TEACHING.......a learning Process.
A Journey of Excellence and Responsibility.
I want you to imagine that we are all on a journey, and I want to paint some words for you that you may find beneficial.
Do your best, always
You have already achieved a lot of your academic potential, hence your presence makes a lot of difference in a child’s life. In this journey, however, you need sustained excellence, which is an entirely different thing.
You must have a sense of purpose and display a need to continually seek to perform your best.
“(s)He who stops being better, stops being good.
In my family, my Dad used to tell me and this became a family motto, that you can only be satisfied if you have done your best. If you are competing with someone and that person fared better than you, be satisfied to be second, but then only if you have done your best.
If you do your best, you will be more open to feedback, you would be goal-oriented, you would seek to be unique, and strive to make a difference through sheer hard work, determination, and perseverance.
There is no short-cut to success: Sacrifice.
There is a saying that goes as follows: “there is no elevator to success – you will have to take the proverbial stairs one by one”! On this journey, you may need to take the gravel road! With hard work and striving to achieve, you sometimes need to make some sacrifices:
You are responsible for your own destiny
The learner: I see the role of a learner and future student as the pilot of his/her own plane. You decide on your destination. Of course, your short-term destination is to do your best in the grade X examination. Next year you will be treated as an adult. As an adult, you decide whether you want to attend lectures, you decide whether you are there only in a body or with your body and mind, in other words, you dictate how much you put in.
For parents, the responsibility will not end when your child matriculates. With responsibility, you also have to imbibe the so-called Sanskar in your kids. It remains your responsibility to guide them and to instill in them a sense of responsibility for their own learning. This thought provoked me when I was sitting in the lounge of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal, Mumbai when I was supposed to catch a flight with my family to my native place. I could relate this, I see the role of the parent or guardian as that of an air traffic controller – an air traffic controller does not fly the plane like the pilot but plays a crucial role to ensure that the plane takes off and lands safely. The air traffic controller always needs to be on the ball to ensure that none of the other planes end up on another plane’s course, in short, an air traffic controller cannot be asleep and has to be wide awake to guide pilots to safety.
“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen”.
Never forget where you come from
Put on your “trip meter” when you embark on your journey so that you may know how far you have come because it is only through acknowledging where one is from and what you have learned that you will have an appreciation for what you have become. And not to forget the ones who play a very important role in your journey of life. That’s my dearest trustee Manish sir and Ritu madam. It could be said very simply about them that when deeds speak Words are nothing. No one factor can account for the success of Wisdom High International school, Nashik but one thing is for certain- without the generous spirit of our trustees, Wisdom High International school would not be the school as it is today. The number one School of Nashik.
Enjoy the journey and learn to “pause”
We sometimes try to be all things to all people – we cannot always be that – so sometimes, I have found, I take time out.
I listen to good old numbers, enjoy the music in full volume. Fortunately, I Whatsapp the same song in the evening to my team members, so I have learned to share some rare moments reminding them of the golden era that they can take it and pass on the same!
It is draining to work hard, we all know that, but then sometimes, just that little bit of pampering which we all deserve – whether it is sport, reading, music, drama, etc, make sure that you have something where you can hone the other skills that will be required later to complement your academic skills. And, while you are at it, make sure that you have time to pause, to reflect, just like you would make sure that you take a break in driving from Ganesh Kumar to Vice Principal Ganesh Kumar.
Coming from the Wisdom high family, I will do what exceptional teachers do: doing things differently!. I hope that I have inspired you to strive for sustained excellence, to take responsibility for your destiny, to be prepared to make sacrifices on the way, to remember your starting point (where you come from) and to take some breaks on the way!
Every journey has a destination and when one ends a new one begins. It is, therefore, important to pause while you are on this journey, because otherwise, you may not recall how you got to a certain place. I conclude
“I have tried not to falter. I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.”
With heartfelt gratitude, I thank you for reading this write-up.
Dr.Ganesh Kumar Pandidhar
Vice-principal
Wisdom High International School.
Nashik