The academic buildings of Sonamthang Central School are almost all alike, and so I shared my thoughts on buildings with the class ten students a few days ago.

We know that some of our class ten students are not serious about their studies, be it in class, after class, or during study hours. We hardly see them making any effort to learn. They performed very poorly in their mid-term examinations as well. In fact, the performance of the entire class ten this year has significantly dropped compared to last year's performance.

Therefore, in my own small way, I talked about the buildings of our school in the hope of motivating them or at least making them ponder.

Here is what I said:

"My dear class ten students, there are many buildings in our school, and most of them look alike. For example, the building right in front of your classroom, the class IX block, looks exactly like the one you are in right now. The chairs you are sitting comfortably on, the tables on which you read and write, the fans under which the summer heat dissipates, the windows through which you look beyond the classrooms and the school, and the walls that host different colored charts are all the same. Despite all these similarities, this classroom you are in is still completely different.

I have taught your seniors before in this very classroom. They were all like you in one way or another. Some would hand in their homework on time while others didn’t. Just like you. Some were academically sound while a few were not. Just like you. We would laugh together or work on our problems together. We would help each other. I conducted tests like I do with you. I would scold them at times for not being serious about their studies, and sometimes, I would share stories and experiences like the one I am sharing with you now. We had our own share of fun and disagreements. We were just like us, and it's always a wonderful experience to be with you all.

But the saddest part of this wonderful experience of being with class ten students is that after completing class ten, the happy group divides into two. Oftentimes, I get to meet and talk with one group compared to the other. The students in this group are found building walls by the road, at construction sites, or just spending time idly. The other group, I only get to meet during summer or winter vacations. These are the students either studying in colleges within the country or in top universities outside the country. The two groups are opposites of each other, and there is only one instrumental difference that gives birth to these groups. It is how students work while they are in school. Academic hard work matters. It always did and always will. The students in the second group are the ones who put effort into their studies while in school. It is true, hard work always begets the best results.

I have realized that even though this building looks like any other building in the school, and even though the tables, chairs, fans, and walls are the same, this building is very different from other buildings because, in this building, students decide how they are going to live or spend the rest of their lives. Your seniors did their part by sitting on the same chair that you are sitting on right now, using the same table that you are using, studying under the same fan and within these same walls that you dearly call your class. Many lives have changed after being in this classroom!

It is your time this year. I hope you will make the right choice for yourself."

And that was the thought for the day!