It was a surprise visit, the plan was made on short notice.
Since Thomas, my neigbour from Thevara and our alumnus (and the youngest son of one of our stalwart math professors) was giving me a ride all the way from New York to Boston, and he had to drive back to Maryland all alone from New York, I thought, I should not let him do that, and decided that I would accompany him back to Maryland, as the trip back from Maryland is a familiar route for me by bus or rail.
I negotiated with my newly found friend, Rev. Santhosh of the Trinitarian congregation to adjust the day for me to stay at his place, and find some time for our explorations for partnership across the borders in school education. His enthusiasm for the project was contagious, it was not confined to his institution or congregation, but rather he evinced a capacity to make anybody's good his project. I was happy to learn that he was a CMI product having had his school education with our Star Jesus High School.
He accommodated linking me with certain institutions within his otherwise hectic schedule as the pastor of a very large parish of about 2000 members, and the being the President of a very vibrant catholic grade school - St. Mark's - in Ellicott City.
Against the typical trends in catholic school education, the Baltimore diocese of Maryland presents a bright picture where traditional catholic families make a conscious choice to send their children to catholic schools. St Mark's attached to the parish is doing well with some 700 students from K to VIII. We visited the neighbouring Mount St. Joseph's High School in the neighbourhood.
The school was established by the Xaverian brothers in 1876 by Bro Bernadine CFX. He identified the spot and requested the owner to sell the property to establish the school, but the latter was unwilling. Then, as a typical catholic in the tradition of St Joseph devotion, he made a 'bargain' with the saint, that he would dedicate the school after him, if the land could be availed. And in the typical St. Joseph fashion, the owner relents, and the deal is done, and Mt St. Joseph's emerged! Though hardly any Xaverian brother is directly involved in teaching or adminstration, the vision and the spirit are maintained by the adminstration.
The President of the school and the Principal were busy. We met with Dr. Clay, the mission director, who is also in charge of Catholic Theology classes for the school for which there were four teachers with the school. Grades IX to XII had over 800 students.
The facilities appeared really state of the art - adequate stress is given to physical fitness and sports - with a well-equipped football stadium, indoor basketball courts and gymnasium, vast open areas and greenery, an excellent 3D lab with machines for 3D printing, a spacious dining hall, a student involved experiments in aquaponics, a workshop for skill training in various crafts, and a system of reaching out to the needy in the neighbourhood.
I observed that in spite of its being a high school exclusively for boys, the boys bore a friendly, receptive appearance, not boisterous and not having rebellion written on their faces. I felt at home. The school is said to have good basketball and volleyball teams.
One of the student projects was the preparation of a way of the cross on the campus, with the stations being identified, copied and manufactured and installed in an appropriate place. Much skill learning happens by means of this. A small chapel serves as a centre for spiritual energisation.
I felt that the key differences from the Indian schools were: (i) involved and activity/problem-centred learning (ii) the importance given to sports (iii) the friendliness of the teachers. This is from my observation of a few other US schools as well. On the other hand, in general information and math achievement at the end of the school, on average, the Indian school student may be far ahead. Teachers of Indian schools appear to be younger, smarter and better qualified. A trend with school leadership is that of having higher degrees, including Ph D for top leaders of the school.
The tall tower of the school is more than 100 years old, and is out of bounds for the students, except on the day of their graduation. They are permitted to climb up and place a brick with their name on it on that day!
It was a sunny day in the fall, and the campus was all bright with the maples and other trees in very attractive colours. The campus opens up for prospective candidates, one of these days when they could come accompanied by their parents, explore the campus, and see if that fits them. There would be presentations and snacks as well.
We are eagerly looking forward to partnering with them in academic and cultural exchanges - offline and online - between our schools at the student and faculty levels.
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