MANAGING MARCH MANIA (5)

MANAGING MARCH MANIA (5)

The early morning phone calls are always alarm signals during the conduct of examinations. One has to prepare his mind and emotions to deal with them with patience, attention and empathy they deserve. I have always felt that no body calls you up for pleasure or gossip in the morning, as they have their own issues to deal with. If someone does, it means he has a problem and he needs help. So, one has to give their ears and listen patiently.

And on that day of the examinations for class x for Regional languages, someone pressed the panic button.

“Sir, I have a serious problem and I need your help” that was a Principal.

“Yes. Tell me what you want?”

“Sir, today morning some of our students offering the local language came to my house and said that they were discussing with some of their friends studying in another school; they found out that the other school is following some new text book and our boys appear to be following the old one.”

“Did you refer to the curriculum published by the Board?”

“Yes sir, on checking I found that it mentions some different books, other than what we teach.”

“That means your teacher handling this subject has not even verified the curriculum and has not taken note of the change of books for the current year.”

“As a principal you could have ensured the teaching of the correct books”

“Sir, I joined this school only five months back. Before that…”

I said “Five months is a good time to ensure that things are happening properly”

“Sir. It is the future of my students. I don’t know how I will face the parents.”

“If you have done a mistake, you need to take the responsibility.”

“I can sir. but the students would lose one year, if they fail.”

Well, such things do happen almost every year, somewhere, some school, in some subject.

While empathy for the students is indeed a prime concern, how do you deal with educators who have not been sensitive to some important issues.

All Boards, across the country, do find out some solution to help the students to save one year of their career. That is not the real issue.

The issue is: “How do you handle such stressful circumstances when someone presses a panic button at the last minute.”

Passing on the buck is easy but taking up the responsibility is a challenge.

It is very important for Heads of Institutions as well as the individual teachers to doubly ensure that they are on the right track. If they have some doubt, they need to get them clarified in the beginning of the academic year itself.

Marching through the month of March has always been a challenge.