ADDRESS ON THE ANNUAL DAY OF DAYAWATI MODI PUBLIC SCHOOL , RAEBARELI (MY ALMA MATER) ON 18.12.2024
Today's arrival is not as chief guest but more of a homecoming. After the demise of my father, this school, teachers, and staff were like extended family. Being a boy in his adolescence there was plenty of room for departure from what we call a good boy but timely intervention has helped to take corrective action.
I remember how as a small kid I entered these hallowed campus and Mr. BR Dubey was the principal. Modi school was the pride of Raebareli and neighbouring districts. Over the years, Mt Rodrigues, Mr RMD Abreo have served the campus. We spent a few years in the guest house school where Mrs. Rodrigues was the sole teacher. So many things change but yet everything remains the same.
Today amongst us we have parents and students. This occasion does not call for a lecture but I am tempted to give a few sermons to my younger friends. First try to expand your thinking from just rote learning to understanding. Remember curiosity is the key creativity, be curious even for the smallest of things. As to why your body shivers when you encounter a cold? Remember it is the open mind which can take you places. The entrepreneurs of the 21st generation will not be the one who have money but the one who has an idea, a thought which can transform. Today's giants Amazon, Tesla, Nvidia all are first generation entrepreneurs and they have left the traditional industrialist miles away. Learning by doing.
Focus on health and sports as a healthy body provides and nourishes a healthy mind. There is a saying that if you have 100 problems in life until you have a health problem, then you have only one problem.
Personality development:
What is personality is not describable in words. Why is it when sometimes a person enters a room you adore him/her? There are few checkpoints which you can tick and which will yield you exponential results:
Punctuality
Honesty
Clear speaking
Command over any language
Now coming to very hot topics these days, the advent of Instagram reels, tiktok and youtube shorts. You must have read that recently Australia has banned social media for kids below 16 years. I must admit reels are very addictive, they are akin to drugs. It has not only affected kids, it has overbearing nature over all walks of life. Everyone is affected, some are creating and others consuming. The security personnel are watching reels on duty, students watching in school, drivers scrolling while driving. This divided attention has caused several accidents. For a kid, the kind of havoc these social media is playing is not evident completely. We have to use it sensibly, it is a powerful tool but there is a certain age which it can assist. If you use social media there is an obsessive urge to check what is going on . the FOMO factor kicks in. We need to focus on our careers first. Thankfully in our times there was no Insta.
Parents have to say that don't chain your kid to some competitive exam, see what are his strengths and weaknesses. If maths is good and english is bad, then put focus on maths, it'll give you results. Let him play for some time. Ask him to read newspaper, general reading. Tell him about mythology, culture, family history. COMMUNICATE. We have observed that one kid reaches 15-16 years, parents only talk about studies, how it is going, when the exam is. Don’t limit your parenting to exams only. Talk with him/her. Even if there is negativity around, don't put your child in such an atmosphere. Be positive and talk positively. It’ll help him make a better social person, a good citizen.
Teachers are real heroes, they may not realise because they also are humans first. I remember how this school has been shaped by its teachers and staff. When I look upon Siddhu Ma’am I wonder what she is made up of. Do we chisel such personalities now? In the last 35 years or so I have seen her with the same discipline and enthusiasm, she has called dozens of times just to ensure everything is in place. We need that grit in today's teachers and students and even if we have few then it is a blessing for institutions. It said that it takes a village to raise a child, it’s even true today. Only the village has been replaced by a community. I remember in our times anyone can correct us if we were wrong no matter what his position was.
I have already taken a lot of your time but having a captive audience is such an attractive proposition that I could not hold back.
Sky is not the limit and believe yourself, you all are special. Have a certain go getter attitude. The young have changed the world and you can.
I remember how as a small kid I entered these hallowed campus and Mr. BR Dubey was the principal. Modi school was the pride of Raebareli and neighbouring districts. Over the years, Mt Rodrigues, Mr RMD Abreo have served the campus. We spent a few years in the guest house school where Mrs. Rodrigues was the sole teacher. So many things change but yet everything remains the same.
Today amongst us we have parents and students. This occasion does not call for a lecture but I am tempted to give a few sermons to my younger friends. First try to expand your thinking from just rote learning to understanding. Remember curiosity is the key creativity, be curious even for the smallest of things. As to why your body shivers when you encounter a cold? Remember it is the open mind which can take you places. The entrepreneurs of the 21st generation will not be the one who have money but the one who has an idea, a thought which can transform. Today's giants Amazon, Tesla, Nvidia all are first generation entrepreneurs and they have left the traditional industrialist miles away. Learning by doing.
Focus on health and sports as a healthy body provides and nourishes a healthy mind. There is a saying that if you have 100 problems in life until you have a health problem, then you have only one problem.
Personality development:
What is personality is not describable in words. Why is it when sometimes a person enters a room you adore him/her? There are few checkpoints which you can tick and which will yield you exponential results:
Punctuality
Honesty
Clear speaking
Command over any language
Now coming to very hot topics these days, the advent of Instagram reels, tiktok and youtube shorts. You must have read that recently Australia has banned social media for kids below 16 years. I must admit reels are very addictive, they are akin to drugs. It has not only affected kids, it has overbearing nature over all walks of life. Everyone is affected, some are creating and others consuming. The security personnel are watching reels on duty, students watching in school, drivers scrolling while driving. This divided attention has caused several accidents. For a kid, the kind of havoc these social media is playing is not evident completely. We have to use it sensibly, it is a powerful tool but there is a certain age which it can assist. If you use social media there is an obsessive urge to check what is going on . the FOMO factor kicks in. We need to focus on our careers first. Thankfully in our times there was no Insta.
Parents have to say that don't chain your kid to some competitive exam, see what are his strengths and weaknesses. If maths is good and english is bad, then put focus on maths, it'll give you results. Let him play for some time. Ask him to read newspaper, general reading. Tell him about mythology, culture, family history. COMMUNICATE. We have observed that one kid reaches 15-16 years, parents only talk about studies, how it is going, when the exam is. Don’t limit your parenting to exams only. Talk with him/her. Even if there is negativity around, don't put your child in such an atmosphere. Be positive and talk positively. It’ll help him make a better social person, a good citizen.
Teachers are real heroes, they may not realise because they also are humans first. I remember how this school has been shaped by its teachers and staff. When I look upon Siddhu Ma’am I wonder what she is made up of. Do we chisel such personalities now? In the last 35 years or so I have seen her with the same discipline and enthusiasm, she has called dozens of times just to ensure everything is in place. We need that grit in today's teachers and students and even if we have few then it is a blessing for institutions. It said that it takes a village to raise a child, it’s even true today. Only the village has been replaced by a community. I remember in our times anyone can correct us if we were wrong no matter what his position was.
I have already taken a lot of your time but having a captive audience is such an attractive proposition that I could not hold back.
Sky is not the limit and believe yourself, you all are special. Have a certain go getter attitude. The young have changed the world and you can.
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