Remembering H.A. Bordner

Image from Reference 1.

The school building on the corner of Padre Faura and Taft Avenue became Manila Science High School in May, 1967. Sometime in the 1990s, the building's name on its facade was changed from "Manila Science High School" to "H.A. Bordner."

Who was H.A. Bordner?

The H.A. stands for Harvey Albert. Harvey Albert Bordner was an educator and public school administrator in the Philippines from 1902 to 1936. He graduated from Indiana University in 1896 with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and subsequently, worked as a Chemistry instructor until 1901.  In 1902, Bordner married Maude Ethel Martin, and the newlyweds left for the Philippines as Thomasites assigned to Nueva Vizcaya. The Thomasites were the pioneer American teachers recruited by the American government to be sent to the Philippines. They were tasked with the establishment of a revamped public school system with English as the medium of instruction. Aside from teaching basic education courses, they were also mandated to train Filipino school teachers. They were the precursors of the U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers. It is no wonder then, that in its early years, MSHS was often visited by Peace Corps Volunteers who often made generous book donations to the fledgling school.

In 1906, Mr. Bordner was assigned as Superintendent of Bulacan public schools. In 1915, he was appointed Superintendent of the Philippine Normal School and eventually assumed the position of Superintendent of Manila City Schools. Meanwhile, his wife, Maude taught English. Together the Bordners spent the next 34 years in the Philippines as public school teachers. In addition to his teaching and administrative duties, Harvey was an active member of the Rotary Club of Manila and a 32nd degree Mason. In Manila, he was involved with the Y.M.C.A. and the Boy’s Club.

While teaching at the Malolos Intermediate School in Bulacan, Maude Bordner would provide the young Guillermo E. Tolentino with his first lessons in drawing.  Tolentino was later on bestowed the singular honor of being named National Artist of the Philippines for Sculpture. One of Tolentino's famous works is the UP Oblation statue, the original of which formerly stood at the present-day University of the Philippines Manila campus, just a stone's throw away from the H.A. Bordner building.

Harvey retired in 1936 due to ill health. Jorge Bocobo (UP's fifth president and  first Filipino dean of the UP College of Law) succeeded Bordner as the Superintendent of the Manila Schools. Harvey returned home with Maude to Indianapolis where he died in 1938.

Maude Bordner died in 1968 at the age of 92. They had no children.

References

1. http://www.angelfire.com/dragon2/manila_science/homepage1.htm
2. http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/view?doc.view=entire_text&docId=InU-Ar-VAA3099
3. http://angkangpilipino.com/2011/06/25/the-thomasites-2/
4. http://deped-bulacan.blogspot.com/
5. http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-159750711/charting-new-challenges-in-teacher-education-investiture
6. http://archive.org/details/acd5869.0001.012.umich.edu
7. http://institutionalmemory.iu.edu/aim/bitstream/handle/10333/3184/IAM_March1940.pdf?sequence=1
8. http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Guillermo_E._Tolentino
9. http://www.artesdelasfilipinas.com/archives/104/guillermo-estrella-tolentino-a-classic-of-his-time
10. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=58249680