MileStones f

Teachers’ Articles

101Milestones 2015 Issue 1

Teachers’ Articles

102 Milestones 2015 Issue 1

Teachers’ Articles

103Milestones 2015 Issue 1

Teachers’ Articles

104 Milestones 2015 Issue 1

Teachers’ Articles

105Milestones 2015 Issue 1

Teachers’ Articles

106 Milestones 2015 Issue 1

Teachers’ Articles

107Milestones 2015 Issue 1

Teachers’ Interview “School” an Unique Education Journal published
an interview of Mrs. Bhagyalakshmi, the Mathematics teacher

for Grade 10 to 12 in their October Edition.

108 Milestones 2015 Issue 1

The Bond I Have With My Alma Mater Alumni Articles

No matter how silly and pretentious that sounds, I will always refer to my school
as my alma mater. It is the place that has made me who I am, and still continues
to affect my life in every aspect. I joined Silver Oaks in PP2 during its inception.
Today, I am an 18 year old studying Economics, Psychology and Sociology at Christ
University, Bangalore. The 13 year journey that I have had with my school shaped
me as an individual, teaching me everything from values, attitudes, and most
importantly, my confidence. As a school, Silver Oaks has always educated us for
the things that actually mattered in the real world, instead of just our lessons. The
teachers and all the people involved in our education have taught us how to find
out what we were passionate about and strived hard to broaden our horizons. All
the things that I am proud of today are avenues given to me by my school. From
speaking at a TEDx conference when I was 14 to doing well in the boards and getting
into the university I wanted to, the school has helped me in every possible way to
realise my true potential. Like they say, it is the people that are the rock to any good
institution. From our subject teachers to the principal and the director, everyone has
always been a source of motivation and inspiration, rather than idols of authority or
fear. They pushed us at every level to make sure that we worked hard to get what
we wanted and ensured that we had the best at every point in our schooling. As
an alumni of the school, I can proudly say that people recognise me for who I am
and all the credit for that kind of an exposure goes to my school. I have been a part
of the Silver Oaks family for 13 years, and I can say with confidence that no other
institution could have empowered me like my school did. Today, it has been nearly
8 months since school got over and even now I look back to my school of inspiration
and support. I know for a fact that as a member of the alumni, I will always be a part
of my school and that gives me a sense of security and confidence. Each time I feel
like I have achieved something I look back to my school and thank the institution
for making me the person I am today. I am what my school has made me and I will
continue to carry its ethos with me wherever I go, for the rest of my life.

Amrutha Datla (Batch of 2015)

109Milestones 2015 Issue 1

Alumni Articles School, A Stepping Stone

“School helps prevail over all obstacles; one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen
goal or destination by the end of one’s school life.”
Our school is a perfect example of the above lines. Schooling has been a completely
enjoyable learning experience and never a burden. The school abides by many
principles and policies which help students become a better person.
As alumni we have taken all the opportunities that came our way and we can now
confidently tackle any situation in life without difficulties. Few of the policies of
the school like the stationery policy, homework policy, creative writing policy,
language policy, reading policy etc., helped us improve our communication and
writing skills and we are now efficient in handling our resources well with a sense
of responsibility.
In addition, the beautiful tree campaign is also another initiative taken by school
that helps groom empathetic and socially responsible future citizens. The approach
of character first and competence next has made us a better human being and
look at the world in different perspectives where character matters more than one’s
competence.
The seven habits presented an approach to being effective in attaining our goals. The
seven habits helped us to overcome different situations in life and get into the new
stage of life with flying colors. This helped us to live a timeless legacy.The theatre in
education is a tool which enhanced our performance skills and helped us improve
collective work competence. The annual operas helped us loose our stage fear and
gain knowledge about our country, city and citizens.
School as a whole has been our second home. The school became a reason for what
we are today. The school has groomed us to live as a young citizen to live life a lean
way.

M.Sree Vaishnavi, Shandilya.M (Batch of 2015)

110 Milestones 2015 Issue 1

“Why is a raven like a writing desk?” the Mad Hatter asks. Alumni Articles

“No I give up. What is it?” Alice exclaims.

“I haven’t the slightest idea.” The hatter exclaims!

That is how I started off with my plus two at silver oaks- without the slightest
idea! I barely even understood the difference between a plus two program and
intermediate. But in retrospect it was the best idea- to not have an idea- to make this
experience what it truly was. Because only when you have nothing are you truly
open to anything. And I was asking questions.

I came into 11th grade not knowing what to expect but I soon began to understand
my strengths and modifying my subject combinations accordingly. I was baffled by
how different and intensive the +2 program was as compared to my 10th grade. I
was even more surprised at how easy my teachers made it look. I also discovered a
passion for politics and also got the chance to test if I liked it only because I did not
have to write an exam in it. But I soon realized I loved the subject- exam or not, good
marks or not, hard work or not and that realization was only reinforced because
while I worked hard and did well in my other subjects but I did better in political
science with half the effort. That is my greatest take away from school- discovering
something that felt like second nature to me and which helped me understand in
what way I wanted to contribute to the world around me.

I did not regret leaving school I did not think I would miss it I did not cry at the
farewell because I was full of excitement for what was ahead. I still am full of
excitement but being out of school gave me the much needed perspective that is
helping me realize how I was learning and becoming so much more than I started
off with, without even realizing it.

The things I have learnt to appreciate after going out of Silver Oaks are something I
wish I had been more conscious of while I was in school.

1. It is not often that adults remind children how important they are to the
future and even if they do, the reminder never comes with a footnote that
what you do now will affect the future and that all learning now is not futile.
What Silver Oaks did in the senior secondary for me was that it compelled
me to find a direction and make sure my action right now- not after 5 years-
aligned with that end in mind.

2. It is a rare kind of school that does not talk down to its children. I learnt to
expect more from myself because I was spoken to like I was expected to
know more.

111Milestones 2015 Issue 1

Alumni Articles 3. I did not realise how important it was to see teachers laugh, talk to each other
openly and be open to including us into their normal conversation. It was
my first insight into what it meant to be an adult- and it was a wonderful
place to start. I knew all my teachers as people and I look up to them as a
standard for how I would perceive the adult world I was being thrown into-
which seemed like a pretty good place to be.

4. As a student I was not taught to see learning in the terms of the end product-
being my marks- but every activity I did was given a strong sense of purpose.
This made me appreciate things I learnt in and out of the classroom even if
it did not help me with my marks. I have come to see that this attitude made
me a more deliberate person because I realized the importance of dedicating
my time to things that did not seem important for my short term goals but
fit into my big picture.

5. It is actually *very* (and I cannot stress this enough) to keep my notes together
because though my understanding of the subject might deepen it is so much
easier when you are just building or modifying on previous knowledge. I
have become so much more organised- or at least see the importance of it.

6. It is okay to have fun. I learnt that my work does not lose meaning or
purpose if I enjoy it. I learnt to have fun with work while still taking it just
as seriously.

7. Most importantly- I learnt that the washroom mirror does actually make
you look worse than you do. I wish I had known this while I was in school.
Now that I know it I know that I am more confident because other mirrors
can make you look just as bad.

8. I learnt to take myself more seriously because I was taken seriously by my
teachers.

Susan Sreemala (Batch of 2015)

112 Milestones 2015 Issue 1