To Teach and Learn

Sonam Tshering XII Science C   and Ranbir XII Science B Many countries in the world today are facing food problems, it is a fact that more than one million people go hungry every day in the World. Our country is lucky to not have food shortages but that does not mean we should take food for granted. There for   to make us aware of the value of food Punakha HSS has adopted the “clean plate policy”. This policy was coined by our principal, Mr. Yash Bdr. Ghallay when he was at Chhukha HSS many years ago. Though our school is just a small fragment of our small country in this humongous World, we still can make a lot of difference if we value food and refrain from wasting it. Despite the policy being followed many years ago, I hadn’t heard about it, until I came to Punakha Higher Secondary School and saw it written on a board, inside the dining hall. But I realized it only one evening when we had a shortage of dinner. I saw it looking at me expecting some genuine...

I will be honest. I never liked Ugyen Academy aka UA(www.ugyenacademy.edu.bt). UA is our closest neighbor, strongest opponent and the only competition in the district. My dislike for UA was born because they beat us in football and basketball every year, except last year, which was more of luck than real skill. Every year UA lifts the winning trophies for most of the ball games, their victory cry pained my ears. What was frustrating was also because most of our good players who pass out or fail play against us in their team the next year. What I did not contemplate was, UA’s dominance has made us work harder, both academically and in sports. Being the only high school in the district before was like becoming lazy; our standards had come down. But now our footballers play and lose against UA every year. Though we lose all the time, there is less pressure, as we risk nothing compared to them but work harder. Most of the football, basketball, and volleyball pla...

Summer break starts today. For two weeksSummer break starts today. For two weeksSummer break starts today. For two weeksSummer break starts today. For two weeksSummer break starts today. For two weeksSummer break starts today. For two weeksSummer break starts today. For two weeksSummer break starts today. For two weeksSummer break starts today. For two weeksSummer break starts today. For two weeksSummer break starts today. For two weeksSummer break starts today. For two weeksSummer break starts today. For two weeks. Thank you for visiting La.

One of the volunteers said, "The feeling of helplessness was so frustrating that, tears automatically rolled down my cheeks, as I stood and could do nothing but watch the fire consume the Dzong".  Image Courtesy - www.shinkar.blogspot.com  When me and my colleagues from school went to serve refreshments to the volunteers the next day, the feeling that sat heavy on my heart was like that of visiting a beloved relative's funeral. There was this overwhelming feeling of loss and emptiness. I cannot recall any sadder disaster in my living memory.  Image Courtesy - GoogleImage  This fortress which stood tall and mighty since 1638 was an internal part of our history. Like its name suggest, Wangdue Phodrang , the Place of the Consolidator, it played many a vital role as the seat of bringing unity and consolidating power when Bhutan was once consumed by civil wars and power struggles. Image Courtesy - www.yesheydorji.blogspot.com And even now in its leaving...

Never did I think Corporal Punishment would become so much a part of my life. Today the words are etched on my mind to make me aware that I should not use it. Courtesy - Google Image As a student, I remember my Dzongkha teacher beating one of my friends when we were in class three. I remember the teacher but can’t recollect the student who forgot to write his homework. I also remember the yellow substance dripping down the boy’s thigh as the teacher sent him crying to the toilet. I never knew what happened after. When I was a boarding student at Paro Junior High School I remember   the principal’s famous elastic bamboo stick nearly dislocating my thumb. The swift bamboo swinging landed on my cold palm in the chilly winter morning. I cannot describe the pain, it was excruciating and I cried like a little girl. I could not even hold my spoon while eating my breakfast later that morning.   I was ten minutes late for my morning study. That same year, I heard ...

Just a few weeks ago there was a debate on the national TV, BBS (Bhutan Broad Casting Service)  ‘Is Teaching considered a Noble Profession in Bhutan?’. I followed the debate show and couldn’t help but feel sad for the teaching profession. This profession is by virtue of what it does, very noble. There is no doubt about it but what is amiss here is that though it is a noble profession very few people want to become teachers. By definition, Noble means ‘showing fine personal qualities or high moral principals or ideas’. It is exactly what should define a teacher, a synonym to a teacher. But do we have noble teachers? This question I feel is more important to debate than ‘Is the Teaching Profession considered Noble in Bhutan?’ As the final vote count at the end of the debate, teaching is considered noble but are the people who become teachers noble? Do we have noble teachers? or Is it enough to have Good teachers? If one looks into history, one will find that teachers...

The local taxi drivers know Tata Medical Centre as Tata Cancer. I had to explain to the drivers why they should call it Tata Medical Centre and not Tata Cancer. It is sad why patients should not be made aware or reminded of what is making them sick. The Bollywood movies have exhibited how the word cancer hits a person who is sick with it. The word cancer echoes and the viewers spin with the camera as it focuses on the character that receives the news from the doctor.  I felt moviemakers portrayed an exaggerated affect in a dramatic scene but now I think that is the closest anyone can get to if one is to show how one is affected when discovering they have cancer. New places bring new acquaintances and I have made few. Most patients are not well off  they are commoners. Tata Medical Centre was established for the lower classes and though the treatment is given at a subsidized rate, it still hits most of the patients hard. I met a schoolteacher from Jharkhand whose ten ...