Reflecting What We Choose to Reflect

There is hardly any school event that matches the splendour of annual concerts for the multitude of emotions it evokes. In both - parents and academicians. . It is difficult to articulate the feeling of getting to watch each one of your students work as a team while expressing themselves individually on the stage. It is also an immensely proud moment experiencing the moments crafted tirelessly by your teams with the minutest of planning and attention to detail. To watch your teachers and students transform magically into directors, choreographers, light & sound technicians, videographers, digital engineers, script and dialogue writers AND turning an auditorium lobby into a business studies zone with marketing, branding & accounting and so on..

 I was enraptured by the performances put up by my students of Billabong High International School (BHIS) Santacruz recently. This year’s theme was ‘Reflections’. It entailed the journey of the story’s protagonist, an extraordinary boy Johnny, who is thrown head first into a land he has no desire to be. Johnny is one of a kind but doesn’t realise his potential. He is plagued by his insecurities and doesn’t believe in himself even though other characters in the play consider him as their saviour. He encounters the story’s antagonist the wicked witch Elphaba who feeds on negativity and fear and uses Johnny’s negative opinion of himself as the source of her power. At the end, we reflect the essence of a true ‘hero’ – how actions and intent override physical strength as the pre-requisite.

I believe this story has a powerful message. Its theme presupposes empathy and understanding of people and events in their life, which lies at the core of great performances impacting them not only as a person but also preparing them for the real world tomorrow. 

Undoubtedly, the paradigm shift in skills required for the success in 21st century warrants a change in how we educators, facilitate learning. We strive to provide a stimulating culture to our children; aspiring to foster a sense of reasoning, a desire to learn, grow & evolve. We must acknowledge though that while as educators and parents we remain the facilitators, ultimately it is children who are the makers of their own lives.

We need to have them believe in themselves right from when they are children. And at time it may also mean believing in them first before they get to believe in themselves. However, it wouldn’t mean pushing one to be a replica of the other. We need to understand what our child loves, what he is all about. Both parents and educators,  we accept all their little individualities, the embarrassments, and all the wonderful and magnificent things they do so well and a few that they may not do so well, accepting the whole package of our children with love - Unconditionally.

It isn’t just about academics or topping an exam, it is the values we exhibit and that they derive from. We have a huge responsibility as academia, as parents, as policy makers. We need to be at par – ideologically, purposefully - to be an indomitable community. The main pillar of this community being Inclusion. One that safeguards the interests and future of every child regardless of the community s/he may belong to. That each child believes in self and is able to charter his/her course even if he may have to challenge a few status-quos. So that through strife, we progress much further than we would have. So that we create, share, live fearlessly with joy. So that no negative forces may derive power from the insecurities of a young mind, battered by societal inadequacies and inequalities and use it as ammunition to burn any university,  community, society or nation.

It will do much good if we take some time to reflect upon what and how we choose to reflect what defines us – our ideology, our values, our actions, our intent – to the world around us.