Gerald D'Cunha

  “When people will not weed their own minds, they are apt to be run over by nettles.” Horace Walpole   L ast evening, I was talking to the father of one of my eleventh-standard students. The gentleman and his wife, both, hold big positions in the respective companies they work for. My student is their only son. He goes to one of the best colleges in South Mumbai, and he goes for tuitions in his every subject. Apparently, the young man understands all subjects conceptually (including Accountancy, my subject). But, he lacks self-motivation… He doesn’t do any practice at home, comes late for his classes, misses classes regularly, and, for his every flaw, he offers a ready excuse… There is a reason why he does what he does – I mean, he keeps justifying his flaws… That’s what his parents and I are constantly worried about. He has aptitude, but no attitude. “How can we help the boy? How can we motivate him to take self-responsibility towards his studies?” So, when the...

  “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”         Dolly Parton   S ome days ago, two young girls joined my eleventh standard, almost simultaneously. One was from St. Xavier’s and the other was from Jai Hind. These South Mumbai colleges have been extremely sought-after institutions. Students take immense pride in the very thought, that they belong to these great institutions… Their parents, too. But, my experience has, always, been different: more than the educational institution that one belongs to, one’s outlook towards oneself and people around him that counts more in life. Often, the pride turns into arrogance, lack of empathy. I see many young kids from such institutions living in their own ivory towers… Yes, your great institutions matter in life… provided you deserve them. Else, it can only make you a snob… a misfit. Am I being too blunt or biased? Well, I am not… Not trying to generalize, either. Over the f...

  “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Benjamin Franklin   O ne of the questions many parents frequently ask me is this: “Do you conduct tests?” Well, I don’t have to explain to you as to where that question comes from. After all, they want their young ones to ‘score well’ in their exams. So, a good score means good learning. Conversely, a poor score means poor learning (poor teaching, to be blunt!). I assume, that the insistence on regular tests comes from there… Fair enough… I lay a great deal of emphasis on my students’ attitude along side their aptitude. “Put your heart and soul and learn… Learn like it’s a story… Get hold of the concepts… Learn logically, with a practical bent of mind… Stay self-motivated… Stay focused, passionate and committed.”… This is my daily charging in the class… “Marks are the by-product of your work, not the main product,” I keep drilling into the young minds. Mercifully, many parents and students understand the depth...

“Don’t’ be pushed around by the fears in your mind.  Be led by the dreams in your heart.” Roy T. Bennet   I have not been following the ongoing (Cricket) World-Cup matches. The occasional updates have been coming from here and there, like from ardent cricket buffs, such as my son or some of my students… and, sometimes, even from random cricket buffs, like an Uber driver… However, the maximum updates, during this World-Cup edition, has been coming to me from my student, Aman (First year Banking & Insurance). His father is a sports journalist, who gets to attend matches at every venue; and, here, our Aman gets to know some finer nuances of the game… Last afternoon, Aman was excited to tell me about the unveiling of Sachin Tendulkar’s statue at the Wankhede Stadium. I learnt from him, that the ceremony was held the day before... “Was your Dad there to cover it?” I asked Aman… “Yes,” Aman said proudly… “Are you a Sachin fan?” I asked… “Yes,” came the fastest...

  “If you wouldn’t follow yourself, why should anyone else?” John C. Maxwell   A week ago, a young girl, who was scheduled to face interviews for MBA programmes from some premier institutes, contacted me. She wanted to refer my name to these institutes as her ‘Teacher’. I was more than delighted. This girl, who I had taught for three years during her degree college, had many strengths. One of them was, that she was very ‘dependable’. She was committed, punctual and communicative. I was just a teacher for her. In this respect, her commitment referred to each of her session with me. She rarely missed any. And, very rarely, when she had to, she would communicate with me beforehand, negotiate; sometimes, try to reschedule with mutual consent. She always showed up before time. Again, very rarely, if, for some reason, she found it difficult to be before time, she would call me up and let me know about it… She did her assignments within the scheduled time period… I never had t...

“ If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” -      Banksy P lease read that again… It says not to quit when you are tired! I had taught Nitin*, some years ago, while he was in junior college. His father ran a small grocery shop and they lived in a chawl near their shop… Mother was a house wife. Like all parents dream, Nitin’s parents , too, dreamed about their two boys. They wanted Nitin to become a Chartered Accountant and, their second son, a doctor. They have sent the second son to Kota (The Mecca in Rajasthan!) for preparing for his medical entrance… Nitin was a well-mannered boy and loved the Accountancy subject which I was teaching him. As he had scored 98 marks (out of hundred) in this subject when he gave the twelfth-standard exams, it was clear to him and his parents, that he was capable of pursuing Chartered Accountancy. Thus, he wrote the entrance test (CPT) and scored well in it. Soon after that, he began to study for his I...