Why 'Tradition' in Schools?

                     I’m writing these lines in an era when the schools are well informed and made aware about traditions. As we all know, tradition is a belief, custom or way of doing something that has existed for a long time among a particular group of people.

                    It is the time of history when communities are searching for their lost traditions, history and individual recognition. This is the period of revolutions where the records of day to day life are stored in Emails and Facebook accounts and not in the legal notices. The present generation is slowly and steadily becoming familiar with taking things with face-value. The lessons of the past and the proud histories behind each monument have little to do with the present day’s human beings. And it is a sad story to tell, and a truth to realize that even in the most flourishing schools, there are no efforts to maintain the schools’ own traditions and its proud histories, “in the founder’s own style”.

                    Go around Batticaloa; the place where I was brought up as a child, or on an all-island trip in Sri Lanka or even travel around the world and see, how some of the exceptional schools in one particular region maintain their dignity in their own styles. Irrespective of the region’s culture, the ethnicity, the religion, the public opinion and the majority’s influence, the school as one family learns to maintain its own history’s influence and not the region’s influence. The school as a system tries its best and strives to convey its founders’ vision and the mission through generations, “in the alpha’s own style”. And that is what we call integrity and faithfulness; there comes gratitude. 

                    Above all, the schools become outstanding by the peculiar tradition to which the students of the school belong to and show up. If the school becomes one system of people who go along with the time’s influences and go by the public opinion which may differ from time to time, the school loses its values. There is nothing special in it. It becomes just another school. The school may build great walls, strong pillars and may also proudly add its flag’s colours on its towers, but as long as the essence of its being is lost, it has nothing to show to the world and the world has nothing to receive from it.

           

             If you would have visited few schools in Batticaloa, such as Methodist Central College, Shivananda Vidyalayam, St. Michael’s College and few other schools which were founded once by someone with a great vision of bringing up a school in a particular style and tradition, you would have seen how the school and its system remains faithful to the founder’s vision and faith. As a Michaelite, whenever I enter into St. Michael’s College, the building’s exceptional structure, the purely maintained patronage of the Roman Catholic Church and the presence of the sounds of prayers, reminds me that I’m part of this proud history. Entering through the gates of Shivananda Vidyalayam and observing The Ramakrishna Mission’s wings spread on both the sides of the school and in hearing the word “Swami”,  I feel proud at the school’s integrity and faithfulness of passing on the founder’s vision through ages, in his own style. As I go near the Methodist Central College’s auditorium, I get reminded of the sacrifices of  the Methodist Missionaries, who brought light into the darkness of the community in the eastern coast of Sri Lanka; it is the school’s honour to show to the world its proud history which dates back to years which are not even taken into account. Whatever the changes time brought, the majority forced, the human mind thought, nothing affected these schools’ integrity and style. They remained faithful to their founder’s faith.

               If we could think a little deeper, there is an interesting question to be answered. What is the reason for so many parents to go round and round in search of admissions in such schools for their children? Surely it is not because of the results the schools produce, even though it may be outstanding. Certainly not because of the trophies the schools have won in their battles. Not because of, the way of stitching the uniform and covering the notebooks are different. Not that the teachers in the schools are exceptionally qualified and the principal is inspirational. It is simply because of the parents’ wish for their children to grow up in the awesome tradition which they themselves have testified or have experienced. They were either part of these proud histories, or they wanted their children to be part of these traditions which they have missed to.

                   But the sad truth of today is that, few such schools; which should have joined hands with the above mentioned faithful schools, have taken the initiative to lose their tradition which had its foundations on the founder’s vision. They believe in change, it seems. They go by the majority, it sounds. They are being modernized, it shows. They feel they are creating a new history.

                 The history of education in Sri Lanka dates back to decades where even the whole continent of Asia was struggling to educate its people. Sri Lanka was one of the foremost countries which entered into the modern age with well built walls which had strong foundation and pillars in the field of education. The exceptional characteristic of the Sri Lankan educational institutions are their proud traditions which are carved out of the great and long lasting visions the founders had for them. This is simply shown in the colours of the school flags they chose and the lines of hymns they made for their schools. Even in this modern stylistic age of designing and slogan writing industry, the schools’ royal colours in the flags, the majestic logos and the inspiring mottos are in lofty standards compared to the modern designing. Such was their dream they had for their schools.

              The Christian Missionaries, during the 19^th century, faithfully sacrificed themselves for the betterment of the various communities in the Pearl of Indian Ocean. And the community living in Batticaloa; in the eastern coast of Sri Lanka is one of them. We received from them. We gained by their arrival. They brought light into the darkness. Still the community of Batticaloa remembers that with gratitude by placing Rev. William Ault (the first Methodist missionary to Batticaloa) with a lantern in his hands near the so called “Batticaloa Gate” where he first landed. The Methodist Central College and Vincent Girls High School are two of the earliest monuments which the history of Batticaloa cannot remove from its lines of proud educational history. The same may apply to many other institutions which were founded by many other religious missions.

                   The seeds which the Missionaries planted during the 19^th century have now grown wide and high as trees which provide shadow to many of those who come towards it. But the hard part of this history is, few schools change the colours of the leaves of the tree, they paint it, believing that the roots may also change. They try to genetically manipulate the tree to bear fruits which suite the leaves. How can we search for an apple in a mango tree? Even if you attach an apple to the mango tree, it would not suit. The wiser way is, to nurture the apple tree to get apples and nurture the mango tree to get mangoes. Let the trees bear fruits with purity in their own way. How much the planters would have struggled to make it into a tree which produces the fruit they dreamt of. We should be grateful to that and continue to nurture them in the same manner. We should not take efforts to name a mango tree an apple tree; nothing would change except the name. Instead, we should take an initiative to plant a new apple tree, experience the difficulty in nurturing such a tree towards high standards, build a tradition for that and make sure it grows through the decades and bears apples. That would be a better option.

                    Another interesting fact which many of the present members of the system of schools forget is that, whether it is a Hindu school, Christian school, Buddhist school or Muslim school, most of them are now known as Government schools and they are taken care by the government. But, all these arrangements made by the government are temporary and the schools may be returned at any time to these religious missions if ‘free education’ in Sri Lanka comes to a halt. I hope it never happens. Because the main reason for these mission schools to be handed over to the government, years before by the religious missions, was to make education available to all. It is by this graceful move by the religious organizations and missions, today we receive this free education; and it also paved the way for Sri Lanka to be an exceptional country which provides quality education free of cost. So the conditions which were applied when these schools were handed over to the government by the religious missions can never be forgotten. Leave the legal issues on one side; think of our morality. Where is our faithfulness? Is this the example we are showing to the next generation leaders? Manipulating the history? Erasing the patronage?

                There was a time when schools were known as ‘temples’, ‘sanctuaries’, ‘worship places’. Why? Because each school had its own way of leading its system into a faithful group of people based on the founder’s faith. So if the schools are our worship places of different faith, we should define it. We should show to the world the definition which we make for the school. Now this is where traditions and history has its role to play. Are we faithful in carrying it through the generations? Are the colours of the school flag not fading away? Is the motto still the same? Is the school song still showing the initial vision? Does the name of the school remain the same to show proud history and our gratefulness? Are the proud claims of the old students still remaining the same? Is the condition made by the religious organizations in-charge for the schools taken into account at each step? What happened to the religious patronage? Is the school remembered as a sanctuary which teaches the founder’s faith; at least the founder’s vision?

               One thing worthy of mentioning is that, those schools which preserved their religious patronage through the years never faced such circumstances! And also, the religious organizations which continually ensured their part in the school’s progress were able overcome such issues by making themselves available for the school. It makes the students realize where they belonged to.

“When I studied at St. Michael’s College, I knew ‘where’ I belonged to (A school founded by Jesuit Fathers) and I knew ‘who’ was our Patron (The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, Batticaloa - Trincomalee), and I knew ‘why’ he was our patron (Because it is part of the great mission of The Roman Catholic Church)” - Any of my friends who studied at Shivananda Vidyalayam may also be able to answer the same questions accordingly.

It is high time we think about these issues!

Because, if the same people who grew in these temples stand against the temple’s own faith, then one day the same awaits our community. We’ll be named as a group of people who came from a country called ‘nowhere’; not by any aliens from any other planet, but by our own younger generation who saw all these happen just in front of them.