Education at MSAE -- in the 80's -- was catch as catch can. Some good teachers, some nice people who shouldn't be teachers, and some anal types that were true believers who tried their hardest to sound like Bevan.
It was mostly rich folks' kids mixed with the kids of poor folks who worked for their kids' tuitions by being MSAE crossing guards etc. None of the teachers were "real world" in that they toed the party line on most issues. Try to get them to whisper about where all the money goes and you'd better be a close friend for them to open up. Politics played big with who was in charge, and arbitrary abuse was common -- teachers were sometimes just fired for obscure reasons or "Maharishi said" reasons. And if the teacher is a good one, it was stressing to see them mistreated. The kids came out pretty good though -- meaning, they weren't brainwashed cultists and saw TM for what it is really worth, saw the MSAE curricula as about 30% mood making crappola and/or not usable in the real world -- like Vedic math, memorized Sanskrit passages, five minute meditations before class starts, etc. I'd say maybe 20% of the kids were obviously there only because their parents made them go there -- they tried to get out of meditation, skipped dome, etc. I think MSAE works good enough, because the parents are motivated to keep the kids churning on the homework etc. For a small school it "tests well," and it has lots of success in inter-school activities like sports, drama, science fairs, etc. There was a family feel in many scenarios. I was happy to drop the kids off. The bad parts are that the teachers are "slaves" for the most part -- working for a free trailer on campus, free kids' tuitions, small cash stipend. This reward package attracts only a certain type of teacher. I don't know the MSAE of today -- it might be much more goofy-assed with King Tony Nadar running around -- don't know how his status is explained -- how do you tell kids to talk about His Highness in a way that wouldn't get the snickers and guffaws going in any non-TM group? I feel sorry for the kids in how little they are offered that's real world -- something they can use to actually identify with the movement that's defensible to non-TMers. My son quit MUM so that his degree wouldn't be from there, so that instead is diploma would be from another institution with his credits from MUM transferred. It's tough to explain to a prospective employer, ya know? There's a palpable disconnect in the stance of the teachers regarding the quality of MSAE's education -- they pump the kids up with a ton of "we're the best," but it leads to an isolationist POV and a snobbishness towards townies. And it costs way too much, because half the dough goes for Girish's lavish parties in India donchaknow. The people with school-aged kids are the hardest pressed to make ends meet, yet the movement (Girish) treats MSAE as just another cash cow instead of, you know, buying more books for the library, giving teachers decent salaries, subsidizing uniform purchases, gym equipment, etc. I don't know, but I would bet that most of the rich kids don't end up going to MUM....a tell that the rich folks understand the real world. All that said, I moved to California with the family, but my daughter was in her senior year, so we rented a house in Fairfield for her (next to a sister-in-law,) and she graduated from MSAE. MSAE never knew that she was "living on her own with scant supervision" heh heh. But don't miss the point, my daughter had so many friendships there that she just couldn't do anything else. That's a testament for the quality of personalities in the community -- my daughter is very big hearted but not a push over, but she had dozens of friends and a very big social life. I think Fairfield can offer an actual "home town" of some merit just because somehow the MSAE kids are coming out with a real world clarity due to their having been subjected to the MSAE delusions which imbues a certain level of cynicism in them towards cultish mindsets. A good thing, I guess. Other parents will tell other stories. The rich folks will be much more positive about it. The poor folks will have been shamed many times by having to contort their lives to afford the uniforms, field trip fees, etc. The separation of the genders is probably a good thing, but that's just me. And MSAE, back then, was a real pill if you tried to take your kid somewhere that didn't mesh with the MSAE schedule. But only for the poor kids. The rich kids got to go anywhere anytime and the teachers even taught them "long distance" -- Chris Hartnett's daughter graduated from MSAE, but she spent a ton of time in Europe during that time. These special dispensations were all too common and all too visible. Classism was the result to some degree. Following the lives of the friends of my kids for the last three decades has lead me to believe that most of them are able to integrate with the real world after graduation, but I wonder how many of them brag -- as opposed to "not mention" -- about their cult education. Edg --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "lurkernomore20002000" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Edg, > > I have been wanting to ask you what your experience was with the MSAE, > and any observations you may care to share. It seems that you were > pretty well invested in that program. I would enjoy hearing any > insights you might have. > > lurk > > P.S. I have three childen boy-14, boy-11, girl-10. They attend > Catholic schools. (I am not Catholic, but my wife is) I have been > very pleased with the education. With the exception of the oldest boy > who just started high school, it is not a fancy Catholic school. We > live in the city, in a pretty diverse area. > > luyrk >