Day 6: TeamUP in Punjab Summer 2017

Day 6 began with a flutter of excitement. After a quick breakfast and with notebooks and pens in hand, we packed into the SUV and made the 15 minute drive over to the school.

Upon arrival, we split the team into two groups of three: group one would do teacher observations and group two would be doing student interviews and counselling. This was our first day doing counselling and observations, and despite only doing one day of training, a majority of student interviews went very well.

The students opened up quite quickly and were very excited to hear the steps and paths they would need to follow to reach their career goals. The teacher observation also seemed to have a positive impact. Their eyes brightened up and smiles widened. Few of the teachers approached the observers after the end of class and asked for tips, suggestions, and improvements they could make. The one–on-one student counselling yielded very promising responses and gave many of us hope that the future of Punjab can be bright.

After the school day ended, we headed home to enjoy a freshly cooked lunch. During our debrief, we acknowledged the fact that we had a promising first day, but also, that there were still many adjustments and refinements to be made. We worked into the night transcribing the student counsellings and teacher observations. Excited to get back to work in the morning, the team grabbed some rest before heading into Day 7.