From the Principal's Desk

Connecting Hearts and Minds....From the Principal

Every day in a hundred small ways our children ask’ Do you see me?  Do you hear me? Do I matter?’ Their behavior often reflects our response – L.R Knost

This fast-paced life has brought about both visible and invisible changes to the world of education. The urgency to equip our students with the new age skills like problem solving, critical thinking, team building, digital skills along with emotional self-regulation was never felt as much as in the current times. Today’s children will increasingly be required to think deeply about issues that impact life and society, solve problems creatively, work in teams, respect family values, communicate effectively, learn the fast-changing technology and deal with a sea of information, while doing jobs that are non-routine, constantly changing and probably do not even exist at present.

Students, you might be wondering how to achieve all this. I recall a famous quote of Paulo Coelho, ‘You only know yourself when you go beyond your limits’. Nothing changes until you take the first step which need not be a monumental one either. It can be a move, a baby step to overcome your fears, may be the fear of speaking in front of a gathering. Make the best use of the opportunities and platforms your school and teachers provide you in the form of ‘Wellbeing Cafes’, school competitions or classroom discussions. Gather confidence, take risk and venture to the edge of your limits and watch how the magic unfolds. Attempt something different. Publish an article on a topic completely outside your comfort zone. Create a piece of music, art or write a code that defies the industry standard. The objective is not just to be famous, it is rather to get comfortable being uncomfortable. It is only then a journey of rediscovering yourself will unfold and you walk the path of wellbeing.

Parents, you would agree that it’s our partnership that makes future brighter and more beautiful for our children. Let us make a conscious effort to connect with them deeply. Try keeping your cell phone away for some time. Unplug your earphones. Turn off the TV. Power down your laptop. Let us listen to what our children have to share. Make eye contact when they speak to you. Be attentive and present. Active listening sadly has become a lost art in todays’ technological world, but it is not too late to listen to children, starting right now. When you listen, it allows you to see the dreams in their eyes, the excitement in their voice and their endless love for you.  Be the wind beneath their wings as they spread their wings in their imaginary flight. Probably as adults we might miss out to understand how much we matter to our little ones. Let us listen to them not just to hear them but to understand them.

The world we live in today looks drastically different than the one we knew till recently. Challenging times might make it difficult to remain hopeful, but it is more important than ever before that we look to the future positively– the future that together we can design for our children by making them resilient, by preparing them in all possible ways!

Ambassador Family #together for a better world

Sheela Menon