Journey from Darkness to Light

'Good morning, sir, I am one of your students. I am calling you today, especially today to inform you how special you are to me. It is because of you I could proudly stand among other friends. You are the bulb that glowed and dispelled the darkness of my life. I could see wonderful things happening, saddest moments dying out, unimaginable inventions and occurrences that make me wish for the boon of immortality. I could discern good from bad….' He added many things to the list of his success stories which I find it difficult to recount here lest I may be misunderstood for exaggerating the crux of the matters. Anyway, it was one of my old students whom I taught while he was in class VIII. He was sharp and intelligent. However, he used to engage himself in something which would make his own friends and school authority skeptic. School authority and discipline committee decided to suspend him several times on account of his unpredictable behavior. I, being his class teacher and trusted person, had to act on his behalf to convince authority in the staff meetings and defend against the decision to suspend him. I could save him so many times from getting suspended. Suspension for him would mean numerous problems for having to call his parents all the way from Samdrup Jongkhar to pick him up from school and reach him back after the completion of his suspension period. Another unfortunate thing that aggravated his problem was that his father was paralytic patient who depended on wheelchair to move even within the house. His mother was only solace to his father. Rest of the brother and sisters were innocent. Preventing him from getting suspension meant preventing him from making his parents feel sorry for him. However my intention of protecting him was not, in any way, because he was from a handicapped family but because I knew how good he was at heart and the innate potential of great man that was lodged in him. 

When I was with him I never had the feeling that he knew what I had done for him. But from his call I came to learn that he knew more than what I could thoughtfully do for him. He called me to thank me for that and to wish 'Happy Teachers' Day, May 2, 2014'. He concluded his trembling words by saying 'please, forgive me for being late in expressing my gratitude'. 

When I calculated the time mentally, it took one whole decade for him to express what he felt about me. He might have spoken that, I believe, after having contemplated deeply. It could be genuine and pure. Experience and years might have enabled him to realize the person who made inexpressible differences in his life. I accepted his expression by responding 'thank you, Mr., you have added colors to my life and profession. Should I have opportunity of next birth, I would love to continue teaching just for students like you'. Many students, as we observe, are reserved, even if their hearts are filled with feelings of gratitude, they hesitate to express it. In essence, I like to express that recognition of teachers' effort does not come automatically. It does not waste either. Though not eons, it definitely takes time. Somehow, somewhere and in some state, I have seen gratitude or praise for teachers being lodged in our students. Teachers, I believe, irrespective of what happens, have to relentlessly work for the benefit of students as expected and as oath of allegiance administered prior to taking placement orders.

However, I must say that not being able to recognize what good others have done is one example of stagnation of our mind. It is also an instance of the thought process having reached standstill. In that state, let alone thinking good of others, one will not be able to think good of oneself even. It is a mere survival. It is a burden to self, parents and country. What difference do we make from other animals then? We take pride in saying that we are different from other animals. Is this pride rational? If what we belief has to be true, I believe, we must make our thought process dynamic, act rationally, aspire to ascend new heights, and crave to move from darkness to light.

     

Schools, therefore, has to act as training grounds to refine an unrefined minds, sharpen the blunt ones, let discover an undiscovered skills, and make equal an unequal. Parents with hope and expectations send their children to schools, high officials look at schools for quality of educational programs, and government invests in schools for quality workforce and citizenships.  It becomes the solemn duty of schools to prepare the people who initially come innocent, incoherent, and oblivious of what is going around the world to remain awake from slumber and make them aware of surrounding environment. The school personnel, students and anybody associated with schools must have broad outlook, equip themselves with different skills, prepare to learn and adopt new programs, must prepare not to let anything become stagnant and stale. Any new idea that enables change must be grasped and implemented. We must express love for new innovations. Schools must function in collaboration with the ministry, parents and community. 

Schools, from any angle must be seen as a source of light. It must glow and its radiant reach every nook and corner of the world. Various indispensable programs that enable schools to shine, inclusive of teachers, students, equipments, plans and programs, relationship with ministries, relationship with parents and community must exceed our mind's reach. The working web among teachers and between teacher and student must be strong so that we can achieve what we could not. Schools must surprise others. Stagnation must not find its place. Through use of ICT, introduction of 21st Century Teaching Strategies, focusing on common vision, working documents, perfect students discipline, unity among the inmates - anything that causes stagnation in the mind, system, and progress must be drilled out creating vent for dynamism in various forms to flow in. 

It is often easier said than done. Journeys, as always, towards brightness can be uncertain, unsafe, can be like travelling through rough tempest, or whirling of white papers in the whirlpool of winds, but let us cling on to small knot of determination and commitment which is not impossible, and pray that the waves of turmoil end and sun of peace shine. 

Baylling HSS will stand firm against all odds and run ahead of time in 2015. My prayer to Almighty is to grant my students and school family members the boon of good health, creative and scientific brains, positive outlook, patriotic feelings, and to enable them to see their dreams, in whatever form it may be if it is to benefit self and country, come true! 

Happy New Year, 2015 to all our supporters, well-wishers and all readers!        

International Ozone Day

Theme - “Ozone Layer Protection: The Mission Goes On”

Howard Gardner, the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Boston, identified eight distinct intelligences of human beings. According to Gardner (1991), "… students possess different kinds of minds and therefore learn, remember, perform, and understand in different ways". The argument that he brought forward tells that, "we are all able to know the world through language, logical-mathematical analysis, spatial representation, musical thinking, and the use of the body to solve problems or to make things, an understanding of other individuals, and an understanding of ourselves…”. 

This idea goes on to suggest that people, including students need different conditions to learn. The idea of multiple intelligences, therefore, becomes imperative to educators as it allows them to identify differing strengths and weaknesses in students. Only after identifying the strengths and weaknesses, the educationists, school administrators and teachers will be able to design appropriate ways to make students learn. 

Being aware of it, and more so driven by the fact that it is indispensable to let students know and feel, Baylling HSS, led by Mr.Yenten Nyingtob, GNH focal person took a step forward to celebrate International Ozone Day on 16^th September 2014. It was also organized to create awareness on the importance of ozone layer for human survival, and to allow students to stretch its arms beyond classrooms teaching. It was an in-house celebration. We did it without causing any disturbance to our normal classes. Students were provided the materials in advance, to come up with the pictorial representation of their ideas of ozone layer depletion along with their messages to help replete the depletion. Students did it as their home tasks, and did it splendidly. In the morning, the academic area gained its splendour with the charisma and exquisiteness being added by the posters displayed by different classes. Sound of laughter, movement with cheery faces, students struck in dilemma not knowing which poster to tag the best - a total lovely scene were seen round the academic and administrative blocks during the recesses. Non-class teachers, with papers and marking criteria in their hands, were seen equally moving round the posters almost giving their expression to the passerby that they were undergoing hard time to judge. This is, I believe, could be truly because of competitive nature of posters and messages. I too found the posters artistic and messages meaningful this time.

In the afternoon, the culmination on importance of International Ozone Day was marked in our MPH where class XI Art students made visual presentation on ozone layer, ozone hole, causes of ozone layer depletion, process of ozone depletion, and effects of ozone layer depletion. They created a cause of big concern by pointing out that an ozone hole is detected recently around Tibetan Plateau. It is alarming for Bhutan because we are not that far away from Tibetan Plateau. So, it becomes equally important for Bhutan to fight or raise voices against the use of ozone depleting substances as much as countries like New Zealand, Australia etc. do.

 

We must avoid the use or find alternatives to the following ozone depleting substances:                  

                1. Aerosols, sterilants and carbon tetrachloride,

                2. Halons,

                3. HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons),

                4. Methyl bromide, Solvents, Coatings & Adhesives

Prizes were awarded to the deserving classes who displayed the best posters and made truly philanthropic messages. Congratulations to Classes XII Science A, XII Science B and XI Science B who made it to the position of first, second and third respectively. 

 

Praise for Toppers of 2014

Toppers, in any sense, would have exerted little more effort, sacrificed little more comfort and thought little more than other students. They would have thought about making themselves reach comfortable positions, thought about caring their aged parents and dreamt of serving our nation even by becoming a martyr. All these extraordinary qualities make our toppers highly deserving of handshakes, praises, recognitions, and celebrations.

Without the khaddar or garland of laurels over the neck of my toppers, in the most humble ways, we celebrated the accomplishments of our toppers on 26th July 2014. Parents were invited; position holders were praised and urged them to continuously strive for excellence. Parents of the toppers, if present were offered the honour to award their child a prize arranged by school for the first time this year. Award ceremony was followed by "High Tea" session. 

Many toppers this time have scored 90s and 80s. Surprising as well as encouraging thing for me, as principal, is to hear from some toppers that they would come back next year to claim the cash prize of Nu 20,000/- announced by school, if anybody among us wins whole Bhutan topper. I still throw them a gauntlet as a challenge, 'let me see'.  

I make these posts not to simply tell others what ordinary things I am doing in my school but to incite or provoke a sense of competitions in other schools. I feel, as autonomous schools, we have got a challenge to rise above others. I am skeptic whether my school can prove better than others or in any way better than our own performance of the past, but it would fill me with regret if I do not try out different means to gain different results.      

Writers' Workshop

2nd June 2014 saw culmination of two important programs in our school. As usual the morning program was decorated with the moment of dedication to the coronation of His Fourth Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuk. It was then followed by presentation on the Social Forestry Day focusing on importance of trees, natural hazards that our world is increasingly facing and plantation of saplings as our little contribution to the bigger cause of saving the world. The presentation was made by Ms. Ugyen lhamo, Nature Club coordinator of our school.

Afternoon Program

 Every time exams is conducted, we, especially English teachers get the displeasure of finding students scoring low marks in English hence resulting in low overall results. English marks had been major hurdle for our students. Many potential candidates, who even had capacity to challenge the whole Bhutan toppers both of BHSEC and BCSE, had to go with just school toppers because of low marks in English.

We get unbearable pain, we find ourselves secluded and left with less reasons to jubilate in worldly pleasure, thousands different thoughts appear when awake that cannot be described and often haunted by nightmares. We are thus, compelled to gear up to prepare our students towards academic excellence.

To prepare our students for academic excellence means preparing our students to write good English. What happened in the past was little regrettable. Now, we do not want our students to suffer in the same fate. We, English teachers of BHSS, took it as our challenge to look for new ways to motivate students, of all grades to learn and perform better. I may be exaggerating if I say that we would make all our students fluent speakers and excellent writers, but at least we are bent upon making the top students or everyone who aspires to become great, do not shatter their dreams because of less English marks.  We want to make our students perform better in English like any other subjects.

One common idea that came to the members of English department is to organize 'Writers' Workshop' for our students. Accordingly 'Writers' Workshop' was organized for the students of class XII and X. We had a discussion on types of writing, traits of writing, process of writing and conferences. We had fruitful interactions. Many students expressed that the ideas they had received from workshop would help them in many ways. It was a first of its kind in our school.      

Do Not Go the Way It Is

I have heard many people say, 'time has changed'. But Lord Urgen Guru Rimpochhe said that it is not time but the mind of the people that has changed. Looking at incongruous human nature and judging by the growing insatiability of human mind; the strange and alien thoughts creeping human minds, I can without any remorse say that minds of the people have changed. What people say about time is ordinary, plainly put, like one talking in a state of intoxication. What Lord Urgen Rimpochhe said is a result of deep contemplation and introspection. It is remarked after gaining mastery over the events of the past, present and what would happen in future. It is universal. His thought is ahead of others.

At this juncture, if we delve deep into our thought to find out what is not there, virtually it will become impossible. We will see everything before us. Just like farmers reaping fruits after their hard work, the present generations have to just reap, use, consume and satisfy their hunger, or their desire for power. By using creativity, exerting energy, forgoing pleasure, and spending sleepless night, our predecessors have invented and created many amazing things. They have garlanded our world, made our world the feast of our eyes. But, I believe, our predecessors have also invented something defying the law of nature or God's command. Some inventions threaten the very existence of humankind. 

One technique to navigate through and survive in the strangeness of 21st Century is to climb beyond the reach of others in thought. It is now time, matured enough for everyone, to think, perform and prove the possession of extraordinary qualities in oneself. Once, there was a time when teachers used to appreciate and praise students for being highly knowledgeable, well-mannered and value-laden, if they are spotted with their head bowed down, walk decently, and eat less. It wasn't necessary whether s/he responded to the questions asked or participated in activities. When I was 10 years and staying with my cousin sister, a guest praised me by saying that I would succeed in life after observing how I cooked meals, and how I served him without responding a word. But, at present, experience and exposure taught man a different lesson. Now, people do not appreciate silence. They want to hear more through mouth than see through actions. Simply expressing one's knowledge through courtesy is hardly appreciated or rather it is blatantly misunderstood. Personally, I feel that people would appreciate describing face part of a cat but body and tail of dogs that wag when we are asked to describe a cat.

Let us come back to a serious business. How can we possibly reach beyond others in thought? Atom, nuclear, chemical bombs, rocket launching missiles and many mass destructive weapons threaten the existence of our world. Recent shooting down of Malaysian Aircraft MH17 over Pro-Russian Separatists held Ukrainian boarder with Russia and Israel's attack over Gaza are a minute incidence, yet it could cause goose bumps to rise in everybody and could trigger terror of fear over the entire globe. If nuclear warfare occurs, the possibility everybody expects is that our earth would turn into ashes within a fraction of second. Knowing these facts, I feel like scratching every possibility to invent a durable net of a size of our world which would possibly hold all bombs or missiles from falling onto the ground or a rain like droplets which would possibly neutralize any bomb and render ineffective. What a triumph good would be over evils then? Wind blows, we say. By using wind vane, we ascertain the direction of wind. Won't it be possible to invent colour that can be added to wind so that everybody can see and feel wind? It sounds hilarious. But, I feel these are some possibilities to think beyond normal thinking level.

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" - Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Many present people waste time repeating the works of our predecessors. Many modifications are made out of the old model. Almost new inventions are made using an earlier invention as a reference point. Still, the present inventors do not get the names of inventors like Henry Mill who invented type writer, Hippocrates-father of modern medicines, Wright Brothers who built first airplane, Alexander Graham Bell who invented telephone and Geoffrey Chaucer- the father of modern literature. It is because the present inventors, as I have mentioned, are simply pursuing the footsteps of the earlier inventors. This proves to us that we really need to walk the way other people have not walked and leave the clear trail behind us.

We envy greatness, we fear wars, and we excessively crave for peace. In this world where everything seems illusory, nothing of what we want is fulfilled. Sometimes, I am feeling that I am standing in the world that does not belong to me any longer. I am sure, many of my like-minded friends would agree with me. Well then, shall we draw our inspiration to move forward through road not taken by following Albert Einstein: "Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don't belong." Shall we give wings to our thoughts to fly and roots to come back and reasons to stay?               

"All experience is an arc wherethrough gleams that untraveled world, whose margin fades forever and forever when I move"- Lord Alfred Tennyson. Knowledge abounds. There is no end to learning. End of one thing is beginning of another. While learning, complacency must not have its role. Passionate learners must never succumb to complacency or procrastination. We must steady our journey through the rungs of ladder of knowledge. Reflecting upon the endless nature of knowledge, I find Socrates right when he says 'the one who knows one knows nothing is a wise man'. Like bees leaving the flower after it has sucked the nectar, we must suck the sweet part of knowledge and leave the bitter part behind. Knowledge is power. We must use power of argument, logic and reason to get as much as we can to fortify our existence.    

It is obvious, I talked about change. But, I want to diffuse confusion, if I have created any. I am obviously not talking of the change that would worsen the condition of our present world. Like Wayne W Dyer who has simple expectation, I too expect simple change.  Wayne says "My goal is not to be better than anyone else, but to be better than I used to be". I expect everybody to look for change, a simple one but would enable to incite envy in others which would ultimately change the outlook of the people and the world.  Everybody must have good thoughts. Lord Buddha says, "The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts". We must have peace and happiness. Every individual must try to be an agent of peace and happiness.  We must find reason as to how we can possibly restore peace and happiness in the world. Peace is the foundation of all good things. Peace enables us to rationalize why we exist.