Today we volunteered at one of the schools in Dharamsala that teaches the children of the Tibetan refugees here. One of the major goals of the Dalai Lama, and one that is passionately supported by the refugees, is the preservation of the unique culture and language of Tibet, especially they are being systematically eradicated in Chinese occupied Tibet. In the early days of exile, many parents withdrew their children from school to earn some extra money at any odd job. The government in exile and the Dalai Lama stressed the importance of education and a number of both private and government run schools open. Youngling is a nursery school and kindergarten, serving kids from 18 months to 5 years while their parents work or go to school to learn skills.
The children are, of course, darling. We watched the day begin with morning prayers, mostly done as the children (not the babies, but the 2-5 year olds, stood in lines and sang back each line the teacher sang. Those kids stood there for well over 20 minutes, keeping in their straight lines in call and response. 
It seems that most of the instruction is done in this recitation style. After the prayers, we observed/helped in the four year old room, and the next day in the Kindergarten. The teaching style reminds me of the methodology they called Direct Instruction in the US. (Although there was no teacher guide to follow). The four year old children were learning the Tibetan alphabet and numbers and the English words for the days of the week. The teacher said a word and the children, sitting in little two person desks, called back the answers. The five year olds were learning three letter words with the 'a' sound in the middle (like bat, cat, jam). Again the teacher called out the phonetic sounds and the word and the children (at the top of their lungs) shout back. Although there was some squirming, obviously the expectation is that the children will sit quietly and pay attention for significantly long periods of time. This whole observation was a striking difference than most preschools I have seen in the United State. Songs and rhymes are obviously an important vehicle for instruction. For the days of the week and for the Tibetan alphabet, after the teacher modeled verbally, there was also a song that incorporated what she was trying to teach.
Teaching Tibetan culture is central to this school's mission, and the music teacher came to teach the four year olds a traditional Tibetan song. I couldn't get a translation from the teacher, but she said that it was a kind of marching or walking song. They also learn traditional Tibetan dance. On Monday I will visit one of the government run schools, the Tibetan Children's Day School.
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