My school

My school

-Bernard Fernandes

As a primary student, I was asked to write down an essay on ‘My school’.  I cannot recollect what my composition was at that time –I do recall a pat on the back for that effort from my teacher - yet, it was not an expression of some pious platitudes but rather something I experienced in a home-away-from-home called school.  Four decades later, I choose to write on the same topic, albeit, in the role of a mentor, leader and teacher.

My school is a place where a child comes to learn, period! S/he learns in the classroom, on the corridor, on the playground, in the dining room.  S/he gains knowledge from the teachers, friends, peers, workers on the campus, and scores of people with whom s/he interacts at workshops or programs. S/he learns from the textbooks, workbooks, audiovisuals, assemblies, dramas, art, games and competitions. Values to care for environment, society and school are imbibed primarily in the school.

Book knowledge doesn’t fancy our students anymore – they wish to learn something more.  Hence innovative and creative teachers interest them, ‘predictable’ teachers bore them. Considerate and understanding teachers are their friends, ‘uninvolved’ and ‘distant’ teachers remain just ‘subject teachers’ to be respected and admired from a distance.

It is sad that coaching classes has taken the sheen off the classroom of old – over-knowledgeable students, tired and drooping heads from an overdose of tuitions, coaching class ‘cliques’ are but a few ills of the modern day classrooms.  Yet, the appetite to learn is still there. The children are inquisitive, restless for answers and quick to invent.  This provides an ideal meeting place for the teachers and students to explore ideas and share responsibility in the task of education.

Sadly, my school lacks proper direction from the higher ups in education in the state and country. Poor planning and an equally ineffective execution of schemes/proposals are leading us nowhere.  Unimaginative training schedules for teachers at the drop of a hat are incomprehensible to a discerning mind. RTIs and RTEs have become tools in the hands of the opportunists for harassment and personal gains.

Yet, the challenges and dreams for a better education outweigh the disadvantages and drawbacks of the system. ‘One cannot refuse to eat just because there is a chance of being choked’, so goes a Chinese proverb! And so, my school moves on!