When I took charge as Senior
School Principal, in June 2010, there was indeed no infrastructure or even a
school building. But Pathways existed- in our collective ambitions,
determination and our aspirations, all of which was slowly and with much care
woven into our vision of educating. And by ‘education’ I mean building not just
knowledge and information but character and spirit that truly nurtures and
values every human mind and heart with equal empathy and compassion. It does remind me of the time I met with many
of members of our current parent community who despite their doubts and
insecurities believed in my convictions and with open mind deliberated on the
blue print of our mission, constantly supporting it with their suggestions. This was only the beginning of a lucrative
and flourishing partnership between the school and the parents- one that
remains intact and unscathed even today.
It was then, at the very
beginning, when the school was only made of our dreams and not bricks and
stones, I promised that you will notice a definite change in each of your
children’s personality in just six months time, because we at Pathways have a
‘culture’ of allowing students to blossom in an environment that is free from
fear, stimulates curiosity, inspires passion and fuels aspirations. This is the
heart of our school- our common, collective culture pool- which has now
translated itself into the ‘character’ of Pathways, where each child
automatically imbibes these indispensible values. In fact our children are great
examples of the products of Pathways Culture; in that, each has turned into a
confident, intelligent and compassionate individual equipped with a skill set
that will arm him/her to be in a competitive world with an uncertain future.
And of this I am very proud!
Now, as I introspect I realize
that, in this process of making innate,
intrinsic changes in these rapidly developing young minds, we all- teachers, management, students and
parents alike have each played a unique and yet an important role in making
this happen. We have all in a sense become stakeholders of this institution-
equally contributing to the continuous development of Pathways. I cannot but reiterate that just like
teachers and the management; parents have a much bigger role than being passive
observers in shaping the future of both the students and the school.
In just these few years that I
have interacted with the parents, I have shared the joys of their children,
their apprehensions about their academics or even more serious personal
individual concerns. Sometimes, I have actively and overtly taken steps to
ensure a given situation is controlled or sometimes I took cognizance of a
given matter, silently making amendments, but without reporting it to anyone or
many more times, I have just been an empathetic listener to the parents;
because in some circumstances, ‘listening,’ and hearing them out was just the
right remedy. I thank you Parents, for
allowing me to choose the course of action I thought was most appropriate for
addressing your concerns/issues.
Of course, I did reflect on many
areas of improvement as well, towards the end of my tenure here. One aspect
that comes to my mind that need more attention and improvement is -
submissions, punctuality and regularity, to me this characterizes discipline. I
do see this is not unique to Pathways, but common to many schools across the
globe especially in children this age. Teachers and school managements in many
schools owe it to the changing trends in dealing with ‘young adults’ as friends
and equals coupled with the many myriad distractions they now have- be it the
internet, extracurricular activities or the pressures of a highly demanding
academic curriculum. But be that as it may, it still is a very important aspect
of schooling that needs to be addressed and worked on; but that won’t be easy.
And therefore while I thank you for your constant support that you have
extended to me in this regard, I request you to extend the same to my successor
as well, for there is no one simple way to handle this concern.
In the end, I certainly wish to
thank each of the parents, my colleagues and dear students for giving me so
many moments which are so special that I will remember each of them fondly for
many years to come. It is because of each of you that my tenure at Pathways has
been as wonderful. Thank you for being with me, supporting and building on my
beliefs and efforts in every regard and making us a fantastic team at Pathways,
Senior School!
Best Wishes,
Umar Jaffar
Secondary School Principal
