The Great man who changed the paradigms of teacher student relationships
One evening, when the school work is done, and the students are free to play and run around, I stand at the basketball court. The sight that greets me, the casual observer is an amazing one; a young man in office wearwalks across the Basketball court. The youngsters, only a few years junior to him, approach him and there is a conversation between the young adult and the school children, which ends when he folds his shirt sleeves and puts his tie inside the buttons and then joins the game. The young man, after a long day at work, is more energetic than the teenagers. He shoots the ball in to the hoop and scores a mark for the guys who show their pleasureat his success with a deafening shout.
The next minute he is over at the sand park with the little kids building castles in the sand. The young man is immediatelysurrounded by the occupants, a swarm of bees on a jungle flower. He makes a circle together with the little ones and runs around just like a kid. The kids bug him. They put their hands in his trouser pockets, they pull his tie, they ask him to carry them, and they want him to sing for them.A rather adventurous and naughty fellow puts sand on him… and through all this; there is a smile on our young man’s face.
The time passes and the school is preparing for the annual prize giving. There is a frantic atmosphere for the busy students. He comes back stage and it is as if someone has opened the window in a stuffy room. The place is remarkably relaxed. The mess around shows how busy the students have been and how much work there is to be done. He gets a cutting knife and starts carvinga handmade letter. It’s as simple as that for him to lend a hand. Job well done and then he get the children some drinks. He chats with them, takes a few selfies and ease up their stress,and thenwalks away.
It’s time the school is holding the inter house sports meet and the children from the hill country come to Colombo to show their hard built talents and dedication. A Tata bus is hired for the occasion, to drive the young small children to the Sugathadasa Stadium.The young man, who at the beginning of this article wore the attire of a serious professional, is now the bus driver. The children have fun during the bus ride and stand next to him to watch him handling the stirring wheel. Millions of questions from the children are answered with patience while driving, showing his talent for multi-tasking.
On another day I see him on stage, motivating the children about to face the London O/L examination, encouraging them with examples from life, and advising them on how to face the exam with a serene mind. The children all absorb his words, the way children would listen to a father wise with years of experience. Gawking at his Samsung note phone, he is now wearing simple gym clothes, clearly on his way home after a workout. He passes the school on his way home and I see little girls and boys follow him planning totalk with their mentor. I speculate on what they might ask from the young man, maybe advice or some information in regards to school work or sports or camping. Whatever they ask, he appears to give the most practical answer and ease up the child’s mind, an angle sent by God to help the kids when they are looking for a helping hand.
He received an international education at a time when parents really could not afford to give their child an international education compared to nowadays. He was bright in class and made a mark wherever he went. From lyceum International school to Monash Malaysia and then to Monash Australia, finishing the Masters’degree, in his early twenties, he has grown up as a well-mannered Sri Lankan guy, who values our culture and Sri Lankan style of living.
This great man has transformedthe school which sheltered him as a student into a living paradise for the children, a fact I am confident in making with the backing of eye witnesses.Catching a glimpse of this great man I have mentioned is enough tomake the children smile. Children wait for him to join the assembly as they love the stories he comes up with. The inspirational videos he shares with them.
A director sitting just in front of a basic desk, only with his laptop in front of him, is maintainingnine Lyceum schools where sixteen thousand children study, with no panic, no hesitation and no stress at all.
There are days he drives more than 12 hours at a stretch. Yet with that amazing smile on his lips, he enters the school and gets in to a new shirt after a wash and then participates in the evening show with the children who have been waiting for him. For one girl on stage in particular,waiting to see her “sir” sitting in the audience, this simple action means the world. She wants him to watch her performance even more than she wants her parents to watch her. After the show he takes the time togive his feedback to this girl and encourages her to do better. That smile he brings on the child’s face is worth more than a million dollar pounds.
A man with style, a man withstature, a man with character and also a man with expression, who does not care about the callings of money or power. Who has the wealth to drive a hummer but who iscontent with ajeep.A Director of a Group of Schools who does not hesitate to take on the role of ‘bus driver’, this young man is and will be a mentor for the students of Lyceum International School, a driving force for them to become the best they possibly could be.
The Director of Lyceum international school, NikithaGrero is an excellent example of what those in the education field can achieve by being a person with whom students can relate.