REFLECTIVE WRITING: ‘WHAT I MEAN TO MY SCHOOL’

This is part of learning activity given by RIGSS for school leaders of SLDP to reflect on various topic. The reflection for us brings deeper thinking into what a leader should be for a school to be a boat to cross to the shore of GNH. I delved into my philosophy as a leader by connecting to the courses I listened to to streamline my beliefs for serving more meaningfully. 

A covert operation success of a regiment is remembered by the commander who led the team, a victory of a historical war is a story of a king who marched his army, the state of peace and harmony of a nation is defined by the quality of its leader and it must there for be infallible that an accomplishment of a school is the artwork of its principal at the helm of affairs.

One of the most recent researches by Bartanen(2020) shows that school leadership has significant effect on students performance in reading and mathematics, and similarly a study by Dhuey & Smith (2018) at North Carolina Department of Public Instruction on 1,954 school revealed difference on the impact of student learning which had direct correlation to leadership performance.

We also believe that wellbeing of teachers and students, the vibrancy of school culture and performance of students in school depends on principal’s leadership management. The anecdote which says, ‘teachers do not leave the school but the leader,’ describes the quality of the school leader that compels teacher to leave school on transfer due to stressful work atmosphere. On the contrary, a school managed by a principal who is warm and versatile, shrewd and farsighted, learned and inspiring, connected and caring, will contribute towards imbibing virtues by example and educating children to learn with joy and enthusiasm. The performance of teachers, where principal is a competent leader, is enterprising and versatile at their responsibility. For instance, how the aesthetic ambiene of place manifest into a beautiful and calm space depends on the leader who was able to dream, love and perform during his tenure. This is exemplified by the composite beauty of Damphu town, from its endless variety of floral richness around town, the ‘Rigsum Pedmai Dumra ‘park that is intensely artistic, a tranquil lake, an imposing architecture of a chorten, an outdoor theater that reminds of a Roman colosseum, a soccer turf and so many more. If it is not because of the leader who was visionary and versatile, it cannot be possible for one place to become an artwork of Vincent Van Gogh of the 19^th Century. This is the reason why history and art, science and literature, stories and experiences illustrate that leadership matters.

When I was interviewed for principal’s selection, I was asked how I would solve the problem of accommodation in boarding schools. I responded that it depends on how as a principal we view the situation. I said I would view it as a challenge rather than a problem or an obstacle, and that how we see the situation matter in how we adapt, reconcile and find solutions. Since that moment in 2017, I have looked at school as a place of immense opportunity to display by managerial skill, to work with compassion and forbearance, to flourish creativity and cultural liveliness, to drive for excellence and adventure of learning. School is a padlock to which I am the key to its accomplishments, and a guardian, a fatherly stature.

I believe that I am the singular hope for my teacher to remain elevated, inspired and belonged to, and that what I speak becomes their thought and what I do their behavior. As a principal and a family man, my work dictum is driven by this sentence- Small things matter, and what matters is not small for any individual. This philosophy facilitate how I perform my duties as a principal and a family man, and therefore I believe that every small things matter when standing as a teacher and a principal. Teacher’s behavior and speech, even if it is insignificant in our own thought, inevitably impacts how and what children learn in academic endeavours and behavioural change. In fact, every small activity in classroom and campus, in sport and special events, in discipline and dance, have indelible impression on the psyche and character of a child.

If I want them to read, so must I, if I want them to meditate, so must I, if I want them to become orators, so must I display, if I want them to be kind, so must I be compassionate, if I want them not to smoke and drink, so must I refrain, if I want them to be friendly, so must I socialize, and I am Dechentsemo when I am there. Therefore, what I am and what I do matters for my school, and I am the spirit that keeps my teachers and students spirited.

 Namgyal Tshering

Principal, Dechentsemo CS