I mentioned to my email group–which you are most welcome to join if you want to receive totally free emails–that I have a student who would make for a defining interview. This student is from the small South Asian country of Nepal. She moved to America about seven months ago, yet despite her limited time here, her English is nearly flawless (she's been studying our language since she was six). She's attended seven schools in three countries, giving her a fascinating perspective on the school where I teach.
Naturally, I knew I had to interview her. But from the moment I asked her about it she revealed a seemingly steadfast opposition to it. She has a peculiar fear of the Internet, ever wary of her identity appearing here. So instead of hounding her, I decided I could sway by spoiling her. If she wanted to play a game on her IPad because she'd finished her work early, I let her. If she was coming up to my room for lunch and wanted me to hold her pink pencil pouch, I did. If she wanted to use my laptop to Skype her sister from across the world, I gave it to her and told her she'd have the best lighting nearest the window.
However, none of this worked. What did finally work was a nicely written letter to her parents. In the letter I explained the nature of my interviews and her parents gave resounding consent, finally warming her up to the idea. I was finally allowed to record her most articulate and insightful words.
The following is from two short chats we had. We have been limited to stunted conversations because she rides the bus and thus can't stay after school. But don't panic, I'll interview her until her story is told, so this will be the first installment of my interviews with this fascinating student.
Should be recording.
What is this?
A website. I don’t know–I just found it…vocaroo.
I…don’t think we should do this. [Her voice trails off, worried the Internet might be listening.]
It’s not recording you onto the Internet anywhere.
Are you sure about that?
Mmmhmm. Cause once I click this and hit retry it erases it, so I’ll have to type it all up before erasing it.
[She hesitates, looks at the website, back at me, and then nods slightly, giving consent.]
In Nepal, how is testing?
We have five tests, all together. And sometimes we got a surprise test and everyone fails in it. No one passes. Mostly. And first time, I came second in class. In [her old school], that was the best school I’ve ever been in. If you look up the school, outside the school door–it’s a small school, about 100 students–there’s my picture there. I left after grade four.
You left for America?
No. I left for America just now, like six, seven months ago. The interview day was so exciting, when I had the interview for America.
I switched a lot of schools. First I was in ____. Then ____. Then ____ for four years, and that was the longest time I’ve been in a school. Then in a hostile for two years in India. Then in ____. That is the worst school.
And then in [a Connecticut suburban school] for six months.
And now this one?
Yea. It’s just cause my dad’s work. It was so nice in Nepal; it was the best life ever.
Why?
Because whatever I wanted was right there. I went to so many countries, I have a lot of history on my passport.
What are some things you enjoyed in your home country.
Everything. If I wanted to do swimming, I went to the pool.
Do you have bad memories of it?
It was my parent conference [at school], and I was giving certificates, and my parents weren’t there, and they sent a driver to pick me up because they didn’t have time.
Working?
Yea. My dad’s director and manager at so many banks, so he didn’t have time to come.
Talk about the differences in schools.
In my country, we have to wear proper school uniform, not like khaki pants or black pants or any kind of pants, the particular kind of cloth and everything, from a particular shop.
Naturally, I knew I had to interview her. But from the moment I asked her about it she revealed a seemingly steadfast opposition to it. She has a peculiar fear of the Internet, ever wary of her identity appearing here. So instead of hounding her, I decided I could sway by spoiling her. If she wanted to play a game on her IPad because she'd finished her work early, I let her. If she was coming up to my room for lunch and wanted me to hold her pink pencil pouch, I did. If she wanted to use my laptop to Skype her sister from across the world, I gave it to her and told her she'd have the best lighting nearest the window.
However, none of this worked. What did finally work was a nicely written letter to her parents. In the letter I explained the nature of my interviews and her parents gave resounding consent, finally warming her up to the idea. I was finally allowed to record her most articulate and insightful words.
The following is from two short chats we had. We have been limited to stunted conversations because she rides the bus and thus can't stay after school. But don't panic, I'll interview her until her story is told, so this will be the first installment of my interviews with this fascinating student.
Should be recording.
What is this?
A website. I don’t know–I just found it…vocaroo.
I…don’t think we should do this. [Her voice trails off, worried the Internet might be listening.]
It’s not recording you onto the Internet anywhere.
Are you sure about that?
Mmmhmm. Cause once I click this and hit retry it erases it, so I’ll have to type it all up before erasing it.
[She hesitates, looks at the website, back at me, and then nods slightly, giving consent.]
In Nepal, how is testing?
We have five tests, all together. And sometimes we got a surprise test and everyone fails in it. No one passes. Mostly. And first time, I came second in class. In [her old school], that was the best school I’ve ever been in. If you look up the school, outside the school door–it’s a small school, about 100 students–there’s my picture there. I left after grade four.
You left for America?
No. I left for America just now, like six, seven months ago. The interview day was so exciting, when I had the interview for America.
I switched a lot of schools. First I was in ____. Then ____. Then ____ for four years, and that was the longest time I’ve been in a school. Then in a hostile for two years in India. Then in ____. That is the worst school.
And then in [a Connecticut suburban school] for six months.
And now this one?
Yea. It’s just cause my dad’s work. It was so nice in Nepal; it was the best life ever.
Why?
Because whatever I wanted was right there. I went to so many countries, I have a lot of history on my passport.
What are some things you enjoyed in your home country.
Everything. If I wanted to do swimming, I went to the pool.
Do you have bad memories of it?
It was my parent conference [at school], and I was giving certificates, and my parents weren’t there, and they sent a driver to pick me up because they didn’t have time.
Working?
Yea. My dad’s director and manager at so many banks, so he didn’t have time to come.
Talk about the differences in schools.
In my country, we have to wear proper school uniform, not like khaki pants or black pants or any kind of pants, the particular kind of cloth and everything, from a particular shop.
And here?
Here it’s nothing like that. Jeans or cotton pants or anything, you can wear anything here. Only in Hartford I think, in [her other Connecticut school] there were no school uniforms. It was so much fun there; I loved that school.
Wait another thing. Girls need to have two braids, one here and one here. And then the rubber, the color of the bands, they needed to be the color that the school wanted it to be. The bags you use had to be the school’s bags; it had the name of the school and it was a particular bag.
What did you think about all that? Very particular.
Yea very strict. Very, very like strict, and here it’s not strict. You can bring phones to school. You can have money in your pocket. Like over there, if you were caught with money you would be expelled or something. Or phones, the worst. No electronic devices, nothing.
Here it’s nothing like that. Jeans or cotton pants or anything, you can wear anything here. Only in Hartford I think, in [her other Connecticut school] there were no school uniforms. It was so much fun there; I loved that school.
Wait another thing. Girls need to have two braids, one here and one here. And then the rubber, the color of the bands, they needed to be the color that the school wanted it to be. The bags you use had to be the school’s bags; it had the name of the school and it was a particular bag.
What did you think about all that? Very particular.
Yea very strict. Very, very like strict, and here it’s not strict. You can bring phones to school. You can have money in your pocket. Like over there, if you were caught with money you would be expelled or something. Or phones, the worst. No electronic devices, nothing.
I stayed in a hostel in India, so there I had a cover to keep my stuff, my clothes, my things. When you reach to sixth grade, then you have to use pen to write, you could not use pencil unless a teacher tells you to. Before that you could not use pen to write your work, and you had a notebook for each and every subject, and a textbook for each and every subject hat you had to carry in your backpack every day. And you HAVE to have a book bag. Like here they don’t even carry a pencil to school. I told my dad about that, that I don’t need a book bag, and he was like, he got so mad at me, he was like, “You’re going to school, act like you’re going to school!"
Oh my god. And then he actually saw. When I take the bus, [two other students], they come with me, and they do not even carry a pencil–they only have their phone in their hand. My Dad’s like, “Oh my god, these are the people who go to school with you?” I was like, "Yea, I told you." He was like, “Hah!”
He was like so mad, like, they don’t need to even have a pencil with them, and over there in the other [Connecticut] school, they had a pencil at least; they had a book bag.
That was very nice. They didn’t have the cell phone policy, but if they caught them, they gave it to the teacher and the teacher gives it to them like at the end of the day or at the end of the class.
And we had four classes. We had social studies; she was my favorite teacher, my favorite subject. I had so much fun, and now I don’t like it at all.
What's different about social studies here?
It’s so boring! It’s like about thousands and thousands of years earlier now. It’s like 100 [AD] something and you don’t even get books related to those in the library it’s so old. I went to look for those and they were not there; they don’t have it.
I have so many questions about things you've said. Why were students expelled from over there if they had money in their pockets?
Because they didn’t need money. They had money, so they were day schoolers and day boarders and boarders. Boarders were the ones who used to stay for like ever. [She was a boarder in India.]
Day boarders [attend school] all day long and they go home at five. Day schoolers used to get over at one. That was the best thing! And then they used to go home at that time and I always used to think–
What time does the lunch end?
Three minutes.
Okay. And I always used to think if I was a day schooler it would be so much fun for me. I would go home at one every day–it's a holiday!
All images courtesy of Weebly.com
Oh my god. And then he actually saw. When I take the bus, [two other students], they come with me, and they do not even carry a pencil–they only have their phone in their hand. My Dad’s like, “Oh my god, these are the people who go to school with you?” I was like, "Yea, I told you." He was like, “Hah!”
He was like so mad, like, they don’t need to even have a pencil with them, and over there in the other [Connecticut] school, they had a pencil at least; they had a book bag.
That was very nice. They didn’t have the cell phone policy, but if they caught them, they gave it to the teacher and the teacher gives it to them like at the end of the day or at the end of the class.
And we had four classes. We had social studies; she was my favorite teacher, my favorite subject. I had so much fun, and now I don’t like it at all.
What's different about social studies here?
It’s so boring! It’s like about thousands and thousands of years earlier now. It’s like 100 [AD] something and you don’t even get books related to those in the library it’s so old. I went to look for those and they were not there; they don’t have it.
I have so many questions about things you've said. Why were students expelled from over there if they had money in their pockets?
Because they didn’t need money. They had money, so they were day schoolers and day boarders and boarders. Boarders were the ones who used to stay for like ever. [She was a boarder in India.]
Day boarders [attend school] all day long and they go home at five. Day schoolers used to get over at one. That was the best thing! And then they used to go home at that time and I always used to think–
What time does the lunch end?
Three minutes.
Okay. And I always used to think if I was a day schooler it would be so much fun for me. I would go home at one every day–it's a holiday!
All images courtesy of Weebly.com