Tips for a good beginning in the new academic year

Dear students,

Welcome back to your second home after having had great fun for over two months. Now, what we need is a change from the disorganised vacation days to a systematic school life.

While the academic year gets underway, you know your first duty is to study, second duty is to study and third duty is to study. Well begun is half done. So we must resolve to adopt a regular lifestyle and learning pattern.

First of all you must identify yourself. You are what you are! But how do you know yourself? Here comes the need for your teachers and parents to explore yourself. You are a kite flying in the sky of pleasure. Leave a string with your parents and teachers lest you should be lost in oblivion or in a swamp. There is a knowledge explosion taking place in this world and you need to gather as much information as possible. Only when you possess the ability of exercising hindsight and foresight you become educated. Therefore I would tell you what you are supposed to do as an ideal student.

To begin with, turn up in proper uniform. Then strictly adhere to etiquettes and implicitly follow the rules of the school. Obey your teachers, parents and elders. Give respect to others so that they will respect you.

Now, what you are not supposed to do. Do not inflict pain upon others. Never abuse your peers. Don't be a frequent late comer. Never forget to complete your assignments.

Nowadays, there is an ambiguity on the relevance of English education in our country. You know we no longer live in a peninsula, but live in a world of cut-throat competition where survival of the fittest is the only order. For that, we have to master as many skills as possible - and language is a skill. It is the finest tool that spins your network of creation. The best time to learn language is your childhood in which simultaneous multilingual learning is easily possible. In fact, it takes about 10,000 hours to master a foreign language and this could be feasible only when you are a student. You have the best support network for language exposure with teachers, parents and peers.

The major benefits of learning English language are:

English opens the gate way to the world of knowledge.

International Communication: Over 1 billion people speak English in the world.

Easier migration: As many as 124 countries in the world either fully or partially handle English language.

Information gathering: Apart from the exposure to internet, a large number of English newspapers, periodicals, visual and audio media is in English.

Learning Science: 90% of scientific publications and journals are written in English.

English commands the world of medical terms and medicines.

Better career opportunity: Business facility and easier approach to entrepreneurship are possible in English.

Over and above you build self-confidence and feel satisfied knowing that you can survive anywhere in the world if you know English.

Now you know why we should speak English. It is not that we do not love our mother tongue.

I will tell you how we can learn English easily. Listen to English whenever and wherever possible. Gradually you will internalize the language.

I wish you all good luck and have a pleasant and fruitful Scholastic year.

(The writer is principal of St. Philomena's Public School & Junior College, Elanji)