With the onset of another academic year, a new journey begins. Everyone is excited of the new steps and new strides. The students, especially the new entrants along with their parents enter into the portals of our institutions with great joy and boundless prospects. They look forward expectantly for an abode of learning and peaceful habitat for interactions in our campus. Certainly, they search eagerly for new knowledge but at the same time, for something beyond, uplifting, transcendent and sublime. It is the responsibility of every teacher to fulfil the dreams and aspirations of their wards, expressed or unexpressed. Therefore gird yourself my dear teachers with the armour of God and touch the lives of your students having been touched by the Divine first. Fulfil the aim of education diligently and keep yourself open to be guided by God’s Spirit amidst myriads of challenges. Continue to remind yourself that education is the knowledge, not of facts but values. It is to inculcate in them a sense of humanism, sense of wellbeing of others, nation and the cosmos. It is to ingrain in them universal brotherhood and sisterhood. It is to teach them to shun courageously erroneous doctrines and false ideologies. It is to awaken in them a sense of responsibility to promote life.
You and I live in a world of rapid changes. The biggest change that we encounter today is the media revolution and our wards cannot live without it - be it electronic, print or social. Media is their world, their food, breath and life. If on one side it teaches them valuable lessons and broadens their horizon, on the other, it exposes them to what is dangerous, hazardous and risky. It makes them watch violence, animosity, hatred, rivalry, discrimination etc. Unconsciously they are dragged into to it; consequently get confused with what is right and wrong, what is good and bad; in other words, get puzzled with morality, values and ethics. At this juncture, they look for a mentor to guide them and tell them what is lasting, what gives them moral standing. Remember that the fertile ground for cultivation of values, of morality and ethics is a classroom. This is the productive place to produce men and women of value and character, integrity and veracity.
Unto this fiery mission, you the heads of the institutions and teachers are chosen as the ambassadors of God. May God be with you as you journey through the year 2018-19 to achieve the aim of education. Begin with God and the rest will be taken care!
Invoking God’s blessings on you
Sr Mariette BS
Secretary
BES Mangalore
