Another Big Picture in Educational Practice: Collegiality and Collaboration

I want to return to my earlier observations about the collegiality in this public school and illustrate it with an example: Pyari tells me that he was hospitalized in June for five days with Dengue fever and that his illness coincided with the demands of planning for our program.  While he was supposed to be sending out itineraries and making arrangements for our visit, he was languishing with fever and sickness.  I learn for the first time that much of the communication from him that TGC, Cheri, and I received at that time was made from his hospital bed!

But it didn't matter that he was confined to the hospital - his colleagues stepped in and made it all work.  And I truly believe we got the most amazing program offered to any TGC fellows!

We see this collegiality in all that we do in Poonjar.  Most days, we travel with an "entourage" of faculty members and support staff, all of whom we have grown to love. Their openness and collegiality is evident in all that they do for us:

Colleagues and friends sharing lunch at Shiny's

• Vinod, Nandan, Pyari, and Josit, among others, bring Cheri and I to visit a "working" elephant who is in his resting season at the teak sawmill near town, as well as helping me climb a very difficult mountain to witness a spectacular waterfall.
• We have eaten in more homes then I can count, including that of Anuja, Nandan, Shiny, Josit, and many, many others.
• Josit and Lincy hosted us for an overnight visit in their spectacularly appointed home.  Just as we do, they kicked their oldest children out of their bedrooms to do so!  :)   (Many, many thanks to Josh, Joselin, and Jeswin!)We are invited into classrooms to speak with, and learn from, their students, as well as observing lessons.  Even the "student" teachers are willing to be watched, because they know that their efforts will be nurtured and respected.

Pyari is our Renaissance man, with a vast knowledge of science, literature, and spirituality, that he imparts to us throughout our stay.  I learned more about Hinduism in a half hour car ride then I have learned in all of my life up until now.

Kerala is unique in its religious history, with 50% of the residents being Roman Catholic, and robust populations of both Hindus and Muslims.  Pyari, Sunitha, and Nanda are Hindu, Josit and Lincy are Catholic.  All students attend all schools here and their appears to be a culture of mutual respect amongst the religious identities.  In fact, Pyari explains that proselytizing is illegal in India, and everyone seems to believe that religious practice is simply one more piece of one's identity, not a cause for division.

Pyari describes how their practices "bleed" into one and one of the best illustrations of this is the fact that all churches, temples, and mosques have a tall flagpole of brass that was originally a part of Hindu practice.

Cathedral in Kerala with Hindu-style flagpole