Humbled

Day 2 – 12/13/12

This morning when I awoke, I spent some time reading through the Culture Smart book titled The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture India.  I did not read it before coming because I had the intent to use the flight for that but...  After spending a day driving through India and a good night's sleep, I did get some done and understand it better having experienced Indian life for a day.  This is a good example of how context affects comprehension.  That reflection could be a blog in itself.  What I have found pertinent for now is the information about family, honor, and shame because that seems to be the driving force/the structure from which everything hangs.  As a female with an extrovert personality preference, I realize this is a great opportunity for me to learn to zip the lip and listen.  I am glad I brought my audio recorder because I think it will help me stay focused and also give me the chance to hear how I handled myself.  Did I show restraint or did I support the stereotyping that is extended to me as being an American.  How many times do we do that ourselves unconsciously?  Now I get to walk in someone elses shoes.  Karma at play.  

It is 3:30 in the afternoon and I am back at the Friary after visiting 4 institutions of learning.  Each one connected through the community's value of education.  The state of Kerala has a literacy rate of 91%, the highest rate in India.  I took my audio recorder and was allowed to tape the conversations.  So much was covered; my head is swimming right now with thoughts, ideas, and possibilities.   I am finding myself thinking from the qualitative researcher perspective, what codings keep bubbling up? 

What I am hearing is the Catholic Church sees supporting education as its mission.  The Father at the k-12 school views the school's role to include character and moral building. 

He talked about the collaboration and partnership the school has with parents and teachers.  Schooling never ends.  The school averages around 150 students per grade level; classes can have around 30 - 40 students/teacher.  The principals rotate through the Diocese's school; their tenure at one place is around 5 - 9 years, keeping experience around while enabling them the opportunity to learn and see how others are succeeding; time to implement change while preventing a rut from forming. The Fr. viewed it as a calling rather than a profession.  I was not sure what I would find in the classrooms following Fr.'s comment about how structured the class is behavior wise.  I hope the recorder picked up all the noise and giggles we heard as the Kindergarten students practiced for their Christmas celebration on the 22nd.  

                                                        They do yoga!

Yes they do walk in lines as they head for the swimming pool and carefully walked along the pool edge as they got ready for instruction. What I found intoxicating were all the many big bright eyes and smiles from everyone as we popped our head into the classroom doors.  They looked as if they felt comfortable in their skin, they knew they had a purpose and that was to learn. They felt loved yet knew they had a responsibility to uphold.  And I think this sense of responsibility shows the interplay of the culture's value on upholding its family’s honor at all costs, its definition of family which extends beyond the immediate household to include blood relatives as well as neighbors, and the community as a whole, and the importance of an education. I think it also is an outcome of Fr's philosophy that when you give a child directions, you explain why, include its relevancy. I was surprised to hear this from a Catholic priest because my assumptions was blind obedience was taught, no questions asked.  I never liked that philosophy.  Here was an example of how treating children with respect and courtesy, pays off in the long run.  It is a different view on life and the role we have in each others lives.  Also I found out that children attend preschool starting at 2.5 years old, including children living in poverty.   

 

The Principal/Dean at the College of Science and Technology shared the school's vision which involves collaborating with businesses around the world.  The school's mission is to create students with skill sets that is based on a foundation of knowledge that will enable the students to be flexible and adaptive.  There is not enough business around this area to support the number of graduates from this institution so they have created alliances with businesses throughout the world in order to create programs of study that meet everyone's needs.  Students do internships and after graduation are expected to return in a couple of years to sharpen their skills - learning never stops.  He used a 3-sided box as his example - give the students a foundation of knowledge from which can spring tailored specialties.  That way if there is no longer a need for Skill A but for Skill B, the graduate has the ability to adapt.  He also talked about the need to focus on soft skills in order for graduates to have the social skills needed for the work environment.  This is a topic that is making headlines in our secondary education institutions.  To me it sounds somewhat similar to our country's common core standards.  I think the challenge for us is to change the mindset of the decision makers who focus solely on test scores and not on making sure students have flexible skills to adapt. 

After lunch we went to a high school that is also run by the catholic diocese. This school is at the other end of the spectrum from the 1st because it is funded by student fees with some govt. funding and control of the school, budget & all, is in the hands of the Principal.  He is experiencing both a decline in enrollment and high teacher turnover because more schools/educational opportunities are being built around the neighborhood that are being government funded.  It  offers better pay to teachers.  The catholic diocese has their own process for selecting teachers that does not include considering the person's caste.  My assumption is that school will close in a few years. 

What touched me the most is his comment that the students cleaned the school in honor of my visit.  Add to that Fr. Leo's comment about teachers are revered here, 2nd to parents, I am finding this a very humbling experience.