Of lemons, bricks and melons: don't write off anyone as mediocre Alan Dias [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Each of us have in us the ability and capacity to make a difference to our own life and to that of others with whom we interact in the journey we call life. Surprisingly, I did not make much of a difference when I was at St Brittos's, so few of the pupils of St Britto's at Mapusa would probably remember me. I was neither vocal nor smart; I managed to get by with pass grades in most of my studies at school. I was bad at arts and sports, and even worse at athletics. I was just about okay in Scouting; and there was a reason for that. More on this later. Getting to school and class was a chore that I mechanically performed as the corridors of learning were hardly appealing to me. My indifference to learning caught the ire of many. Occasionally I would be called up in front of the assembly to get my regular quota of beating from Fr. Teo de Sales for not doing homework. After sometime, I just got used to the beating and my dislike for studies increased. Perhaps the school authorities felt that beating would instil sense in young students. But it probably didn't work that way. As mentioned earlier, I not good at anything in school and pretty much indifferent to the happenings around school. Consequently, zmost of the teachers left me alone. I would sometimes wonder what would become of me once I left school, and whether I would ever make a good living with the type of marks I obtained. My big break came when we were sent to the not-so-nearby Industrial Training Institute (ITI) at Peddem for the work-experience subject. There were different trades to learn -- like electricity, smithy, carpentry and skills in engineering drawing. It was here that I had something else to interest me other than mathematics. The ITI provided skills-based training such as electrical wiring and engineering drawing. Suddenly, I realised that I was fascinated to see how pieces of wood and metal got magically transformed into furniture and appliances by the teachers. I picked up these skills extremely fast and eventually teamed up with some private electrical contractors and started working as an electrical wireman while I was still in Std IX. Just when I thought all was lost, the skill-based exposure at ITI opened doors for me. Perhaps it was me; perhaps it was the teachers ... but with the exception of Mathematics taught by Alvito Almeida, History taught by Ivan Rocha and Geography taught by Albert Lewis, the rest of the subjects was pretty much dull. I found these three teachers extremely motivating and making the subject energizing even though History and Geography were not of my interest. Studying Geography came with a price of watching erring students going through Alberts Lewis' punishment routine. And, one couldn't help wondering where he learned the torture techniques. Alvito Almeida, Albert Lewis, Ivan Rocha and Mrs. Days were the best of teachers -- from my view. They seem passionate about what they taught and put effort to see ensure that we learned their subjects. There was, of course, Guruji, our Marathi teacher. He would become all emotional and have tears in his eyes while reading or explaining certain chapters. I will never know whether the tears occurred due to skillful acting or genuine feelings. He convinced me and a few students to switch to Marathi instead of French. Later on I regretted my decision very much, since I had to struggle with the subject for two years and finally got by with 35 marks in SSC. For the rest of the classes, I would speedily switch into a daydream mode and wonder how I should go about working on my next electrical contract. It was not merely the lure of money, but the realization that I was doing something of value and more practical worth outside that made me think whether it would be worth completing school. Moreover, working outside came with rewards of enjoying the sense that I was making my life purposeful. After Std IXth, I was relocated to Margao where I reluctantly completed SSC with a pass class through another school. Many years have since passed and I have switched different jobs and careers. I taught Industrial Electronics and Computers for a while in Mapusa, Panjim, Vasco and Zuarinagar. In that role, I ensured that anyone who attended the training would feel energized to pursue the subject further. At the job, one tried to make sure that the students had a compelling reason to learn what was being taught. Learning can be made fun, and yet a challenge. Never had I to resort to beating and both my students and me looked eagerly for the classes. I brought an added value of real world working experience into my classes which made the lessons practical. I wish more teachers came to the class passionate about their subjects and spend some time to energize the class into enjoying the pursuit of learning. It pains me to see many students today -- of a number of schools back in Goa -- attend private tuitions costing an arm and a leg, simply because teaching at school does not get translated to learning. There is another lesson I learned at an unusual place in school. I met the school librarian Mr. Almeida -- the father of Anselm, now a scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa. Mr Almeida would encourage me to read books he recommended. At the library, he would treat everyone with a great deal of respect and dignity. One has utmost respect for him. Mr. Almeida, if you are reading this ... thank you very much. One ended up voraciously reading books, which opened up yet another world of possibilities and choices for me. It made me realize that there was a world bigger and better than just school and it had many lessons to teach. The third lesson one learned was the power of the network. While in school, one had a string of electrical wiring jobs handed over to me by students. One was often called to do electrical jobs ranging from installing a fan, a tube light, a broken fuse or rewiring a room. Students' parents benefited because the could get someone who would work fast, was reliable and cheap. If you have an expertise in any discipline, leverage on the people you know to increase the scope and value of your expertise. While you are still in school, understand the power of relationships and spend time building yours. It is needless to say that the relationship should be built on the credibility and reliability of your contribution. I no longer do electrical work; but it helped build me up. I thank the people in Britto's who got us to study at the ITI, and the many -- probably faceless and forgotten now -- students who recommended me to others for wiring jobs. The fourth lesson I learned was from Minguel Braganza ... our scouts leader, who went on to become a President's Scout, an agricultral officer and now is an active participant in Goa's cyberspace. We had our occasional disagreements when working in the team, but he always kept his cool and lead by example. He never pulled rank nor did he admonish any team members. He did not report incidents to the teachers. I thought he would be a politician one day, but was pleasantly surprised he decided to cultivate his green thumb. Leading by example is a value that good leaders practice today. Has studying in St Brittos made a significant difference in my life? In a small way it did. It was a journey that threw lemons, bricks and a few melons. When the melons came, I enjoyed them. When the lemons came, I made lemonade at times. And when the bricks where thrown, I build a foundation to work on. Ask a Britto student what are the values that Britto imparts? What makes Britto unique? Chances are that the untapped value lies in the students themselves, more than the principals or teachers. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Alan Dias us a Singapore-based computer professional, who studied in Goa before shifting to the Far East. He was one of the very early batches to get involved with the field of computing in Goa. From Bilou in Mapusa, he was among those shortlisted for the Infocomm Technology Award of Singapore's Specialist of the Year 2005. This essay is one penned for a forthcoming book planned by 'old boys' of St Britto's at Mapusa, via http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brittos GOANET-READER WELCOMES contributions from its readers, by way of essays, reviews, features and think-pieces. We share quality Goa-related writing among the 7000-strong readership of the Goanet/Goanet-news network of mailing lists. If you appreciated the thoughts expressed above, please send in your feedback to the writer. Our writers write -- or share what they have written -- pro bono, and deserve hearing back from those who appreciate their work. GoanetReader welcomes your feedback at goanet@goanet.org ----------------------------------------------------------------- Goanet, building community, creating social capital for a decade. ----------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org