Lost Instructions

The school auditorium was occupied with passing out batch of 12^th standard students with parents, an entire batch of 11^th standard students, teachers and staff of the primary-secondary sections.

All were looking forward to the talk by the new principal, known to be a distinguished academician with 39 years of experience, great administrator, speaker and motivator. He was distinctly over qualified for the responsibility, replacing the earlier principal because of his long absence due to medical reasons.

In his opening remarks he said “at the outset let me express my honor and privilege to take responsibility of managing this prime educational institution with the help of all teachers, staff, students and parents. I understand the importance of our role in teaching students the academic knowledge, but there has to be more. Being assertive he added “I wish to initiate awakening and awareness of certain ‘lost instructions.” There were expressions of curiosity across the hall.

He continued ‘Lost Instructions’ are values and principles we once learned but gradually stopped practicing. Instructions generally are understood to mean “detailed information on how you should use something, do something.” Many vital instructions are received and said one-time, but are meant to be adhered all the time. For students in school instructions importantly come from home, by parents/care takers and in school by teachers.

Lost instructions reveal themselves in us, when respect gives way to rudeness, honesty to convenience, gratitude to entitlement, kindness to indifference, responsibility to excuses and self-discipline to impulse. As humans we are falling short of conducting well with our own self, fellow beings, with other living creations and the environment.

Without doubt, lost instructions unnoticed in childhood complicates the teen-age, mis manage one’s adulthood and proves serious failure to contribute well to the society.

Before accepting the responsibility, I quietly observed the school for two weeks. From the gate to the classroom - student’s behavior. Safety standards and discipline of our bus fleet in action. The supports of the admin team, contributions by the various service providers. This was not to judge people but to understand the culture we have created and how much of loss instruction we make up for.

When a wallet or mobile phone is lost everyone searches for it immediately. Yet when honesty, compassion or self- control are lost society quietly learns to live with the loss. The first creates inconvenience; the second creates character failure.

“Every faith, every scripture and every wise teacher has handed humanity instructions for living- truthfulness, humility, compassion, service and mastery over the ego. They are not to be remembered; they are meant to be lived.”

Adolescent and youngsters copy what others around them do. Dear parents and teachers we will soon begin a training programme to get our act in place, and then reach out to the young minds. As an educational institution we have more than a report card to shape.  

We need to be there with rewards and punishments so that young minds make conscious thoughts in what they do. I am a special invitee with the police cyber cell for my IT skills and will deal with any misdoings on internet to help our students and parents in need.

Instructions are not truly lost when they disappear from memory; they are lost when they disappear from conduct. The future of our children depends not only on lessons they hear, but on instructions they see us live. My best wishes to the 12^th standard students passing out from our institution.