Teacher volunteers in India over the summer

Graciella Gomez, Staff Reporter
Originally published October 18, 2016

India Carlson (Physical Science, Botany, and Environmental Horticulture teacher) took a trip to India over the summer, and while she was there she saw and felt the changes in a country that she hadn’t been to in 25 years. While embracting the changes, she found ways to help the teachers at the school in India better the education plan in ways that are used at Ballard.

After college she decided to travel for a year. She bought a one-way ticket to Southeast Asia. She spent half of her trip going from Southern India, all the way up the West Coast, then inland and left from Delhi.

During her trip she was able to experience what it was like being the minority, “Being in a culture completely different from your own, being white in a country that is not white, and being a woman traveling there especially in that time period. when India was still very conservative,” said Carlson.

One thing she took away from the trip was the celebration of life and color that was expressed through clothes. “I mean, I was into that before, but I will never dress in grey, in boring, in black ever again,” she vowed.

After 10 years of teaching and other events in her life Mrs. Carlson decided to go back to India. This time to “work, contribute, or volunteer” in a country that helped shape who she is today.

The application process was long and stacked with paperwork. She needed letters of recommendation, her credentials, a proposal, and when they accepted her she had two weeks to get everything ready to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

She worked hard with her co-workers to develop lesson plans that would positively impact the way students were learning science and math. By the end of her trip she helped teachers find creative ways to teach instead of the “lesson only style where the teachers are the only speakers.”

Growth is a constant in one’s life, you mustn’t be surprised when you end up in the same place but different situation. Just grow with the flow. As time moves forward so does your knowledge and acceptance towards new ideas and beliefs.