Darla school changed its girls dress for second time in a year

Old red tego

A kira, woonju, tego, gho, or shoes and socks may not be the ingredients for my favorite outfit, but if I were given a choice, I wouldn't dismiss the idea of a schooluniform. Wearing a uniform is a badge of pride, creates an identity for a school, and is an important part of being a student.

Uniforms show that you are part of an organization. Wearing one says, "We are all in this together." Moreover, if you wear your uniform with pride, it means you are halfway to being respectful.

Old Dress

I feel uniforms are great social equalizers. They discourage inappropriate dress, help bolster school and academic pride, and make getting dressed in the morning a no-brainer.

One parent told me this morning, "My kids go to school, and uniforms were the best thing that happened. They don't see friends having better clothes, and in the end, you can save a lot of money."

I also believe that uniforms give students a sense of belonging to a particular schooland create an identity for the school in the community.

New faded ash tego

Some people believe that school uniforms can improve learning by reducing distraction, sharpening focus on schoolwork, and making the classroom a more serious environment, thereby allowing students to perform better academically.

Perhaps most importantly, a uniform means students don't have to worry about peer pressure when it comes to their clothes. When everyone is dressed the same, worrying about your appearance becomes less important. There is no competition over wearing the latest trends, which would place great financial pressure on students and parents. Potential bullies have one less target for their insults—it's hard to make fun of what someone is wearing when you are dressed exactly the same.

In America, where a majority of schools do not have uniforms, roughly 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. This may not be directly linked to clothing, but having a uniform can provide a safety net for many students who might otherwise suffer from bullying. A strict uniform also gives the impression that rules are strict, perhaps helping maintain a sense of order at school.

New dress

The Pros and Cons of School Uniforms

According to proponents, school uniforms:

· Encourage discipline

· Help students resist peer pressure to buy trendy clothes

· Help identify intruders in the school

· Diminish economic and social barriers between students

· Increase a sense of belonging and schoolpride

· Improve attendance

Opponents contend that school uniforms:

· Violate a student's right to freedom of expression

· Are simply a Band-Aid on the issue of school violence

· Make students a target for bullies from other schools

· Are a financial burden for poor families

· Are an unfair additional expense for parents who already pay taxes for free public education

· Are difficult to enforce in public schools

Darla School changed its girls' dress for the second time in a year. Starting this July, our girls will be wearing an ash-brown tego instead of the bright red one. A number of students have complained about the change, and there was a general opinion that this new dress is really bad.

The red tego caused many problems, with many students, some teachers, and parents against it. The change to red was driven by only a few individuals in the school. Many thought it was not a good choice. Though symbolically confident and bright, the red had more negatives than positives. The red was so intense to look at that it affected the eyes, especially for teachers who had to see the tegos all day. I also heard that it attracted bulls and leeches, which are plentiful in Darla.

The current tego was chosen by our schoolgirls before the first term, and they now like it. One student said, "I like uniforms because everyone is the same and no one can be left out by the way they are dressed. Our new tego looks smarter, which is good."

With the change of the tego came a change of principal. Mr. Tshochu was replaced by a new principal, Mr. Tshering. The former principal moved to Gedu HSS, while the latter arrived after his studies. To date, I have worked under seven principals, and I found Mr. Tshochu to be the best of them all. Though he was also a little crooked—and who says humans are not? Everyone is. Everyone can be a little un-human and lack civic sense sometimes.

When I have time, I would like to list down some traits of good and poor leaders:

Lack of Transparency – We can tell when someone is not being completely honest. There is rarely a reason not to be entirely transparent with everyone, every time. Lack of transparency can result in a lack of trust.

Egoistic – The best leaders accept blame when things go wrong and give credit to their team when things go right. To be a true visionary leader, you need to let go of your ego and focus on your people, because without them you would be nowhere.

Lack of Confidence – The boss I worked under in Tsirang at the start couldn't make decisions because he had no faith in his own judgment.

Arrogance – It takes confidence to lead, but it also takes humility. Many leaders think they are confident when they are really just pigheaded and proud.

Disorganization – I have worked with some hard-driving, capable leaders who hamstrung themselves by never getting organized. I had one leader who ran after women and bothered little about the school. If I were boss, the first thing I would do is fire him.

Over-promising and Under-delivering – This affects more than just politicians. People leading up in an organization often do this to impress those above them, failing to realize that under-delivering shoots themselves in the foot. People at the top fall into the trap by overusing promises to ensure team loyalty. I see most leaders in Bhutan are like that—sycophantic.

No Clear Vision – No one wants to follow in the dark. It is impossible to motivate people who feel lost in a fog.

Failure to Enroll Others – Some leaders simply expect people to follow them because of their position. That is wrong. If a leader cannot enroll others, failure looms.

No Accountability – If a leader avoids responsibility and refuses to hold their team accountable, they will shipwreck the organization. Accountability is essential.

Nobody is born with any given skill; we learn through observation and by copying others—our role models. You might gain some valuable information from reading books on this subject, but I remember an old saying scribbled on the cover of a book I read in my teens: "Life is not learned from books, but by living it."

While meeting great leaders has always been a wonderful experience, it is the bad ones that truly reinforce the values of good leadership. I have been lucky in this sense, as I have had the chance to meet some of the worst leaders you can possibly imagine. Leaders who fail to keep up risk being clueless, close-minded, and arrogant. A lack of knowledge leads to indecision and fear and can cause employees to quickly lose trust in their leader.

My Babies

Pema Tashi and Pema Nidup....brothers!!

Am i the one here?

A smile that would cost million dollars

Nipping the nipple

You are so precious and sweet,

The one who has come into our lives.

You are a gift of life itself,

Adding new meaning

To the wonder and mystery of living.

The giver of joy,

The world’s sweetest miracle—

Baby boy, that is you.

Bhutanese Films and Theaters

Bhutanese people take pride in three names—religion, culture, and tradition—and these are all interconnected. They often come to the rescue of our identity and nationalism when engaging with the outside world or participating in intellectual debates abroad.

As a proud and true Bhutanese, I once hoped that our youth would deeply absorb Bhutanese values. But as it turns out, only a few young people now show interest in religion, culture, and tradition.

However, being a devoted son of Bhutan comes with its own perils. When I was thirteen, I watched Gasa Lamay Singye with my friends. It was Bhutan's first movie. It was not about religion, culture, or tradition, but about human bonds—a love triangle. There were small quarrels, fights, dishoom-dishoom, and songs. The movie moved some of us to want to be like its heroes, and it entered our juvenile brains. It was no traditional-cultural film, I remember.

Today, when I look back at those days, a sense of nostalgia takes over. I can still recall the scenes of that movie. It was, in fact, the beginning of filmmaking in the country. I am not a Bhutanese movie buff now. I watched Gasa Lamay Singye simply because there was no television at the time. Now, I am the type of "Woods"—just like many of us—Hollywood and Bollywood. I have watched about seven Bhutanese movies so far, and I find them a little un-Bhutanese: tactless, amateurish, sluggish, and predictable. They are all copycats—Bollywood copying Hollywood, Hollywood copying Bollywood, and other "Woods," and then Bhutanwood, or "Drukpawood." Our Drukpawood is a mixture, a masala of all Woods, hoping to become delicious emadatshi. Thinking that our Drukpawood could reach international standards, we copy. But in the end, it tastes ordinary. Our Dzongkha is becoming "Dzonglish." Let us think about this: Fiji, a country smaller than Bhutan, produces some of the world's best films.

Most of our movies do not tell the stories of our country's rich history—its historical background and traditions. We have so many Penlops, Deps, legends, myths, and folktales that could be made into very good films. For example, the legend of Ling Gesar Gyap, Zhabdrung and his dzongs, and others could become beautiful movies. But nowadays, we live in a floating world, so we see in movies flashy cars, immaculate houses, decked-up ladies in tatters, fancy mood lighting—all flesh and bones—and it is difficult to understand what is being portrayed and why.

Bhutanese movies are heavily threaded with misery and a weepy kind of life, with only little sparkling moments of joy that bring a smile to the viewer's face. There are scenes like Phurba Thinley trying to behave like a woman, which draws small laughs, or westernized musical parties where kids gather, dance, and sing "Nga Chelu Ga" or a "ting-a-ling-ling" song. Otherwise, there are no striking moments. Scenes where Singlam and Galam visit their old ruined house and break down, or the cruel mother-in-law Aum Lamo smashing her daughter-in-law's head against the wall, or heroes running through poverty and dejection (usually because of the woman they love)... gripping lives... and then they understand each other's hearts, come together, start a new life, and succeed within a minute—with little connection. Most of the time, the films tighten the knots of brutal and faithless life, making audiences—especially Bhutanese women—mistake their own lives for the film.

Aristotle rightly said that films must excite, startle, thrill, and shake viewers. These effects cannot be produced by a play lacking conflict. Conflict in a movie may be between human beings pulling in different directions, between a character and their environment, or between a character and the society they belong to. Movies must generally represent human suffering, which raises pity and fear among audiences and leads them to consider a film great in its tragic appeal. The misfortune portrayed should be simple and straightforward, yet sublime and universal in its penetrating appeal.

In my judgment, a good film should represent human suffering, evoke fear and pity, use embellished language, have an emotional or cathartic appeal, and above all, educate, entertain, and inform. There are two views on the tragic vision of life. One is that man is the plaything of an inscrutable power called fate; the other is that character is responsible for the tragic end. In Greek tragedies, the tragic fate of the heroes is predetermined. Oedipus and Antigone become obstinate and tyrannical. Their tragedy is due to their overconfidence in their respective attitudes.

Although films portray the contradictions of our lives, a majority of viewers take them as reality. Because of this, films should touch on various themes and issues. Instead of love failures dominating most Bhutanese films, they must represent history, contemporary Bhutanese society, changing relationships, and educate about the morals of faith and belief.

Moviemakers cannot retell the story of Gasa Lamay Singye again and again. Bhutan has a rich, diverse history. We have so many untold stories. Our people are rich; each of us has much to share. Every stone, every tree, every valley, every hill, every mountain, every village has a story to tell. There is a Galem and Singye in every hamlet, an Amrish Puri, a Phurba Thinley in every hamlet. There are unsung heroes. We are not short of stories. But we are short of an audience.

Many Bhutanese movies are said to have run at a loss. The question is: why? Why do most Bhutanese movies run at a loss? Why has Bhutan not succeeded with our Drukpawood? Why are Bhutanese people not skilled at producing better movies? What is lacking in our entertainment industry?

I think we are not devoid of a market or audience—people do like to watch—but we lack good places for screening. Our villagers are hungry for Bhutanese movies.

Therefore, to bring Bhutanese movies to our hungry audience, we need good distribution systems and good entertainment venues, especially halls or theaters. Good halls with proper seating, sound systems, and so on. They would also serve as meeting places for local communities. Ideally, such halls should be in every gewog, or even every chiwog. Building good theater infrastructure and providing better, efficient facilities for audiences would profit filmmakers and improve the quality of movies.

In this way, we could promote our own films and Drukpawood, and promote our own shows, thereby educating through our own traditions. Not only that, we would create many job opportunities in this industry and generate significant revenue. We would likely see fewer drug users and less crime overall, as such venues engage people and give them a second thought.

Our neighbor India has a very strong and prosperous film industry because almost every small town has good cinema halls.

Bhutan does not have many good halls. We have some in Thimphu, Phuntsholing, Samdrup Jongkha, and Gelephu. But these are not really theaters—they are simple halls. They all lack good sound systems and technical quality. The size and cleanliness of these halls could put them in Grade G.

I hope our government will look into this matter and establish good theaters. I am ready to contribute a small amount to help build good theaters in our country.