Reunion

I was reminded tonight just how much of a communal society this really is. The headmaster and faculty of one of the schools I’ve been surveying invited me to attend a special gathering where they were going to break the fast together with some of the students. Since this is the fasting month, that didn’t seem too unusual at first. As I rode with one of the teachers to the location, I learned that there was more to it than that.

1. This gathering was going to be at the nicest hotel in town.
2. These weren’t current students…the event was actually a reunion for the class of 1997 (which here means their FIRST year together in that school was 1997.

Now I realize that we, too, have reunions—but did I mention that this was a MIDDLE SCHOOL?! That’s right. These students and teachers had gathered together to celebrate a bond that they had from their 7th grade year!

I was curious at first whether this would seem much like a reunion from my Western perspective. I mean, our reunions are occasions where the students want to get together to see each other after years apart and reconnect, etc. This was an event where the students had gathered together with the former faculty in order to remember/honor the school itself. On top of that was the fact that teachers here tend to be very careful to keep their distance from their students. I’ve been told more than once that they are afraid if they get too close/friendly then the students will not respect them. Knowing these things, you can probably understand my curiosity in terms of what the night would bring.

As things got started, though, I realized that time had erased those hard held lines and in place of the ranks and titles remained simply a family—the family of Middle School #7. The students had put it together, and throughout the night they emceed the event. After breaking the fast together with a light snack, everyone had a chance to visit before the evening prayer. As we all talked over the dinner that followed there were various triva games and trips down memory lane—all designed to strengthen ties between the students, the teachers, and the alma mater. The students gave awards to the teachers who had retired, and teachers gave speeches about how great the school was and how it was improving.

When the event finally ended several hours later, I found myself smiling and happy—much more like having been to a family reunion than a school one. At the same time, I was more than a bit confused. How come none of this is discernable in the daily life of the school? Don’t get me wrong—I don’t mean to imply that the teachers are generally mean…or that the school in general is “cold.” At the same time this feeling of genuine love and mutual concern seems conspicuously absent from my Western perspective.

Maybe it’s because these students are now working and considered adults. With the emphasis that is placed on levels of respect and society here, it makes sense that they could see each other more as equals now. Then again, it could be the natural way that time has a way of equipping us to laugh about things that once drove us nuts. Whatever the reason, I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to see what happens down the road in the lives of students here and for the new perspective it brings to the classrooms I find myself in today.