow me to transform their

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Notes from India: #2

I was invited to a conference in Chennai to learn about the results of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012. Various educators, activists and writers were invited to share their perspectives on the current state of the Tamil Nadu education system. ASER is an annual educational assessment conducted throughout India to test the

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Notes from India: #1

Mathujitha Sankaran is a 3rd year student, currently interning for an education NGO in India.  Prior to my trip to India, I have long been intrigued by the dualities that contemporary Indian society so evidently displays. How is it that, time and again, the caste structure has persisted alongside the modernization of other aspects of

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