News

July 24, 2007
ECC Instructor Visits India

Math and Religion Instructor Paul Tolbert traveled to India in June and was able to experience sites like the Taj Mahal up close. Tolbert was a participant in the 2007 Study Visit sponsored by World View, a think tank on global education at UNC-Chapel Hill.

by Jamica Ashley
Staff Writer
The Daily Southerner

How do you teach students about globalization? You travel the world.

Edgecombe Community College is making strides to make sure its graduates are ready to face a competitive world that will not always look and think like themselves by sending faculty and staff around the world to learn firsthand about other cultures.

Paul Tolbert is a math and religion instructor at ECC and was chosen to travel to India with a group of k-12 educators and other community college personnel.

"I will definitely be able to use this in my classes," Tolbert said.

Tolbert said that his trip almost didn't happen but a colleague encouraged him to investigate and see if it was something that would picque his interest.

"I heard at the January kickoff that the college had secured a seat (on the trip), and it was said then that they would later announce the person who would be going," he said. "I already had plans. I was going to be in basic training."

First lieutenant Tolbert is a chaplain in the Army Reserves.

"Johanna Owens encouraged me to look into it, and I did," he continued. "I saw that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, applied, and was selected to go on this trip."

The trip, 2007 Study Visit, is a part of the World View program sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The aim of the program is to increase global education and multiculturalism.

Last year World View sent educators to China, and next year they will send a group to Africa.

After getting several vaccinations, Tolbert, 34, was on his way.

The group of about 35 began their 12-day visit in New Dehli but soon ventured to areas of historical significance.

"The first half of our trip was spent visiting historical sites," he explained, "and the second half was spent seeing religious sites."

While in Jaipur, the group visited the city palace and several forts dating back to the 15th century. The group traveled up a mountain and rode elephants.

"The hawkers, people trying to sell you stuff, were the worst part," Tolbert said. "But I never once felt afraid or at risk. It's just annoying."

The trip back down the mountain, Tolbert said, was riddled with hawkers.

Along the way, the group passed beggars and homeless people whom they were told they could not help.

"That affected me the most as a person of faith," he said. "I wanted to reach out and help them but we were told not to make contact with them. The tour guide told us that begging is a profession in India and that a lot of people make more money begging than they would with a regular job."

The group visited a Sikh Temple that serves as a soup kitchen for the poor.

The Sikh are a splinter group of Hinduism that believes in helping those in need. Hindus believe that if you have poor fortune in this life, it's because of actions in a previous one, so they are not obligated to help.

Among the other historical sites, the group visited the Taj Mahal in Agra, Varanasi, Sarnath, and the Ganges River.

"The Taj Mahal was certainly breathtaking," Tolbert said. "Varanasi is one of the holiest sites for Hinduism, and Sarnath is said to be the location where the first Buddha gave his equavilent to Jesus' the sermon on the mount.

"The Ganges River is also one of the holiest places in India. It is believed that bathing in the river can wash away one's sins," he continued. "And the remains of cremated remains are dumped into the river for a swift passage into the next stage in the life cycle."

There were also several snake charmers in Jaipur to entertain tourists.

Other sites on the trip included a visit to Humayun's Tomb, Parliament House, Hawa Mahal, and a tour of Sari factory.

As educators, the trip would not have been complete without a visit to several schools in the country.

School is not compulsory in India as it is in America. Each "state" has its own rules and regulations concerning education.

"Some have compulsory, but others are not mandated," explained Tolbert, "School starts there at age three. There is no community college equivalent, but there are trade schools and the apprentice model is used in some states."

The top school for India is the India Institute of Technology. The school falls under the country's department of human resources and exists by an act of Parliament.

"I met a graduate (of IIT) in March, and he said that Harvard was always a second choice if one didn't get into IIT," Tolbert said.

The school is strictly competitive, there is not as much weight placed on extracurricular activities, only top students get in. Personal merit and achievement are primary focuses.

During his international trip, Tolbert said that he did not suffer any of those common ailments that a lot of travelers get when traveling to another nation.

"I had no physical problems," he said. "We were not suffering in our accommodations. The food was westernized for us. They tamed it. It wasn't nearly as spicy as I anticipated. The buffets had other options like Chinese, but I tried to sample everything.

"But everyone told us not to trust the water," continued Tolbert. "I brought a suitcase full of my own water just to be safe, but we had Aquafina® water the entire time so we were OK."

Other differences that Tolbert noticed in India included horn-honking in traffic and the rightful place of animals in the city.

"There has to be some order to the chaos, but we didn't see it," he said of the traffic. "Here we blow our horn when we're angry, there they blow their horn just because. You are encouraged to blow your horn. Blowing your horn signals that you're passing someone, and it's just what they do.

"We saw cows in the middle of traffic,"continued Tolbert. "They (cows) have owners, but since they don't have a yard the cows roam the city. And we found out that if you see a sign saying they sell beef, it's not cow, it's water buffalo."

With all of its splendor and "amazing architecture," Tolbert was ready to come back home.

"I had a great time but was ready to come back to the U.S.," he said. "I have a new appreciation for many of the things that we take for granted like education and sanitation. We can drink the water."

Tolbert said he is beginning to think about how to incorporate all that he experienced into his teaching.

"I'm trying to figure that part out," he said. "I was told by the college to experience this, bring it back, and bring it back to your campus. I'm supposed to make recommendations for ECC on how to make all of the curriculum more global."

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