RUN YOUR OWN RACE

Dear students,

To some of you, it seemed trepidation and anxiety of waiting for the outcome of all your efforts throughout this year bore fruits when you register considerable success especially for English paper in the just released result of PMR. Like Miss Farah said, 10 percent getting A is already an achievement, the feat that broke last year's 7%. Seemingly, both this year and last year's batch share their own record to register the highest percentage of A and the highest percentage of passing rate respectively. This year's batch by all means should owe last year's clearing track as they set the new dream that we i mean both students and teachers dared dream. And our dream to set another history proved to be a reality. Given the number of students for this year is less than 100, we might have fared better.Statistics may indicate some but not to all as countless other factors are to be taken into account. However, to lament by thinking what we might have otherwise done is not advisable as the present is always already a gift that is why people call it present. I do believe things happened according to God's grand design to show what we are capable of doing and not capable of.Grateful i am.

Nevertheless,the good news is this year's result initiated us to think like never before should we expect sort of different result.What we did this year is almost same or slightly different from that of last year that resulted in more or less the same outcome.And to think is what many people dread as doing routine is always a preferable option including me.We may set a routine for new routine as life without routine or discipline is haywire.Doing routine at all time is dull or boring.Unfortunately, doing the same thing over and over again believing that is the best thinkable option is detrimental as we deny the faculty of thought endowed by The Almighty requires us to stretch way beyond imagination like what great inventors did.

The first thing that should be a must to do next year if my motivation permits despite surrounded by scores of little napoleons is to remove goal post and run our own race.Our problem of not achieving the targeted result is not we don't have goals but our goal is too close that we can effortlessly score.The goal that does not demand our wildest imagination.Rarely we heard administrators or teachers alike talked about a new dream or a new clear cut picture of what the students look like or are to become or to behave. More often than not, we spent considerable amount of time to fill the must- fill -in-slot enshrined by the mighty bodies of either jheat or jpn or both that we tend to forget the core business our very own product we know full well residing within our very own vicinity running to and fro before eyes. We can hardly spend money allocated to students per head or fully utilize school utilities meant for students for fear factor and privatisation.It seems a waste of public fund if school heads fail to project the outcomes by laying out plans which are of most benefits to students.That is the damning reality that we should live in while at the same time have to join the race. Until or unless the school heads are not at loggerheads, though they appear not(good thing) but the whole world know they are,innocent students will remain as victims and situation will deteriorate over time. Blaming games and holier-than-thou attitudes permeated in some parties should be cleansed once and for all. I admit to the fact all is easier said than done. I rather highlight as this scenario will definitely put off any faint-hearted would be full-fledged educators.

Apart form removing the present goal post,another thing which is long overdue that school must do is to create a reading culture. We need to project activities that may promote reading to some extent students themselves are in awe of themselves for without realising it having read countless articles and books. Again, this is also another easier- said- than- done thing. Only, i am fortunate to have few like-minded teachers who dare dream, dare run own race.I hope I still enjoy running this year's race like i have been enjoying over the years during my teaching career. I should not liken this race like the one that includes Bolt ,Johnson and the like, enough if the race my mine keep improving over time.

The third and last thing, i should not sweat the small stuff as it might be the simple yet applicable ways to keep the little things from overtaking our life which is too great to fret over small stuff. May God shed us light to discern between small stuff and big stuff as we are at times in the dark about it.

Sir