Report Card for a Month at Doon

(as a final reflection on what I've learned while at the Doon School in Dehradun I composed this article to share my experience and gratitude with the people of Doon - April 3, 2011)

Report Card for a Month at Doon

When I came to Doon School at the beginning of March I had signed up to teach but also planned to learn as much as I could. At the end of this short term I felt I should assess myself, a report card of sorts. I expected to have a grade in Teaching Yoga to Youth and Social Service in India. The unofficial course descriptions for these two classes being "adapting the instruction of yoga asana for a class of teen-aged students" and "supervising students and participating in a variety of social justice projects" respectively. While assigning myself a grade for how well I taught yoga doesn’t seem proper I can evaluate how much I've learned. From class structure and planning to the excellent questions asked by the C-Formers, my perception of yoga warrants 70%. For Social Service my "assignments" were varied and three had substantial impact: the Bindal School, the John Martyn Memorial School and the trip with O and T House A-Formers to the Almora area. It impressed me to see the Doscos who served the Bindal students; inspired me to experience how the John Martyn School embraced education; and the expedition to Almora-area villages and the A-Formers with whom I explored provoked a deep inquiry and motivation about how to contribute meaningfully to society. Those four words (as both revelation and complication): impressed, inspired, inquiry and motivation were precisely what I needed for my own future endeavors: 96%.

That is where I expected my evaluation to end. However, I came to realize I had also attended two "unregistered" classes the first being Foreign Languages. As it turned out Hindi was not the primary language I was learning and I'm sure I picked up more in both "Body Language" and "Doon School." The latter unexpected language learning came quickly as I navigated new (to me) definitions and concepts like "passing out," "forms" and "cricket" (which I formerly only understood as 'fainting,' 'paper questionnaires' and 'small chirping bugs with wings' - actually, I had heard of the sport of Cricket before, but had never seen it played, let alone watched World Cup matches on T.V.). My effort in Hindi was a lot less impressive than I expected so I can only grade myself 50%.

My final course? It would have to be entitled something like Practicum in Excessive-Control Prevention. I knew I had a great deal to learn on the subject - with my background in event planning, organizational management and even post-secondary studies all the drives to schedule and over-plan are in overdrive while the ability to allow for flexibility and spontaneity is in sore disuse. I must admit I did not expect to have the experience of allowing life to unfold of its own accord in the midst of a well-structured and disciplined environment of a high-caliber residential school. Perhaps it was because of this that I could allow myself to enjoy what life had to offer from yoga lessons and art projects to dancing the jhoda, playing Holi and accompanying American exchange students – I was continually reminded to relinquish the impulse for meticulous over-management and enjoy every moment. Even though I have a lot more to learn, these life-lessons were revolutionary and worthy of an 97%.

It was a month of learning I won't soon forget. The lessons, the exercises and the classes were, of course, critical but were it not for all the people here at Doon - their creativity, cleverness and camaraderie - I doubt I would have learned nearly as much. So to all of you, my teachers, I extend my gratitude.