Education is not complete without
imbibing in children the values of leadership- one that allows freedom,
appreciates perspectives, accepts and therefore challenges one’s own
predilections. Leadership is not about being absolute but it is about being the
catalyst, the facilitator of a people with myriad strengths and despite them
guiding towards a single goal, while encouraging the freedom of being. As they say, a leader leads by passion, not
by position.
"Speech Making" by Candidates
Thus, at Pathways, the students
have been working for weeks together for the successful Student Council
Elections- one in which the children truly and democratically elect their own
leaders. After giving their nominations to the teachers, we in turn check and
ratify each candidate based on certain eligibility criteria such as
participation and contribution in various school activities, academic
performance, punctuality, attendance and interactions with staff and students
amongst many others. This is followed by ‘Faculty discussions’ and formal
personal interview of each candidate with the core team that consists of The
Director, Principals and Students Council Coordinators. Once the final list of
candidates is approved and announced, the battles lines are drawn and true
campaigning begins. It is very interesting to see how creative are our
students. You can see the glimpses of creating campaigning elsewhere in this
issue. These potential leaders make speeches, sharing their vision and goals
for the school and the student population as a whole, they articulate their
ideas on how to make better the various amenities and how they can improve the
student bodies administratively. We as teachers can visibly see students
appreciating and encouraging the crowd favorites! We also witness the
contenders planning and charting out their next course of action so that they
are led to victory! The next step in the process is the democratic vote. The
students vote for their leader, following which votes are counted and then, the
winners are announced.
During this entire exercise of
organizing, planning and managing their campaigns, such that they are able to
persuade their fellow students, they have demonstrated notable positive changes
in their persons. Their confidence, presentation, thinking, social and even administrative skills have all indeed been honed- aspects that they
most certainly need in their life after their school life. Electing the leaders
is important, but as teachers, we would like the students to understand and
even appreciate the journey of becoming the leader- that is important.
It is now only after this
competitive campaigning, the new Council has been elected this week. I congratulate Sonal Chawla, our new President and team for
successfully clearing all hurdles. The details of new Students Council is
published separately in this issue.
They are now the torch bearers of
this institution and we as teachers will partner with them, to scale greater
heights, academically and otherwise. The students now have invested their trust
and faith in their capabilities and vision, to take the school forward. Here’s
wishing them the very best in their new jobs as the leaders of our school. I do
here remember the words of Tom Robbins- leaders must stay committed to their
decisions but be flexible in their approach. You now can dream more, aspire
more and inspire more.
Best wishes,
Umar Jaffar
Senior School Principal
