Guruvani: 'When purpose is clear, we get our direction'

What is the biggest professional challenge that you face in your role as a principal?A leader’s position is always full of challenges. I am in this position because my management believe and trust that I will be able to deal with the challenges that will come my way. The biggest challenge today is dealing with Gen X, Gen Z, and millennials; where I need to bridge the gap between the three generations. Other challenges include dealing with the older generation and convincing them to unlearn and relearn the methods of teaching and learning /innovating pedagogies to teach Gen Z. In today’s times, change is dynamic, and it is a challenge to keep up with it. But when we believe in ourselves and agree to change our mindset, the challenges automatically become opportunities for us to learn. Accepting the fact that we need to transform our self reduces the stress and we are able to take up these opportunities with enthusiasm and pass on the same to our students.Once a teacher, always a teacher. Do you agree?A teacher is a person who teaches, so it can be anyone — mother, father, professionally qualified teacher in school, nature, mother Earth, friends…the list is endless. It all depends upon the learner — we can learn from anyone or anywhere. Sometimes, even situations are teachers. So yes, from whomever we learn or whoever teaches us, we will always teach someone, and once you are a teacher, you will always be one. A true teacher is one who makes his student thirsty for knowledge. He is the man who lifts one from the boundary of ignorance and darkness to the region of light and wisdom. Success has become an obsession with people of all ages nowadays. Your comments.Success is a very subjective term — it all depends on the targets that are set by an individual. I would say it is a ratio of the number of targets set to the number of targets achieved. Today, every person is competing either with their own self or with someone else. People want to possess materialistic things or achieve professional success. The stress to showcase the “I” is so high that we forget to develop the skills needed to be successful. When our ‘why’ is clear, the ‘what’ and ’how’ will follow. When my purpose is clear, I have the direction to achieve success. What emphasis do you put on teacher training?Teacher training is a continuous process. As I said earlier, we need to deal with Gen Z, as they are born in the era of dynamic change. We need to adapt to the change, or else, we will be not needed. We need to polish our skills as a teacher to be at par with today’s children. Gone are the days when we had to accept the students. Today, we have to be accepted by the students. To impart right education, we need to keep ourselves updated and hence, training becomes an integral part of our profession. We need to learn the new and unlearn the old, but share our experiences of the old with the new. What in your view is Gen Next’s biggest strength? Which are the key areas of improvement?Gen Next is born in the era of technology and they can use electronic gadgets easily. They are globally connected and are better informed. However, everything comes with its drawbacks. They have fewer friends, lack expressions and emotions, and are overly-practical and careless. Out of their five senses, only a few senses are active, which leads to a lot of misunderstanding and confusion. The humane touch is lost somewhere. We really need to work on striking a balance between these so that we don’t lose our generation next to the machine world.How can the elderly contribute to a student’s growth?An elderly person has experience of the past, present, and the generation that is stepping into the future. They can bridge the gap between traditions, cultures and modern technology, and help today’s students understand the uniqueness of all generations.What according to you is the role of media in education?Media plays a big role in transforming the society, be it print, television or the Internet. The need of the hour is to be in sync with the technology. Print media is also going strong due to creativity and innovation. As everything has its pros and cons, I, as an educationist, believe we need to see the positive side of media and also guide students correctly while using social media. It’s extremely important to understand and learn new things as these help us to be part of this generation. Teachers and students can be benefit from the media in infinite ways.Seema Sabhlok , principal, Bunts Sangha’s SM Shetty High School and Junior College, Powai