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The School's Program
- The Curriculum - Further Education- People At The School Administration - Teachers - Staff
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Further EducationWe keep some of our Class 10 graduates (called “Seniors”) so they can finish their education. There are two tracks: those who are finishing Classes 11 and 12 and going on inside Nepal and those who have won scholarships to finish high school overseas. Classes 11 and 12 are a prerequisite for university entrance, but SMD is too crowded to offer plus two. Schools offering Classes 11 and 12 are urban and for-profit. Mountain kids can’t afford tuition fees, let along the cost of living in the city. We’ve hit on a solution: we keep graduates with us, give them room and board, and pay their fees at the other schools so they can finish Classes 11 and 12, and we put them to work in the main school chiefly as linguistic teaching aides. Others work in the office or in Reception and one is working as a junior “nyerpa” (buyer). We call these kids “Seniors” and pay them a full salary. Amongst the present batch of seniors, one is studying Community Healthcare, several are finishing Classes 11 and 12, one is starting university (he wants to become a teacher at SMD) and one is taking classical dance. At the moment he is serving as our junior Dance Master. We hope to get him into the 3-year programme at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in Dharamsala, in India. He will be our full time Dance Master when he finishes.
SMD School is one of the top schools in Nepal. Less than half the 200,000 candidates writing national board exams at the end of Class 10 manage to pass. SMD’s pass rate is 100%.
After talking with one of our older boys who couldn’t even make a cup of tea or boil an egg, Rinpoche was concerned that SMD kids, growing up in a boarding school, would go out into the world as helpless as baby birds. Rinpoche expressed the wish that we provide some kind of life skills training. He was particularly clear about their needing to learn how to shop, cook and clean, and he suggested that the kids should also gradually take responsibility for their living expenses. We rented a flat across the street from the school compound. All the Seniors and two teachers live in the flat. Usually there are ten to a dozen kids living in, learning how to buy food, cook, clean, and get along with multiple roommates. Attendance at dinner is mandatory, that is the time that collective decisions are made. Other meals are taken at school. At their own wish, Seniors pay 10% of their salaries to offset the rent that SMD pays. They also pay for their own electricity and propane (for cooking). They don’t have a fridge or TV, but are planning to buy both. For the past three years, Peter Dalglish, a prominent child advocate, has taught a weekly class on global issues and individual responsibility with a view to honing critical thinking. Peter’s teaching style is extremely challenging but fun. Newcomers always tell me they understand only about half of what he teaches, but they keep coming back and their vocabularies and self-confidence surge. Topics range from poetry analysis, to ethics, history, geography and current events. Kids are encouraged to speak out, to express their own opinions and to take risks. Peter frequently brings guests, and out of their discussions, the kids have written invitations to such prominent people as the king of Norway, the US ambassador and Dr. Jane Goodall. Tashi Dolma B298 wrote to invite Dr. Jane and to everyone’s immense delight, Dr. Jane visited us in November 2005.
Jane Goodall riveted the world’s interest with her research on the chimpanzees of Gombe. Her research demonstrated how much chimps are like us. They live in families, use tools, hunt, and even wage war. They have personalities, and emotions. Flying over Gombe one day, Jane was shocked to see how much of her beloved chimps habitat was being lost to refugees escaping from war. The realization came how interconnected all life the environment and creatures is. Dr. Jane has spent her life promoting conservation and peace, inspiring people to take informed and compassionate action to improve the environment for all living beings. www.janegoodall.org Her worldwide youth organization, Roots and Shoots, encourages young people to become involved in their communities to improve the environment for animals and people. www.rootsandshoots.org Jane visited Nepal for three days in November 2005, as a UN Messenger of Peace. SMD kids were on had to welcome her at the airport. We took her up to Namo Buddha to talk with Rinpoche, and to see the Himalayas. She stayed the night at the monastery guesthouse. On the last day of her visit, she came to SMD. The kids welcomed her with a yellow long-life khata, then they escorted her into the decorated hall, which also serves as our shrine room. Dr. Jane spoke about her life, inspiring everyone by her example. At Rinpoche's suggestion, some kids are meeting on Friday nights to learn shamatha meditation. We also talk about the Dharma and individual responsibility. The starting point is often an excerpt of one of Rinpoche’s teachings. In 2005 we concentrated on compassion and on what it means in day-to-day life. The kids decided they could help to create conditions for peace in Nepal. They started a t-shirt project. The t-shirts promote peace and the funds they raised (almost $2000) will go to help conflict-affected kids.
The kids are also reading “Music In The Sky”, the life story of the 17th Karmapa and are learning a little about the Kagyu lineage. Twice a year, HDR, headed up by Laurie Mathews and Dr. Andrew Holecek comes to Kathmandu. Along with them, they bring teams of dentists, hygienists and other volunteers. While they are with us, KDR sees to the dental health of everyone who is in Thrangu Rinpoche’s care, then they move on to nuns and monks at nearby monasteries and children from orphanages and schools in the valley. They provide dental care to thousands. Laurie has integrated SMD kids as volunteers into the dental camps, set up in our Library. The kids learn how to set up, assist chair side, do the charts, manage patient flow, sterilize and layout equipment, etc. One of the most valuable contributions SMD kids make is acting as cultural/linguistic liaison.
We have Cultural performances at the drop of a hat. The kids are eager to showcase their skills in the traditional songs and dances of the Himalayas. Quite often, the kids organize the entire event by themselves, including printing invitations, doing the sound system, etc. Kid power! The biggest holiday of the year is Losar (Tibetan New Year). We make ‘kapse’, dough deep fried in butter and dipped in sugar, ‘daysie’ sweet rice filled with raisins, butter, saffron, etc. and butter tea, which salty and butter, surprisingly tasty in the cold weather. Hint: it’s helpful to think of it as soup. Every year Rinpoche leads a ‘drubchen’ in the big hall at SMD. Pilgrims from all over the Himalayan region come, lending an air of glamour to the schoolyard. Fresh prayer flags flutter overhead, and with the big tent set up on the soccer pitch and pilgrims in attendance SMD looks like a movie set. SMD kids take part, even the smallest kids say prayers and keep tallies. |
