Keith in Sri Lanka

I started off today watching two very good lessons in Grades 5 and 6 - one English and one maths - and I then did a document scrutiny during my break time, before observing a history lesson.  After that, I went back to Grades 7 and 8, where I observed an excellent Buddhism lesson, and another English lesson. I relaxed in the apartment for a while in the afternoon, before going back into school for a feedback session with Madam Sandra and Managing Director Ravi. The highlight of my day was being invited out for dinner at Dinura's home this evening. Madam Sandra has been incredibly good to me, and she has invited me to her home on many occasions, and also to her brother's home, and her daughter's home in Colombo, but this was the first time in 3 visits to Kurunegala that I have been to anyone else's home for dinner, and I actually felt quite moved by the whole occasion, as it was a really lovely evening with Dinura and his family. I first met Dinura in February last year ...

I had a very enjoyable morning working with Lalanga again - doing two more lesson observations - one history lesson and one English literature lesson. I enjoyed the English literature lesson very much, as it was always my favourite subject at school - right through to doing English 'A' Level. I might even have studied English at university, but I was quite a slow reader, so I didn't think I would be able to get through the volume of reading needed quickly enough. I had an early lunch, followed by a meeting with two of the Administration team, which was very revealing. I then had a bit of a disaster of an afternoon, as the two lesson observations I was supposed to do then didn't happen, which I found rather frustrating. I had a little chat with someone about it, but I wasn't able to catch Ravi, as he is simply snowed under, and has to prepare for a rather difficult meeting tomorrow, so it was best not to bother him. I came back to the apartment - I was here by 15:00,...

It was yet another busy day for me at the Royal International School (see https://ris.lk if you are interested in finding out a bit more about the school). I have been tasked with coaching/mentoring two of the Sectional Heads - Priyani in Grades 5 and 6, and Lalanga in Grades 7 and 8. This morning, I had 3 joint lesson observations with Lalanga - one English, one maths, and one geography, which were an enjoyable way to coach/mentor Lalanga. In the afternoon, I had 2 joint lesson observations with Priyani - one English and one public speaking before having a feedback session with Ravi and Buddhika and two retired supporters of the school. I obviously only have limited time to have any sort of impact, but I have been very encouraged by the work I have done so far, and I am hopeful that I will have made some difference to the leadership and management of the school before I leave. My limited time remaining includes three more weekends before I fly home weeks' tomorrow. As I am on my o...

I was up very early and had breakfast at 07:30, ready for an 08:00 start with Lalanga in Grades 7 and 8 but then got a text message from him that I wouldn't be needed until 09:30, due to a morning general assembly and religious blessing programme, which had completely slipped his mind (even though it happens every Monday). I made good use of the extra time by visiting Chandika in his office to chat with him about a spreadsheet I wanted to produce! I did meet up with Lalanga at 09:30 and spent just over 2 hours with him. He is the Sectional Head of Grades 7 and 8, and I have been tasked with supporting his development in terms of his leadership of that section of the school (which has 442 students aged 12,13, and 14). It's a significant responsibility, with a wide range of tasks to complete, and we went through them, discussing how he could run a weekly checklist of many of his key responsibilities. For the second hour, I conducted a learning walk with Lalanga, where we looked a...

This was another restful weekend day, where I got up late, had a bit of breakfast, then proceeded to sort out a few key emails for Tea Leaf Trust. Just after 11:00, I was summoned by Madam Sandra to come to her house for lunch, after which we would drive to her friend Anthony's home the other side of Kandy. He runs a beautiful guest house there called Rangala House, whilst also owning a Sri Lankan restaurant in Bristol called The Kandyan. We had lunch around 12:00 but we didn't set off for Rangala House until 14:00 and the journey took just over 2 hours. It felt wonderful to be back there, as it is a very special place, and Anthony and Sam gave us such a warm welcome. We only stayed just short of 2 hours, then had a 2-hour journey back again. You might think that a 4-hour journey for a 2-hour stay wasn't worth the effort, but I would do it again in an instant, as it is such a magical place. I was very reluctant to leave after only 2 hours, but I have promised myself that I ...

I had a very pleasant day off today, as I got up a bit later, then went over to the school lobby, where Madam Sandra had arranged for her driver, Gayethri, accompanied by her housekeeper, Monika, to take me to the top of Elephant Rock, where an enormous statue of Buddha overlooks the city of Kurunegala. Neither Gayethri nor Monika speak English, and I don't speak Sinhala, so it was an interesting excursion conducted mainly through sign language. The Buddha statue is an impressive sight, and the views over the city and surrounding countryside are quite spectacular, so I enjoyed being there again. Madame Sandra had gone to Colombo for the day, so it was very kind of her to arrange this trip for me. She had also arranged for Gayethri and Monika to bring me back to her house for lunch, which consisted of dhosas with daal, and some hot coffee, which I very much enjoyed, using the time there to catch up on yesterday's blog. Around 14:00 they dropped me off in town at 'No Limit...