I have just completed eight years of service to the organization this year. While joining in 2014, I just thought my task is to teach only. I never thought of any other activities or roles that I need to shoulder. But the moment I took the responsibility of teaching only came to know that I have to shoulder responsibility beyond teaching-learning. Apart from the teaching profession taking responsibility in the management role allowed me to open my eye and ear.
I spent most of my first day of weeks and months in the office preparing a lesson that I need to teach and exploring the new knowledge of the subject I am assigned. I became nervous and timid to speak out openly at the initial stage. It was after joining the teaching profession that I became serious about thinking and probing the importance of not only the cultural heritage of Bhutan but also world heritage. To be frank my knowledge and understanding of the cultural heritages are conceptual. But teaching it, again and again, allowed me to explore and realize the significance of culture that promotes social life through socio-religious, history, politics, law and order, and to update the economic status of communities in the nation across the globe.
However, my favorite subject is history and politics. It is a subject of my interest and I enjoyed teaching this discipline. This discipline provides me to probe beyond the current scenario. There is a lot of intellectual development that one can learn from history and politics. It provides enough lessons to manage and rethink what is right and wrong to align with the current situation based on history. For instance, the political history of the Himalayans regions provides us basic political setting and evolution of nation-states and how they are divided geopolitically.
Teaching archaeology, oral history, GNH, and research methods is another enthusiastic discipline. I never had an opportunity to specialize myself in one discipline after joining a teaching profession. I had a tough time. Every semester, I spent reading new books related to the modules I am supposed to teach. When everyone enjoyed leisure time, I have been preparing and reading. Every semester is a new horizon for me as if I am entitled to it. All these hard time experiences and challenges added color to my academic career every minute and hour. I have no regret over it. Indeed it is an enriching experience and blessing in disguise that would help me to do more research on this discipline in the coming years.
Apart from teaching, my engagement in various management positions also gave me new experiences and challenges. Initially, I am just a class adviser and democracy club, adviser. After returning from post-graduate, I hold multiple responsibilities as a club adviser, and programme secretary until promoted to the next management position as programme leader. Becoming a programme leader in the teaching profession is stressful. I knew something needed to be implemented and done. My experience as programme secretary for 2 years allowed me to work hard in the management of the programme. The priority is to ensure the quality of the programme, just want to implement the Wheel of Academic Law (WAL), especially F6 programme management. I thought by implementing the provision of this WAL, it resolves most of the issues and challenges faced by the programme. So I chaired programme Committee meetings (PCM), coordinated the programme board of examination (PBoEs) meeting, Student-Staff Consultative (SSC) meeting, and actively participated in the College Academic Committee (CAC), the college’s highest academic decision making body for the health of the programme.
Additionally, I am also a member of the College Management Committee (CMC), the college’s highest management decision-making body. Wherever necessary I have always expressed my opinion and perspective without hesitation for the larger interest. Also being a central coordinator of the Bhutan and Himalayan Research Center (BHRC) of the college, I can learn many more things than I ever thought of it. Therefore, I think that experience is a must for all. Through experience, I not only learned but also knew many things that I could have missed.
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