PUNCTUALITY

Shirish Turns over a New Leaf

Shirish and Girish were brothers and were studying in the same class. Girish was the younger brother, who had been promoted to that class. Shirish had failed in the annual examination and was repeating the class.

Girish always achieved high and stood second or third in the class of sixty students. Shirish was not dull but could not perform well due to his bad habits. Shirish was unhappy because his younger brother was liked by everybody and he was neglected and looked down upon. In the beginning Shirish used to show his displeasure by picking up quarrels with Girish.But Girish respected his elder brother, so he ignored his brother’s behavior. He confided in his mother and told her what was happening.

One day, their mother, who was an understanding and efficient parent and who had the ability to tackle children’s problems, spoke to the boys separately. Shirish decided to speak to Girish and discuss the problem. Shirish told his younger brother: “I do not think I am dull, but I am not able to do well in the examination whereas you always get good marks.”

Then they discussed and Girish told him: “The secret of my success is that I plan my work and work according to a time-table. I am able to find for everything – or studies, helping at home, watching good T.V. programs especially on the Discovery Channel, for play, for meeting friends and for my hobbies. I avoid wasting time anywhere. My time-table is flexible, so that I spend more time on any assignments that have to be submitted at a particular time. So teachers are happy that I do not give them any trouble in submitting assignments in a proper way.” Shirish asked: “How do you mange if there are some guests at home or if you feel lazy at times?” Girish replied: “When preparing the time-table I keep room for flexibility. I follow the principles of ‘First things first”. Shirish was surprised to see how his brother disciplined himself and organized his time. Shirish asked: “Who taught you all this?” Girish replied: “When I watch the program ‘Preparing for exams’ on T.V. (for students who are preparing for S.S.C. examinations) I carefully note the instructions. Besides, the students, who are merit-holders, state their experiences and their secrets of success at felicitation functions. Listening to them carefully has provided me with guidelines to good study habits and to answer papers within a fixed time.” Girish helped Shirish to become disciplined in his habits. Shirish realized his mistakes. He started organizing his time schedule and stopped wasting time.

As a result of this change, Shirish started submitting his assignments in time and could score maximum marks in the internal assessment. Hence he started improving and both of them were promoted to the next class, with good marks in all the subjects. Girish was happy that his elder brother had completely changed. Their father came to know how Girish had brought about a complete change in his brother and the role their mother had played in changing their attitudes. Their father complimented their mother, Girish and Shirish. Both the brothers became more attached to each other. They worked together and helped each other and each one compensated for the weaknesses of the other. Thus, their weaknesses diminished. They participated in various competitions and won prizes as they learnt how to complete the task in time by timing their performance with each other’s help.