30 years
have flown by as I stand here for the last time to formally address you all
madam Principal, fellow colleagues and my dear children.
It has been a happy
educative time spent here giving my expertise, imparting knowledge and skills
while you all learn and grow and thereby learning a lot from my young teachers
present here.
I received ample
guidance from my seniors present here and predecessors gone before me. I hope I
gave useful insight selflessly and empathetically to all my colleagues to the
best of my knowledge and ability through my time here.
When I joined the
institution in the prime of my youth I was full of enthusiasm and looked
forward to my teaching career. My journey took me through the highs and lows of
teaching. Sometimes I was angry and strict sometimes happy and jovial but
always ready to impart knowledge, teach, get the best out of every young child
placed in our care. These seedlings we sow every year grow into beautiful
little flowers go out into the world as
young responsible citizens are our proud and true treasures we accumulate over
time.
Friends coming here every day imbibed
virtues of regularity, patience, love and care I also learned a lot as I grew
into a happy and responsible individual. I am truly grateful to the staff and
management for giving me this opportunity of selfless growth . I Am Grateful
for the blessing of the charge of The Gurdwara Sahib And The Revered Dhan Dhan
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji . It was an added honour for me to recite The vaak
Sahib every morning and I am truly grateful to Waheguruji for added abundance
Of His Blessings. In My learning I may have made many mistakes
unknowingly for which I humbly and with folded hands ask for forgiveness. Here
I also take the opportunity to ask for forgiveness of any conduct that did not
meet with the eyes of my dear colleagues.
The young children here have never let me feel that I have grown old I
still feel energetic as I was ten years ago and it is because of the young
blood around us and if I go by statistics I would have taught approximately
9000 students over these 30 years and learned much more from them than what I
would have taught them. Learning to be grateful for each new day that brought a
new challenge and overcoming it. Like Wallis Simpson Said “ For A gallant
spirit there can never be defeat "
Now that I leave
school I look back in fond memory at all the interesting wonderful times we all
had welcoming honoured and distinguished
guests at different school functions, science projects we made and the various
picnics we had together but I also look forward to a fresh new start towards a
second inning. Maybe I might myself become a student and learn what I wanted to
all these years and did not get the chance because of the time crunch.
Life keeps moving and with my
retirement here I look forward to another inning and I would quote
Goethe “what
you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by
achieving your goals.”
Another of my favourite quote is by Robert Louis
Stevenson – “ Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds
that you plant “.
Thank You !