The name is absent

working either individually or in small groups. The doors
connecting the classrooms were opened and children moved
easily between the four classrooms.

Some students were preparing for a drama competition.
There were seven groups of about four children in a group
seated on soft matting on the ground. They were singing
songs in English, Marathi and Hindi. Two groups had boxes
of costumes laid out on the floor and were discussing which
costumes were suitable for the competition. Individuals
were seated at windows sketching the scenery, some were
painting on small easels while a few were measuring and
cutting cardboard.

There was only one teacher present, and the classroom was
visited twice by two senior teachers who stayed for fifteen
minutes each during the two hour period. The teachers
moved between the groups, and discussed with the students
the work they were doing. There was an easy informality
about the lesson. The students encouraged one another and
spoke or sang in English, Marathi and Hindi.

The combined arts class was the school's method for
covering absent teachers. It was successful as a learning
environment, because the students participated in the
activity in which they excelled or were interested in, and
were given the opportunity of making a choice.

Ironically, students looked forward to the combined arts
class which unfortunately, was not part of the organised
timetable, became, as mentioned previously they only
occurred during teachers' absences. This classroom
possessed some of the ideas which the researcher used to
create a theory-practice model for Anglo-Indian schools
(c.f. discussion below Ch.9 p.331).

Apart from the fact that there were no specialist teachers

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