The joys (and concerns) of any beginning

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          - Bernard Fernandes

I write this at the beginning of scholastic year.  The day was Friday, 15^th June 2012, when the large excited gathering of students (and parents who came to see their dear children off) arrested my attention.  It was the first day of school after the long summer vacations, and there were our students wreathed in smiles all eager to face yet another scholastic year.  My face lit up too, for this was the day that I was preparing for all this while!

It was a ‘back to school’ experience for me too in ways more than one.  I recall the first day of school after a long vacation as a young school going boy. It was a time to regroup with my friends and also a time to break away from my holiday schedule of games, recreation and family visits.  It was a fun experience to be back with our bags of books and compass boxes, uniforms (and raincoats), trudging along the once unspoilt hills surrounding my school, or years later taking a cycle ride or a bus ride to the city school. It meant also a time to be down with our homework and assignment – and less of play. 

I fast forward my days at senior college pursuing a degree in Mathematics, and the days at the seminary with philosophical and theological studies.  The thrills (and sad feelings) of a reopening of a new academic year were no different than that of my younger days.  After all, you had to move out from a zone of comfort to one of challenge.

As a teacher (and here let me be honest), I did look forward to a break from paper correction and evaluation, day to day close supervision of our charges, and the other responsibilities that takes a toll on the mental and physical heath.  After all, it is ‘not just another task’, but a God given vocation to mould the minds of the young and help build their character.  However, a new year was also a moment that I would look forward to – to teach, to play, to relate – in short to be invigorated through healthy and effective interaction with my students and colleagues...And there were many such glorious moments!

As the head of the institution, things change (besides the extra bit of grey on your head, and may be an entry into the ‘diabetic’ or ‘cholestrol’ club), for there are other things that tend to occupy your mind – a blueprint may be to blaze a trail, a vision for the all round development of the students, technological know-how to be in sync with the present, a concern of ruffling someone’s feathers...in short, it is a tall order.  Hence, as the year ends, for us at the helm, it begins – it is a time to plan ahead,  evaluate the preceding year’s work for a better focus and plan, maintenance and repairs, investment in new projects, new staff... and yes, the thankless job of ADMISSIONS.  Somewhere in between, we have to squeeze some time for a short break to unwind...

Before long, there is the new scholastic year at my (nay, our) doorstep! As they say, it’s back to the grind. It is a time of concern since you wonder whether all the plans will materialize; moreover it is also a time of joy since the happy faces (of our students, and staff) – that remained in the recesses of my mind during the ‘lay off’ period – are back to haunt me for good, for this year at least! And I pray (like any other teacher) these happy moments continue forever....