I think if the Campaign goes well, LOBA will change in due course.

Karthik, thanks for raising such points that have to be tackled. Blog is not a good medium to discuss and chalk out strategies for action. But please continue to flag concerns publicly here, for actors (whoever, wherever) to consider when they finally meet and eat.

Arun, sad to hear that your efforts got a cold response. The PTA meeting is only one channel to know parents’ views, exchange ideas, etc. There was a huge response to the 2004 School Magazine, where we had inserted a Feedback Form at the end, and asked class leaders to collect responses within a fortnight of the magazine’s release.

Bimal, yes, all of us should try to think out-of-the-box. As the school mag 2004 example showed, class leaders can play important roles. The Great School Campaign should involve them, as much as it involves old boys, teachers and parents. Er…I don’t think every idea ended up as a great revolution

Self evaluation is the best way to improve, i feel. If the school authorities spare some time to think of what’s happening in each classroom (and not the school in general), i think it will help. Being an insider for 7 years, i saw drastic changes in the attitude of students, teachers, management and parents. But i can assure you one thing – great school campaign is never going to work if PTA is entrusted with it. SImply because parents are not concerned abt the school! They are more concerned abt their sons, thier studies and behaviour in class… i know a parent who comes with a notepad and pen to write down each word uttered by the teachers abt her son….she might not even know who is who in the school… As you know, PTA meeting occurs at the beginning of every year to select class representatives and executive committee members. At present, the strength of Loyola is 1600. Going by that, atleast 1600 people should attend the meeting, sadly that is not the case. May be 5-10 from each class will participate. Thats just around 250…..

People are selfish, really selfish. When I was in 10th standard, i tried to improve the stature of my class with the help of some of the teachers… i was astonished at the cold response from them….the plan didnt work out….

I hope that great school campaign will become a reality soon…..because loyola needs something like that…

Jiby, your perseverance moves me I will write about such things. Hope to avoid the nostalgic streak, though. Thank you for drawing attention to that blog on Loyola.

Also, though you are critical of the gloating we loyolites indulge in about the school’s strengths and glories, a generation is coming up in school without an awareness of the school’s past history and despite the ever present focus on academics, how the events most looked forward to in the academic calendar were the Sports Day, Youth Festival, etc and how hotly contested they were. I wish you would write a few posts profiling some of the Loyolites who were stars in their own right while at school and what they have been doing since, for eg, someone like Mohan Singh Gujjar…I have heard his name mentioned while i studied at Loyola and later. His name cropped up in blogworld too when i read this post at http://neelalex.blogspot.com/ . I know you are not a fan of hero worship, but posts like that would give everyone a nice peek into Loyola history.