PD SBIP on "Why School Culture?"

As part of professional development program, both teaching and supporting staff, making a total of 37 members sat together on 30^th August 2013 in our computer laboratory to understand and learn ‘Why School Culture?’ Everybody knows what culture is. But hardly do we realize the importance of it in relation to our surrounding. The SBIP we had was solely to awaken and remind ourselves of the importance culture plays.

Culture is the shared perceptions of a group’s values, expectations and norms. It reflects the way people give priorities to goals, how they behave in different situations, and how they cope with their world and with one another. People experience their social environment through their culture. Culture is transmitted from generation to generation. (Source – EMSSD, DSE, MoE, Thimphu).

Sl #	Types of school Culture	Qualifications
1	Moving Culture	-          Boosting pupils’ progress and development, -          Working together to respond to changing context, -          Knowing where the school is heading, -          Having the will and skill towards progression and possessing norms of improving school.
2	Cruising Culture	-          Appear to be effective in the more affluent areas, -          Pupil achieve in spite of teaching quality, -           Not preparing pupil for changing world, -          And posses powerful norms that inhibit change.
3	Strolling Culture	-          Neither particularly effective nor ineffective, -          Moving at inadequate rate to cope with pace of change, -          Meandering into future to pupil’s detriment, -          Ill-defined and sometimes conflicting aims inhibit improvement.
4	Struggling Culture	-          Indicates ineffectiveness, -          The staff knows it and spends considerable energy to improve, -          Unproductive ‘thrashing about’, -          Will ultimately succeed because they have the will.
5	Sinking Culture	-          Denotes ineffectiveness, -          norms of isolation, -          Blame and loss of faith powerfully inhibit improvement, -          Staff unable to change, -          Often in deprived areas where they blame parenting or unprepared children and need dramatic action and significant support.

“School culture has been described as being similar to the air we breathe. No one notices it unless it becomes foul”. (Freiberg, 1998).

Characteristics of healthy school cultures as mentioned below were discussed at length and appreciated:

—  Marked by professional collaboration

—  Teachers and administrators share their knowledge and develop plans together to achieve organizational goals

—  Principals work with teachers – they have a shared mission and vision

—  Principals and teachers focus on student learning

—  The school is aligned…goals and objectives are consistent with the mission

Reminder -  If you do not carefully create and maintain the desired school culture, it will create itself. (Source – EMSSD, DSE, MoE, Thimphu).

As an activity, we divided ourselves into six groups and assigned each group with task to list down all positive and toxic culture prevalent in our school. The purpose of it was to demolish (if standing like fort), eradicate and not give shelter to toxic culture in our school system, if there is any.  

Since we conducted this activity after our normal class hours, time constraint as many participants were participating in Continuing Education, presentation of our lists could not be done. However, all mentors (head of departments) agreed to attach their findings to my mail address.  I will in turn compile their findings, make my comments and forward it to all school members through their mail address requesting adherence or to provide feedbacks and send it back to me. In a way, we decided to share these ideas like one having video conferencing.  

Message from Principal for second e-newsletter for 2013 academic session

Celebrating victories imprints permanent mark of joy in our heart. We have witnessed this when we, teaching and supporting staff, managed time, out of our busy schedule, to share and hear views over ‘High Tea’ with the toppers of each class after the declaration of our mid-tem results. We have witnessed how bright, evergreen, jovial the faces of all student toppers looked. They promised further acceleration in studies to excel with greater percentages in their future examinations, in our school or away from our school. If topping class gives that pride and encouragement at heart, and marks of eternal happiness shone on faces, why not we try to achieve success in different areas and wear the wreath of laurels all the times.

I am not talking of irrelevancy and impossibility. We have been living with success formulas, applying it whenever necessary and honoring our eyes with the pleasant sight of students receiving mementos along with certificates of commendation, individually, in groups and school as a whole. We have never missed receiving the ‘Certificates of Commendation’ bearing the gracious signature of our former Education Minister since its introduction in 2009, for firmly standing in the first top ten position in academic and non-academic programmes.

All these are encouragement to both teachers and students. We are elated. We feel proud of our achievements. We get motivation to relentlessly continue to pursue education for excellence. To exceed our previous height and ascend to a convenient position where we can possibly make new discovery is our prudent passion. We will participate, compete and endeavor to produce productive citizens and pull beads of successes like we pull beads after uttering sacred chant. I wish and pray that my Baylling rise high up to the occasion never to fall, present wonderful feast to both eyes and ears that would stimulate amazement and curiosity in others.

    

Rise, Baylling HSS, rise for your fortune, favorable star knocks your door!         

Work of Charity

We eat, drink and sleep. We study, struggle, sacrifice our leisure with our kith and kin at home, being in school for almost nine and half months. We survive, dream for long life, wish for bountiful wealth and unconditional health. We do all these not for any reason but in expectation of good living for ourselves, soliciting to place our parents’ burdens on our shoulder totally relieving them, wishing to serve our nation with dedication, and in making sincere prayer for all sentient beings so that they are liberated from their sufferings. Education, experience, knowledge, wealth and health are must for us to shoulder the work of noble deeds. If one of these is missing in a person, what we do may seem more like an attempt, than real work. If one argues that good work can be done even without the requisites I have mentioned, I challenge them to try out once. I am sure somewhere, something will definitely be missing or something will be short of perfection.

Opportunity to good or charitable works pops up rarely. It is not everyday scene. Given its seclusion, opportunity to charitable works proved rarest or falls only like cascade to Baylling HSS. In five years’ time, I remember Baylling HSS having blessed with just two rare opportunities where we thought universally, rendered wholehearted physical support and satisfied the communities on the way to our destination, to their fullest extent. One was in 2010 where our students helped Trashiyangtse Dzongkhag Administration in transshipping the construction materials from Ranja to Baney Lakhang site where major renovation of that lakhang was in progress. Another rare occasion we have had is today, the 24^th August 2013 where we had gone to reach materials for construction of Chorten and installation of small prayer wheels round Chhugom Goenpa, located about one and forty five minutes walking distance from Baylling.

One thirty six (136) students across all sections from IX to XII, based on their volunteerism had gone up. They were escorted by Mr. Choki  Dorji (VP), Mr. Chimi Dorji (AP), Mr. Pema Tshewang (Scout Master) and self. As students were chosen on volunteerism, no marks of reluctance, no signs of tiredness were spotted on their faces. We sang, shouted, shared jokes and laughed heartily throughout our journey. Scorching heat of sun at the starting point did not deter us from setting our journey. Light rain and little slippery road conditions on the way did bother us, invoked deep feelings that the 30 kgs of cement we were carrying on our back might get wet and hence become unusable. However, miraculously, before we got drenched, rain did stop. We were made to believe that almighty above might have simply blessed us with drizzle so as to pave favourable journey. Reaching our destination, I almost felt like we had just gone for picnic when the caretaker, one who is initiating the development of the site of that lakhnag, served us tea and snacks, and very delicious meals.   

We believe in helping and getting helped, scratching one another’s back, and benefitting one another. To provide our benefit to communities surrounding us and to make them feel our presence, we are conducting activities of different natures. Our current task of visiting Chhugom Goenpa was our small attempt in promotion and preservation of our cultural heritage and artifacts.

I apologize every reader for encouraging volunteers to visit Goenpa in wrong attire - in pants and shirts. I hope everybody would forgive us understanding our intention.                 

 

Chhugom Goempa at the end of our mission

VP and friends on their march

Students waiting for loads

What I Value

Reclined in pensive mood, under the thatched (with leaves on zinc sheet) roof of the cool breezy gazebo near my quarter one afternoon, thousand and one memories of the past, in haste as if like relay race, flashed over me. Memories that transcended me beyond earth presented me boundless mirth, memories that pushed me down to murky hell inflicted me unbearable heat-cold sensation, memories that enabled me to fly like birds stuffed me with hope that I have become light like cotton and that I can touch heaven, memories that bore me unbearable pain like animals with crippled body and without limbs made me feel that my state is accursed , ecstasy from romance made me wish for eternity, heartbreaking situation sprung from loss of beloved one compelled me to pray to God not to let it happen in this life, and many more that enthralled different emotions, zoomed in and out in the lens of my mind. I baited to catch one. Several failed attempts on, ultimately, I caught one which threw my memory like shot put way back, probably 1993, when I was in class X, where one of my beloved teachers asked me ‘What do you value most in life?’

I was then a meek and timid boy. Nervousness surmounted my world. Most consider nervousness as foe without doubt and hesitation. But, I feel uncomfortable. It saved me so many times from situation where I would have to sweat profusely, where I would have been forced to set foot into the wrong territory, from situation where I would have looked awkward. Nervousness sometimes proved blessing in disguise to me, at least to me.  Even if I had the source of answers, my nervousness would have suppressed and blocked my confidence to open my mouth to utter answers. It could also be possible that I did not have concrete answers owing to the fact that my mind was in a bud stage, about to open up to bloom into beautiful flower, which might possibly give pleasure of beauty to close onlookers. If I had not answered then, one got to understand that it was not in anyway, defiance of my teacher’s order. Disobedience never cast its spell on me which made my mind insane to replicate it to my superiors. I respected and I respect teachers, both living and the ones who decided to enter into permanent retreat, never to return again, after accomplishing their missions.

However, like strong surge swells or like milk being boiled on oven, boils within me. It has reached the brink of spillage and no matter how hard I try, preventing it seems impossible. With due and no less respect than what I would have shown when I was student, I mention response to my beloved teacher’s query in the following manner:

My Guiding Star – I call the invisible and indestructible force, God, as my guiding star. I believe, it is undoubtedly, God who is guiding me through every thick and thin. He makes me see beauty through grotesque image, gives happiness through unhappiness, enables me to perceive positive picture warding off all negative forms, and He conjures my body with milk of human kindness and fills my heart with sympathy for sufferings. I am human being. Emotions or four humors like sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholy, control my body system.

When I am uncontrollably shaken by one or multiple emotions, I sneak into my altar, prostrate regretting my misjudgment, burning anger, seeking forgiveness for sins I have committed or would have committed unintentionally, and seeking mediation in case of deadlock of decisions. I get blessed. I feel it, as blood of calmness runs down my head through artery till the tip of my toes. I feel, I also get coherent picture of direction through which I must tread. We must understand that to make decision, in haste and when one’s mind and body are disturbed and unstable, is dangerous and risky business. This judgmental quality is gift from pious golden hands of God. I never wish to part from my Guiding Star until He bids me to calculate my ultimate move.        

My Country – It is my country that had housed my ancestors. It continues to house me and will house thousands of my progenies in times to come. It gave us shelter and resting place. Unconditional peace and tranquility are showered upon us. We owe simple respect in return. It does not demand but we nurture respect as our sense of gratitude for many offers we enjoyed. The name “Last Shangri-La” associated with my country is apt.

It is heart wrenching and disturbing moment to reflect upon a time when our country went through turbulence, chaos and almost reached anarchical state in 2002-2003. This situation was created by some foreign misfits, whose greed exceeded their possessions, who wanted to dilapidate or tear apart our nation by inciting ideas of divisions or mixed feelings amongst the citizens, who wanted to fight mighty Indian soldiers from our soil. There was a threat that prevalence of foreign outfits in our soil might drag Indian soldiers which meant our land turning into battle ground, drains filling with stream of blood, and some of our people falling target of their mad actions. Our country was then truly in turmoil and in need of real patriots. Hunt began. There was a call of the nation. Few teachers from Zhamgang HS (where I was working then) and I responded to the call by volunteering to safeguard our country even at the cost of our lives. Fortunately or unfortunately, none from teachers was recruited for militia training. I was unhappy and dissatisfied. My true love for my country awakened sanctified feeling of patriotism to place my country above my family, whom I love dearly. My country is above wealth, above friendship and even above my dear family.  Definitely, at the time of prosperity, we have to dance, to the tune of a nation. Similarly, at the time of adversity, we have to mourn.  John F. Kennedy’s words ‘Ask what you can do for your country, do not ask what your country can do for you’ rings clearly in my mind. It has found a lodge as permanent resident within my heart.         

What I Value (Contd.)

My Parents – I believe none would ask me why I value my parents. I have no answers. It comes to me magically, as if someone has cast spell over me to value my parents. Needless to mention, they are the source of my being. Since birth, they fed me to make me healthy. They guarded me from falling into hearth where I would have become totally disfigured, plunging into water pool from where I am uncertain whether I would have floated normal with normal breath, falling off the cliff from where my soul would have wandered without body, and from falling into the hands and tricks of miser like Shylock resulting in forfeiture of eyes that enables me to see the sufferings of the poor. All that meant physical or emotional death. In person, it is better to have physical and emotional aliveness and activeness. Death of one part means imbalance in the behavior and outlook of a person. Perfection in such person, in any field, even if any, may be accidental. What I am now, whether deficient in height, in physique, or any perfection, is the love of my parents.   

When I witness young mothers changing diapers, experiencing hard times singing lullaby attempting to put child with irregular sleeping habit to sleep, passing day with dried lips like dried plums when their much loved child falls sick, and remaining speechless when their only child accidentally hits some object that causes bruises, I remember my mother. I get her and father’s picture of caring me and sacrificing everything for me. I weep silently. I remember my parents’ devotion. Will I be that devoted? I know, even if I let them rest without work giving full protection from heat, rain and cold, feed them continuously, and carry them on our back the remaining days of their lives, returning their love in wholeness is impossible. But, will I be able to return half the sacrifice they made for me? They are God in the form of human being; they are visible God, my God.   

My Teachers – My parents contributed my physical structure. I am well-built. But my teacher fortified my inner structure, inner and moral character. I see these to be very important because physical strength without moral character sometimes rise up as enemy to world or self. People with physical strength but without moral strength are proven detrimental to self and family. They grow up, like snake from harmless when young to deadly venomous, in adult stage. I deliberately decline to substantiate my statements with examples as examples can be varied, occurred or occurring in our country as well as other countries.

My teachers have shown me the windows in books through which I can see the whole world within a fraction of second. It is my teachers, male as well female, national as well as expatriate; who taught me to tread cautiously for every step we make forward, probability to fall in the pit is high. Whatever we see may not be genuine; we have to see through it. This is what my teachers taught. They gave me strength. They encouraged me to appreciate beauty. The power to differentiate between real and illusion is infused in me by my teachers. They provided me additional and magnifying eyes with which I can discern good from bad. They showed me the bad side of temperament which enabled me to control anger, restrained me from reacting sharply to any situation I found awkward. They are no less than my parents.   

My Family – They are my reasons for survival. They are my precious and rarest ornament. I guard them to ensure that they are not lost or stolen. As gratitude, in return I get pride, satisfaction, filial love which may not be available in any market for sale. I cannot afford to see my family image dwindling or sweeping away down the drain by the stream of fate. I constantly pray to Almighty above to bless my family with never ending happiness. I do not mind even if my family coffer is empty, the love and bondage we share must never cease to cast its perpetual radiance over our sweet lovely home. Providing basic necessity like food, cloth and humble shelter, not letting them fall prey to contempt and shame, not letting them exposed to biting cold, scorching heat and beating rain, becomes my obligation. I will protect it at any cost. Like George Santayana 1863-1952 (Spanish born American Philosopher, Poet and Humanist who made important contributions to aesthetics, speculative philosophy and literary criticism) I too feel that “The family is one of nature’s masterpieces”.   

The way I am – I am humble, maybe because I was groomed to become that way. I enjoy company of the birds with the feathers of my type. I hate hypocrisy. Since my childhood, I do not enjoy the company of a person who tells one and does another, and promises so many but not keep even one. No matter how realistic and promising the talk is, goose bumps rises in me and makes me skeptic of them, the moment I listen to such person. 

Certain ambition is necessary for any living being for living. I see it is an art to survival. I have ambition necessary for ordinary persons. Education has no end. It is continuous. If chance of sandal powder decks my way, I am willing to embrace and continue my journey. I feel I am sojourning at the moment. I enjoy reading and writing diary/journals/memoirs and scribbling whatever new perorations I hear, not because I want to ascend the height of Shakespeare or Wordsworth or Alexander Pope, but I pursue it as my passion to keep my interest for learning alive. Like cricketers having attachment for cricket games, and like crazy fools dying for lady love, my passion for writing is as simple as that, no big reason. There is no special agenda hidden behind it. However, if I may be permitted to place one step ahead, I simply want to learn to understand the reasons for my existence and its relation to this world.

Corruption is allergic to me. Even if it is harbored unaware somewhere within me, my conscience revolts against me causing disturbance and tremor like earthquake and shaken my whole body. Nightmare keeps me awake the whole night. I do not aim to sky rocket in my work, but in my own little ways, wants to do it with devotion, dedication and sincerity.

I am governed by my sets of principles. I do not wish to deviate from my culture, custom and tradition. I am strong upholder of old things but I must admit, I do not want to sideline myself by being extremist, hardcore conservative. I enjoy and feel much comfortable dealing with people politely, no direct confrontation, and no direct reaction. What a wonderful world our earth is, if I come across people who think alike, all the time and at every place?

NB: Everybody thinks and judges something from their experiences. What I have written above is purely my opinion based on my observations and perspectives. It is also not exhaustive. Contradiction in points and difference in opinions are not ruled out.  

Visit of NC Mr. Tashi Phuntsho - 13th August 2013

Good afternoon. First of all, let me extend our warmest and heartiest welcome to honorable dasho to Baylling HSS. It is indeed a great honor and privilege and rarest of opportunity to have a visit to our school from your honor, in this capacity. Thank you for not forgetting us.

In outlook, in the in-depth study of the matter, in dealing with people, and in finding solutions to the problems, I feel, no other person can make perfect substitute to dasho. I strongly feel that the people of T/Yangtse have not created blunder in preferring Dasho over other stiff competitors, as their representative to the hall of fame. Dasho, kindly accept our humble words of appreciation ‘Trashi Delek’ for getting elected as the 2^nd historic representative of the dzongkhag to the auspicious dream seat of National Council of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Our school, our history, has close link with dasho. Right from the beginning, in his capacity as EMO (Education Monitoring Officer), no matter whether Dasho had time to visit other schools or not, he made it a point to visit our school. He unfurled an opportunity clearly in front of us to listen to his words of wisdom, brought many enlightening programs like ‘Concept of Instructional Leadership’ and ‘Guidelines to Positive Disciplining’ which enabled our school to distribute the jobs, assign rightful ownership that gave pride to an individual upon accomplishing their missions, and enabled our school to sail through sea or fly in the air overcoming all turbulences on the way, respectively. It is hard to forget the pivotal role dasho has played to steer our school through the roughest whirlpool of situation to safety and peace which gave us luxury of time for professional development and academic enhancement.  We are highly indebted to you for your generosity.

Even in times to come, we expect continuous visit and continuous influx of wisdom in our school. For the present, personally and as representative of school, I feel, it is a matter of unbound pride and excessive jubilation to have the honor of your gracious visit.

Thank you!

Vegetables Sale Deed

One of the important agreements, between the farmers of Sep and Durchen, and our school, regarding the sale and purchase of agricultural produce, brokered or mediated by Regional Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives Office (RAMCO), Mongar, reached on 12^th August 2013. For school, the present deed struck is the revitalization or reactivation of our long dormant deal which was signed in 2007. The agreement reached then ceased to function when farmers complaint of payment delay, low rate compared to existing market rate and when farmers denied to sell during dry season with their expectation to fetch promising prices in the market. It was undoubtedly, a clear breach of contract terms. However, passing this incidence through the magnifying lenses, the terms and conditions set then were observed too weak as it did not have legal backings. The mediators were also not involved while signing an agreement. Owing to these reasons, when farmers defied and carried loads of vegetables towards market through school, school assumed the role of a passive observer and at the most viewed them with green-eye.

However, the present bond has legal backings. The marketing and cooperatives officer from Mongar made it crystal clear to both parties involved, farmers group and school mess members, that the defaulter(s) must undergo legal proceedings as per the law of the Kingdom. The officer opened the floor for negotiation by pointing out the difficulties farmers undergo while producing agricultural produce and the meagre stipend school has at the moment. He urged parties not to be too ambitious by quoting the rate either high or low which may, directly or indirectly, adversely affect one or the other. He made his stand clear by informing the members present saying that his job was to create conducive atmosphere between dealers to reach deal amicably to the satisfaction of both parties.     

The rate for individual item was fixed based on consensus from both parties. Most of the rate quoted by two parties, coincidentally were similar. The bargain, negotiation, and argument related to fixation of rate occurred much less than expected. The officer in-charge praised both parties for efficient management of time by quoting reasonable prices, easily agreeable to both. He was sharing the instances of tough time reaching the consensus in other places.

The actual demand and supply curve, in our school, would flow with the cracking of dawn from 1^st September 2013 and this practice, without complaint and alteration of rate, terms and conditions, would continue till December, 18^th 2014. 

The rates for different items are quoted below:

Sl #	Vegetables	Fixed Rate
1	Potato	15
2	Cabbage	15
3	Beans	30
4	Sag	12
5	Squash	10
6	Radish	8
7	Pumpkin	7
8	Peas	40
9	Cauliflower	25
10	Garlic leaves	15
11	Brinjal	35
12	Broccoli	25
13	Pointed cord	15
14	Coriander (Bundle)	5
15	Carrot	30
16	Cucumber	10
17	Pear (improved)	40
18	Passion fruit	20
19	Chili	40
20	Bitter cord	20
21	Ginger	50
22	Tomato	40
23	Asparagus (Kg)	50
24	Peach (local)	15
25	Plum (improved)	15

So far, in our school, mess in-charges get nightmarish time especially during dry seasons, attempting to provide varieties to students without compromising the standard and quantity. It was frustrating at times, when we failed to see our wanted items in circulation or failed to procure due to unreasonably high price and when students failed to draw correlation, despite repeated information, between the market scenario and stipend they earn. However, with today’s agreement, our fear of not getting as per our demand, our fear of soaring prices which may compel us to compromise with quality and quantity, are permanently yoked out of our strained shoulder. We feel relaxed.

There is absolutely no reason, and it is totally beyond our doubt, why this present scheme should fail like the one in the past. School administration owes immense gratitude to RAMCO for this noble and cherished initiative.