Fed-Ex Teachers

Arun Venugopal July 09, 2001 00:00 IST Fed-Ex Teachers -0001-11-30T00:00:00+05:53

ON her first day at work in an American school, Shigy Joe, hailing from Delhi, decided to observe a high school class in session before she actually began teaching one. Sitting inconspicuously at the back of the classroom, the 27-year-old couldn't help but notice a male student staring at her. Pulled up for doing so, the boy simply blurted out: "I'm looking at her because I've fallen in love with her."

Once the initial shock had worn off, Shigy was in for another surprise. The boy, she was told, was mentally retarded, the only such student in an otherwise average class of maths students. His inclusion in the class was owing to his special skills in algebra. "It's amazing," says Shigy, who has since befriended the student. "In India, we don't treat these kids as normal and lavish 'special' attention on them."

Coming as it did only a week after her arrival at Chester High School, in Chester, Pennsylvania, the experience set a decisive tone for the young teacher: here was an opportunity to interact with small classes, employing the latest technology and innovative...