The unexpected lessons of stone and sand: How manual labor in school shaped many of us"

In today's world of air-conditioned classrooms and carefully curated curricula, I was recently reminded of a very different educational experience that shaped my formative years. At a recent Parent-Teacher Interaction, I overheard a parent-couple expressing concern about their children playing in the heat. This conversation transported me back to my school days at Mandi(now famous for many other reasons:)), a small(at least then) north Indian town in Himachal Pradesh, where our education extended far beyond textbooks.

In 1985, I joined the newly established Kendriya Vidyalaya in Mandi. Our principal, fondly remembered as Sharma Sir, had a unique vision of education. He believed that success in life stemmed from hard work, regardless of the nature of that work. This philosophy led to an unconventional approach to school development. Our school, situated on the banks of the Beas River, became our construction site. During PT classes or any other spare moment, we students were tasked with ferrying stones and sand for various building projects. To many outsiders, including parents and teachers from a neighboring school, this looked like a waste of precious study time or even child labor. However, Sharma Sir remained steadfast in his approach, seeing beyond immediate academic goals.

Looking back, I realize that these experiences instilled three invaluable life lessons:

1. The value of hard work, irrespective of the task at hand.
2. A dirtying-your-hands approach to problem-solving.
3. The ability to achieve goals with available resources, rather than lamenting what we lack.

These lessons have proven far more valuable in my professional life than I could have imagined as a young student.

P.S: Interestingly, despite concerns about academic performance, our school produced the district topper in 10th board exams