I want to be a Principal

Walking down the corridor of my school ( Where I work in Dubai ) I met a young lad .
In order to make small talk  and probably amuse myself/ de stress as it had been a difficult day, I engaged him in conversation.

" What do you plan to become when you grow up? ", I asked him.
" I am already grown up " he said . ( he was about 10 )

" No- when you get older and start working etc ? " said I .
Pat came the reply- " I want to become a school Principal"

Like all boys of his age I was so sure he would say pilot/ doctor/ engineer  or some such thing..
I was take aback.
" And why do you want to become a Principal? " said I
He looked me in the eye and said.
"  A Principal has no work "
"What do you mean- do you know what all I do? "

" Yes -read the newspapers,  you sign certificates and drink tea  , you play games on your computer , you walk about in the school, birthday children come to meet you  and you shake hands and they give you sweets and you also give speeches sometimes  "

There was no use clarifying - he was only 10 years old .
I wish my job was so stress free !!

I want to be a Principal

Walking down the corridor of my school ( Where I work in Dubai ) I met a young lad .
In order to make small talk  and probably amuse myself/ de stress as it had been a difficult day, I engaged him in conversation.

" What do you plan to become when you grow up? ", I asked him.
" I am already grown up " he said . ( he was about 10 )

" No- when you get older and start working etc ? " said I .
Pat came the reply- " I want to become a school Principal"

Like all boys of his age I was so sure he would say pilot/ doctor/ engineer  or some such thing..
I was take aback.
" And why do you want to become a Principal? " said I
He looked me in the eye and said.
"  A Principal has no work "
"What do you mean- do you know what all I do? "

" Yes -read the newspapers,  you sign certificates and drink tea  , you play games on your computer , you walk about in the school, birthday children come to meet you  and you shake hands and they give you sweets and you also give speeches sometimes  "

There was no use clarifying - he was only 10 years old .
I wish my job was so stress free !!

Of hotels , toilets and lights

Hotel rooms and toilets confuse me at times.
Let me explain- and I have written something like this before
Go to a washroom in a 5 star hotel or a mall and at times your left looking................which is which for goodness sake ?.
Why can't they make it simple . No they believe in stressing you out and confusing you with which is LADIES and which is GENTS .
No-  they don't often write MEN/ WOMEN or any such thing . What fun would there be in that?
No they won't put up a simple photograph/ picture of a woman or a man.
No it will be nothing simple or straightforward - in fact the more complicated - the better.
They have KINGS and QUEENS with crowns / in robes - both FAT ( Most kings and Queens usually are )
They have outlines in GOLD / SILVER paint which, under bright lights really require one  to study the pic very very carefully lest you enter the wrong room by mistake .
Then there are  gold and silver foil figures - made by scatter brained artists indeed .
Then there are stick figures which are even worse.
I have seen people rushing towards the toilet and then staring at the signs - not sure and scared to make a mistake for obvious reasons.
Sometimes the signs  are on the door- sometimes on the wall - at varying heights and of various dimensions .
The corridors leading to  the loo are usually so bright that you can't decipher anything with the glare  or so bathed in warm soft light that yes- YOU CANT' READ  - and then there is music !
So this is what I do - I go - I walk slow - if there is no sign of life around , I put on my spectacles and try and decipher the mystery or else I pretend to talk on my phone till I see someone coming out- How I hate this mystery.
Even worse - once you get inside - how do you use the tap.
With the very modern sensors these days your left swiping your hand under/ over and beside the tap hoping for a miracle . Its funny when there are two or three people at the washbasin at the same time - all of them go swipe swipe swipe- trying to be as casual as possible - they look away hoping for that elusive water to come pouring out - its surely an exercise that has often left me embarrassed ( the same for the WC- For goodness sake WHERE IS THE FLUSH.)
Now to hotel rooms and lights.
There are any number of lights and lamps and so obviously there are any number of switches .
A few days ago I was in a hotel in Chennai - a classic hotel it was - a determined hotel as well- they were determined to confuse !
 I went around at night putting off the innumerable lights and lamps in my room .
In the passage as you enter/ in the washroom/ over the mirror/ 2 large lamps in the corner / 2 smaller bedside lamps /  reading lights on either side of the bed/ a reading light over the table /2 night lights /  a strange small focus light over the area where you make you tea / a special cupboard light .
After a few night caps and a hearty dinner the last thing one wants is a puzzle - that's exactly what it was .
No I was completely in my senses lest you get me wrong but it took the better part of 10 minutes to fathom out the switches for the various lights/ lamps.
The last to go off were the 2 bedside lamps- try as hard as  I did I could not find the switch - finally there it was - a small  1 centimeter silver pin hidden away obscurely under the side of the lamp.
After I had switched all of them off the room was far too dark.
So I started all over again searching for the switch to the night lamps.
God save me ..................

Of hotels , toilets and lights

Hotel rooms and toilets confuse me at times.
Let me explain- and I have written something like this before
Go to a washroom in a 5 star hotel or a mall and at times your left looking................which is which for goodness sake ?.
Why can't they make it simple . No they believe in stressing you out and confusing you with which is LADIES and which is GENTS .
No-  they don't often write MEN/ WOMEN or any such thing . What fun would there be in that?
No they won't put up a simple photograph/ picture of a woman or a man.
No it will be nothing simple or straightforward - in fact the more complicated - the better.
They have KINGS and QUEENS with crowns / in robes - both FAT ( Most kings and Queens usually are )
They have outlines in GOLD / SILVER paint which, under bright lights really require one  to study the pic very very carefully lest you enter the wrong room by mistake .
Then there are  gold and silver foil figures - made by scatter brained artists indeed .
Then there are stick figures which are even worse.
I have seen people rushing towards the toilet and then staring at the signs - not sure and scared to make a mistake for obvious reasons.
Sometimes the signs  are on the door- sometimes on the wall - at varying heights and of various dimensions .
The corridors leading to  the loo are usually so bright that you can't decipher anything with the glare  or so bathed in warm soft light that yes- YOU CANT' READ  - and then there is music !
So this is what I do - I go - I walk slow - if there is no sign of life around , I put on my spectacles and try and decipher the mystery or else I pretend to talk on my phone till I see someone coming out- How I hate this mystery.
Even worse - once you get inside - how do you use the tap.
With the very modern sensors these days your left swiping your hand under/ over and beside the tap hoping for a miracle . Its funny when there are two or three people at the washbasin at the same time - all of them go swipe swipe swipe- trying to be as casual as possible - they look away hoping for that elusive water to come pouring out - its surely an exercise that has often left me embarrassed ( the same for the WC- For goodness sake WHERE IS THE FLUSH.)
Now to hotel rooms and lights.
There are any number of lights and lamps and so obviously there are any number of switches .
A few days ago I was in a hotel in Chennai - a classic hotel it was - a determined hotel as well- they were determined to confuse !
 I went around at night putting off the innumerable lights and lamps in my room .
In the passage as you enter/ in the washroom/ over the mirror/ 2 large lamps in the corner / 2 smaller bedside lamps /  reading lights on either side of the bed/ a reading light over the table /2 night lights /  a strange small focus light over the area where you make you tea / a special cupboard light .
After a few night caps and a hearty dinner the last thing one wants is a puzzle - that's exactly what it was .
No I was completely in my senses lest you get me wrong but it took the better part of 10 minutes to fathom out the switches for the various lights/ lamps.
The last to go off were the 2 bedside lamps- try as hard as  I did I could not find the switch - finally there it was - a small  1 centimeter silver pin hidden away obscurely under the side of the lamp.
After I had switched all of them off the room was far too dark.
So I started all over again searching for the switch to the night lamps.
God save me ..................

Strange replies at interviews

Have spent a number of years interviewing teachers .
Some of the candidates are so typical and so strange.
Listen to some of the things I have come across  and which I can recall.

1.  Please introduce yourself -
Myself Karthik Kumar Sir - may I know what is your goodself's name Sir?
2.What is your good name Sir? So I tell him my good name -
 SIR I am so happy to meet you today - it is my dream .( whaaaaaaaaat )
3.Have you prepared for this interview Ma'am  ??
No Sir- If you can give me some minutes I will prepare and come back !
4.Why do you want to work in the UAE ?
 Because I am liking hot weathers Sir.
5.Are you a married man ?
Sir I was married - now I am not married but next week again I will be married .
6.Are you a good teacher ?
 Sir I am thinking I am a good teacher but I am thinking that you are also not thinking what I am thinking .
7.What are your strong points ?
 Sir I am going to gym so many points are strong , but arms are most strongest  point.
8.Do you think the children will like you as you are so serious ?
 Sir when I am serious childrens are smiling and then when I am smiling also children are smiling - so I am serious ( no idea what that was all about )
9.Can you elaborate on your background ?
Sir I am having small house - there is no back ground  Sir . Front ground is there but it is very small  Sir .
10.So your a music teacher - what instrument do you play? .
 Sir I am not playing any instrument .I am playing with my voice only  !
11. So your a PE teacher - what games do you play/
Sir I am playing running !
But don't you play any game ??????
Yes Sir
Which game my friend
Sorry Sir I am playing running .
So what do you make the pupils do during the PE  period
Sir we are playing running Sir.
12.Tell me anything you can about Akbar the great. ( see how clever /  crafty she was )
Sir
He was great/ he was Indian/ he was a famous man/ he was a kind man/ he was handsome/ he had a wife/ he had many children/ He was Muslim/ He went to mosque/ He said his prayers many times/ He was liking good things for the country/He had a palace/ he had many good clothings/ he also had much silver and gold /He was called Akbar the Great/his greatness was well known/ everybody loved him/ he loved everybody/ he built many buildings . ( the lady would have gone on and on if I had not stopped her - she was vague and clueless but very cunning with her answers !!)
13.What are your thoughts on Indian Politics
Sir I am not thinking about Indian Politics
Ok - What are your thoughts about the cricket fiasco and the spot fixing scandal
Sir - Sorry Sir I am not thinking of that  also.
Ok no problem- Please share your thoughts on the Education system in India
Sorry Sir .
My dear man- do you have any thoughts at all on anything
Yes Sir .
So PLEASE SHARE THEM WITH ME_ ANYTHING - NOW
Sorry Sir
WHY ARE YOU SAYING SORRY ?????
Sir I am not getting any thoughts
( I could have fainted )

 

Strange replies at interviews

Have spent a number of years interviewing teachers .
Some of the candidates are so typical and so strange.
Listen to some of the things I have come across  and which I can recall.

1.  Please introduce yourself -
Myself Karthik Kumar Sir - may I know what is your goodself's name Sir?
2.What is your good name Sir? So I tell him my good name -
 SIR I am so happy to meet you today - it is my dream .( whaaaaaaaaat )
3.Have you prepared for this interview Ma'am  ??
No Sir- If you can give me some minutes I will prepare and come back !
4.Why do you want to work in the UAE ?
 Because I am liking hot weathers Sir.
5.Are you a married man ?
Sir I was married - now I am not married but next week again I will be married .
6.Are you a good teacher ?
 Sir I am thinking I am a good teacher but I am thinking that you are also not thinking what I am thinking .
7.What are your strong points ?
 Sir I am going to gym so many points are strong , but arms are most strongest  point.
8.Do you think the children will like you as you are so serious ?
 Sir when I am serious childrens are smiling and then when I am smiling also children are smiling - so I am serious ( no idea what that was all about )
9.Can you elaborate on your background ?
Sir I am having small house - there is no back ground  Sir . Front ground is there but it is very small  Sir .
10.So your a music teacher - what instrument do you play? .
 Sir I am not playing any instrument .I am playing with my voice only  !
11. So your a PE teacher - what games do you play/
Sir I am playing running !
But don't you play any game ??????
Yes Sir
Which game my friend
Sorry Sir I am playing running .
So what do you make the pupils do during the PE  period
Sir we are playing running Sir.
12.Tell me anything you can about Akbar the great. ( see how clever /  crafty she was )
Sir
He was great/ he was Indian/ he was a famous man/ he was a kind man/ he was handsome/ he had a wife/ he had many children/ He was Muslim/ He went to mosque/ He said his prayers many times/ He was liking good things for the country/He had a palace/ he had many good clothings/ he also had much silver and gold /He was called Akbar the Great/his greatness was well known/ everybody loved him/ he loved everybody/ he built many buildings . ( the lady would have gone on and on if I had not stopped her - she was vague and clueless but very cunning with her answers !!)
13.What are your thoughts on Indian Politics
Sir I am not thinking about Indian Politics
Ok - What are your thoughts about the cricket fiasco and the spot fixing scandal
Sir - Sorry Sir I am not thinking of that  also.
Ok no problem- Please share your thoughts on the Education system in India
Sorry Sir .
My dear man- do you have any thoughts at all on anything
Yes Sir .
So PLEASE SHARE THEM WITH ME_ ANYTHING - NOW
Sorry Sir
WHY ARE YOU SAYING SORRY ?????
Sir I am not getting any thoughts
( I could have fainted )

 

Mr Beaman - Am sure many of you remember him

A ‘Master’ with the Common Touch

Mr. Beaman joined The Bishop’s School way back in 1972. I had the privilege of working with him since July 1981 when I was appointed teacher at the Bishop’s School, Pune.

The first few words that come to mind when I reminisce about      Mr. Beaman are ‘honest, God fearing, meticulous, straight forward and hard working’. There are many other traits worthy of mention, but the ones mentioned above, were his most endearing qualities.

As a teacher of English, he was ‘perfection personified’; whether it was vocabulary, punctuation or pronunciation, he knew it all, and as far I know, was never wrong. I could always count upon him to advise me correctly in any difficulties I faced with the English language, at which he was indeed a ‘Master’. His class always enjoyed his lessons, probably aware of the fact that they were being guided by someone who was the ‘very best’.

Mr. Beaman had other interests too, the school choir being one. He loved music and was actively involved in training the school choir for all its performances over the years. Classical music was his forté and he hardly ever missed a good performance, whenever there was one in Pune.

Quizzing was another one of his favourite pastimes and besides training and accompanying the quiz team to various inter-school competitions he enjoyed being the Quiz Master at the Inter-House Quiz Competitions held every year.

Being a bachelor and without encumbrances, the Boarding Section of the school was ‘his family’. He made it a point to attend all the meals in the Dining Hall, and even served the boys himself. He was in his element when school reopened after a long vacation – counting the boys, remarking on those who invariably returned late and on those who were usually homesick.

Mr. Beaman had a remarkable memory that enabled him to remember roll numbers, names etc. He could even tell you the year the boy joined school and whether he was a vegetarian or a non vegetarian!

He was meticulous while checking the class attendance registers, completing house lists and entering the names of new boys in the scholars register. His ability to spot mistakes in numbers and spellings of boys names was phenomenal- if you made a mistake you could be sure C.D.B (as he was often referred to) would spot it.

Another of his outstanding attributes was proof-reading, which, as I am learning through experience, is not only painstaking, but tiring, both mentally and physically. For Mr. Beaman it was just another job which he had mastered to perfection.

He loved animals - dogs, in particular. He also enjoyed reading, listening to the radio (BBC) and going for long walks.

Mr. Beaman led a very frugal existence and was accused of denying himself the good things in life. On visiting his room, one was usually taken aback at its simplicity – one look around told you that this was indeed a simple, God - fearing man, whose one desire was to serve others.

When I think back to 1981, and my first meeting with Mr. Beaman, I  remember that he filled me with awe,  but over the years that feeling was replaced with admiration and appreciation for a man who truly believed that ‘work is worship’.

To quote Mark Anthony in Julius Caesar:

“His life was gentle, and the elements

So mixed in him, that nature might stand up

And say to the world, ‘This was a man!”.