Sheena Sohail

educator and school principal

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Sheena Sohail is a principal at HITEC School and College for Girls, Taxila Cantt. Sohail got married and then started teaching. Her first teaching jobs were short contracts at the FG college on Kashmir Road.

Early life and background

Sheena Sohail comes from a family of educationists. Her father was a professor and later retired as principal of a college, and her mother was principal of FG School in Sialkot. As a child she wanted to become a doctor and serve the nation. She did not make the merit list for medical school. [1]

Education

Sohail did her matric at FG School, where her mother was the principal. She completed FSC at a government college in Sialkot and then a BA. She earned a master's in English literature from Kinnaird College. [1]

Career

Sohail got married and then started teaching. Her first teaching jobs were short contracts at the FG college on Kashmir Road. She then joined Lawrence College, Murree, where her main professional work began. [1]

Sohail says her move from teacher to administrator happened along the way. She has said she was a vice principal at one point in her career, and that she became principal of an institution in less time than the five years she had named. She works at a girls' institution and with middle school and high school students. [1]

Lawrence College

Sohail spent about 11 plus years at Lawrence College. She was the only woman among an otherwise all-male faculty there. She says she felt comfortable and respected at the college, and describes its environment as very peaceful. She says Lawrence College shaped her a great deal. [1]

HITEC

Sohail moved to HITEC in 2006, when it was formed. She says she and her colleagues helped shape HITEC in its early days. She calls HITEC her baby, and says her love and passion for it grew after she joined. [1]

Sohail says HITEC's vision was a one-stop education facility, and that its campus includes a university, a medical college and a dental college. She says the intention at HITEC was that no student admitted on merit should have to leave the school for lack of funds. She adds that HITEC does not cater only to the upper class and serves every social stratum. [1]

Views on leadership

Sohail says she did not become principal for the comfort of an air-conditioned room or the power to give orders. She says she wanted to contribute to and accomplish things with the power that comes with the post. In her view, people who are growing in a workplace are usually not drawn into politics. She also says that leaders who grow help others lead, and are glad when those they mentor move ahead. [1]

She says having the right person in the right place is very important. She cites a book which says that if teachers are not fed, they eat the students. She says several of her former students have set up their own NGOs. [1]

Views on parenting and families

Sohail says women and mothers need to be kind to themselves, since nobody is perfect at everything. She says most fathers in Pakistan do not feel guilty about their work, and that fathers need to listen to their children and spend time with them to become better role models. She says people focus on speaking, and that even when they listen, they listen in order to reply. [1]

On child development, she says a child's personality is largely shaped by parents in the first seven years, and that children become what their parents feed them. She says parents tell children not to do things again and again but do not explain why. She says children who are hit and shouted at tend to do the same to their own children, and she calls publicly slapping a child a bad part of our culture. She says children's ethical grooming has slipped somewhat. [1]

Sohail says parents mainly want good grades for their children, and that a general trend among parents is to blame the school when a child does not do well. She says some parents accept a child may be at fault, but most ask why the child was not supervised. She says parents used to be more receptive, so the school has had to change its methods. [1]

Views on schools and teaching

Sohail says teachers are aware of and sensitive to such students' needs, and that she has many examples of teachers helping students out of difficulty. She says many students still slip through the cracks despite teachers' efforts, and that such students need mentors and help. She says teachers within her school counsel its students. [1]

She says career counselling is a neglected area that needs more focus, and that schools need more career counsellors and more counselling sessions. She says most students still look only at engineering and medicine, and that it is very hard to convince parents that a daughter who does not become a doctor can do something else. [1]

She says a school's culture teaches teachers a lot, sometimes without any formal training. She says teacher training is now happening a lot, and credits the British Council's work. She says a curriculum is important but not the final thing, and how it is taught matters. She says she has seen a good deal of critical thinking within one and the same curriculum, and that a story was used for role play, with the lessons then applied to the participants themselves. [1]

Views on the future

Sohail says today's children have a lot of potential, and that the influences on children today will shape what they become tomorrow. She says the students of today will be the future leaders of Pakistan in 2050, and that she hopes Pakistan will be very good in 2050. She says Pakistan has many good developments and also many things that are not good. [1]

She says public awareness is high and growing, and that schools have woken up to their responsibility for ethics and morals. She says students she speaks to now are more aware of ways to improve things, and that many students are now more sensitive to the environment than before. She says a girl once told her she wanted to be a veterinary doctor, which she found very rare to hear. She says these developments give her hope. [1]

Sohail names women's empowerment and a focus on the country's values as two areas to improve. She says women feel empowered when they are treated with respect outside the home. She says families have not taught boys to respect girls and sisters, and that society has neglected how boys are raised. She says she believes change will come if everyone does their part, as many people already are. [1]

Personal life

Sohail lived in Murree during her years at Lawrence College and raised her children there while working. Her husband came to Murree on weekends, as their home was in Pindi. She says she cares deeply about the environment. She says that looking back, she sometimes thinks she should have raised her child differently in some ways. She recalls that when she was a student, her parents assumed she had done something wrong if the school called. [1]

Timeline

2006: Moves to HITEC, which had just been formed.[1]

Appearances

Date	Title	Where
2021-06-18	Does school fuel insecurities?	Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Where did Sheena Sohail study?

Sheena Sohail did her matric at FG School and completed FSC at a government college in Sialkot, followed by a BA. She earned a master's in English literature from Kinnaird College.[1]

Where did Sheena Sohail teach?

Sheena Sohail's first teaching jobs were short contracts at the FG college on Kashmir Road. She then joined Lawrence College, Murree, where she spent about 11 plus years, and she moved to HITEC in 2006.[1]

Did Sheena Sohail want to be a doctor?

As a child, Sheena Sohail wanted to become a doctor and serve the nation. She did not make the merit list for medical school.[1]

What does Sheena Sohail say about HITEC?

Sheena Sohail calls HITEC her baby and says her love and passion for it grew after she joined. She says its vision was a one-stop education facility, with a campus that includes a university, a medical college and a dental college.[1]

What does Sheena Sohail say about career counselling?

Sheena Sohail says career counselling is a neglected area that needs more focus. She says schools need more career counsellors and more counselling sessions, and that most students still look only at engineering and medicine.[1]

What does Sheena Sohail say about parents?

Sheena Sohail says parents mainly want good grades for their children. She says a general trend among parents is to blame the school when a child does not do well, and that parents used to be more receptive.[1]

References

Does school fuel insecurities? . Thought Behind Things , 2021-06-18.

Show the source passages (85 statements)

Sheena Sohail comes from a family of educationists. I come from an a family of educationists.
Her father was a professor and later retired as principal of a college. My father was a professor. He retired as principal of Murree College.
Her mother was principal of FG School in Sialkot. My mother was principal of FG School in Sialkot.
As a child she wanted to become a doctor and serve the nation. But bachpan mein shauq tha baray ho ke doctor ban ke qaum ki khidmat karni hai.
She did not make the merit list for medical school. phir us ke baad merit nahi bana medical ka.
She completed FSC at a government college in Sialkot and then a BA. government college se mein ne Sialkot se mein ne FSC kiya and then BA kiya
She did her matric at FG School, where her mother was the principal. I did my matric from FG, us se pehle convent mein thi, Jissan meri and then FG because my mother was the principal there.
She earned a master's in English literature from Kinnaird College. then Kinnaird College se masters kiya in English literature.
She describes herself as a principal who goes into classrooms, not only the office. Main principal woh office wali nahi hoon. So jab bhi time hota hai, I go into the classroom aur bachon ke saath interaction and they love it.
She got married and then started teaching. Then I got married and then yes, I started teaching.
Her first teaching jobs were short contracts at the FG college on Kashmir Road. I joined pehle toh thori choti moti jobs jo contract pe Kashmir Road pe jo hai FG ka college, I just taught there for about a few months.
She then joined Lawrence College, Murree, where her main professional work began. Us ke baad I joined Lawrence College, Murree and wahan pe phir mera sahi jo kaam shuru hua.
At Lawrence College she was the only woman among an otherwise all-male faculty. wahan pe us time pe saari male faculty thi. I was the only female
She spent about 11 plus years at Lawrence College. For about 11 plus years.
She lived in Murree during her years at Lawrence College. Yes, I was living in Murree at the time.
She raised her children in Murree while working there. I was raising my children there toh woh bhi ek acha experience tha
Her husband came to Murree on weekends, as their home was in Pindi. He used to come over the weekends. He was here in Pindi jo hamara ghar tha
She says she felt comfortable and respected at Lawrence College. I was very comfortable, I was respected, I was loved aur bahut saari support wahan se.
She describes the environment at Lawrence College as very peaceful. Lawrence College ka environment hai na andar woh it's very very peaceful
She says Lawrence College shaped her a great deal. So Lawrence College ne bahut banaya hai mujhe andar se.
She says she cares deeply about the environment. I am a very very environment friendly person and environment mujhe bahut mere dil ke kareeb hai.
She moved to HITEC in 2006, when it was formed. Then in 2006 jab High Tech bana so I moved to High Tech.
She says she and her colleagues helped shape HITEC in its early days. hum logon ne phir High Tech ko ek tarah se banaya.
She calls HITEC her baby, and says her love and passion for it grew after she joined. Woh hamara baby hai. Toh is liye us ke andar bhi bahut zyada pyaar aur passion jo hai woh jaise Lawrence mein tha yahan pe aa ke aur zyada ho gaya.
She says HITEC's vision was a one-stop education facility. High Tech ka tha it us ka jo vision tha that was one stop education facility.
She says the HITEC campus includes a university, a medical college and a dental college. Which means ke ek hi campus pe day care mein bacha aaye, pre-school jaata jaata, abhi wahan pe university bhi hai, medical college bhi hai, dental college bhi hai.
She says the intention at HITEC was that no student admitted on merit should have to leave the school for lack of funds. unka yeh tha ke no student on merit woh us ko should leave the school because of lack of funds.
She says HITEC does not cater only to the upper class and serves every social stratum. we don't cater to the upper class. Hum har strata of the society ko saath le ke chal rahe hain.
She says her move from teacher to administrator happened along the way. It happened along the way. It happened kyunke life ko dekho Muzamil ek journey hai
She has said she was a vice principal at one point in her career. I was the vice principal actually teacher bhi parha.
She says she became principal of an institution in less time than the five years she had named. I said yes, I'm going to be the principal in five years time aur us se kam time mein I was the principal of an institution.
She says she did not become principal for the comfort of an air-conditioned room or the power to give orders. Woh is liye nahi principal mein bani ke I wanted a seat or I wanted to be sitting in an AC room or giving orders.
She says she wanted to contribute to and accomplish things with the power that comes with the post. There was a vision which I wanted there were things that I wanted to contribute, there were things that I wanted to accomplish
She says people who are growing in a workplace are usually not drawn into politics. Halanki jab bhi mein ne dekha hai jo jo log grow kar rahe hote hain na woh they are the only people who are not interested in politics.
She says leaders who grow also help others lead, and are glad when those they mentor move ahead. Leaders jo hote hain woh apne saath aur logon ko bhi leaders bana rahe hote hain aur un ko khushi hoti hai ke jab un ke saath ke log un se aage nikal jaayein.
She says several of her former students have set up their own NGOs. bahut saare bache hamare abhi hain woh unhon ne apne NGOs bana liye hain
She works with middle school and high school students. I am dealing with middle school and high school.
She says women and mothers need to be kind to themselves, since nobody is perfect at everything. Hum har cheez mein again perfect kuch bhi nahi hota. Mothers ke haathon pe bahut saara kaam hota hai. So uh we women, we mothers, we need to be kind to ourselves also.
She says that looking back, she sometimes thinks she should have raised her child differently in some ways. Abhi bhi when I look back, sometimes I say, okay, wahan pe yeh gadbad ho gayi. I should not have done this. I should have raised my child in this aspect ek aur tareeqe se.
She says most fathers in Pakistan do not feel guilty about their work. Majority of the men in Pakistan, majority of the fathers don't even feel guilty.
She says fathers need to listen to their children and spend time with them to become better role models. So fathers ko bhi sunna, time guzarna apne bachon ke saath bahut zaroori hai. Phir woh behtar role models ban sakenge.
She says people focus on speaking, and that even when they listen, they listen in order to reply. Hum sirf bolne pe focus kar rahe hain aur jab hum sun bhi rahe hain toh hum sun rahe hain jawab banane ke liye.
She says teachers are aware of and sensitive to such students' needs, and that she has many examples of teachers helping students out of difficulty. teachers aware hain, sensitive hain towards these students' needs, toh woh unko nikal lete hain. I have lots of examples where teachers have pulled such students out.
She says many students still slip through the cracks despite teachers' efforts. Lekin phir bhi bahut saare bachche we lose them, they slip between the cracks.
She says such students need mentors and help. So we need to give them mentors. We need to help them.
She says teachers within her school counsel its students. lekin humare paas jo humare bahut sara andar teachers hi hain, they they counsel our students.
She says career counselling is a neglected area that needs more focus. Yes, career counseling ek aisa area hai jo neglected hai. We need to focus more on it.
She says schools need more career counsellors and more counselling sessions. Uh career counselors zyada hon, zyada unko sessions hum provide karein.
She says most students still look only at engineering and medicine. Abhi toh abhi tak bhi bachche do hi fields woh engineering aur usme medical mein phanse hue hain.
She says it is very hard to convince parents that a daughter who does not become a doctor can do something else. Parents ko samjhana yeh cheez ke agar doctor nahi banegi beti toh koi baat nahi kuch aur ban jayegi. It's very difficult.
She says parents used to be more receptive, so the school has had to change its methods. Pehle they were more receptive. Ab utne receptive nahi hain aur ab humein unko deal karne ke liye humein apni methodology thodi si change karni padti hai pehle se.
She says parents mainly want good grades for their children. Grades ke upar, grades ke upar woh chahte hain ke ji bas humare bachchon ke aayein grades.
She says a general trend among parents is to blame the school when a child does not do well. Sab nahi lekin ek jo general trend hai woh blame shift jo karne wala hota hai na school ka blame hai.
When she was a student, her parents assumed she had done something wrong if the school called. Um because growing up if something happened in my school and the school called my parents, my parents were like ke bachche tune hi kuch kiya hai.
She says some parents accept a child may be at fault, but most ask why the child was not supervised. Kuch parents hote hain woh maan lete hain ke bhai humare bachche ki bhi galti ho sakti hai. Lekin majority jo hai unko lagta hai ke nahi toh phir supervised kyun nahi tha?
She says children's ethical grooming has slipped somewhat. unki jo ethical grooming hai woh thodi neeche aa gayi hai.
She says a child's personality is largely shaped by parents in the first seven years. Toh woh 7 saal tak toh zyada influence parents ka hai.
She says children become what their parents feed them. Dekho hum whatever we are feeding our children, they're going to become that.
She says parents tell children not to do things again and again but do not explain why. Hum na karo na karo na karo na karo itna zyada kehte hain. Hum unko batate nahi hain kyun na karo.
She says children who are hit and shouted at tend to do the same to their own children. Woh apne bachchon ko bhi aise hi thappad maar rahe honge aur aise hi cheekh chilla rahe honge kyunki unhone yehi seekha hai.
She calls publicly slapping a child a bad part of our culture. Yeh humara bada bura culture hai. Publicly thappad.
She says a school's culture teaches teachers a lot, sometimes without any formal training. Woh bahut sikhata hai. Aapka teacher waisa sa ho jata hai aur woh wohi cheezein karne lagta hai without any teacher training sometimes.
She says teacher training is now happening a lot, and credits the British Council's work. Uh teacher training abhi bahut zyada ho rahi hai. British Council is doing a wonderful, wonderful job.
She says a curriculum is important but not the final thing, and how it is taught matters. Dekhein curriculum important toh hai, lekin curriculum final cheez nahi hai. It's not the final thing.
She says she has seen a good deal of critical thinking within one and the same curriculum. Main usmein is wajah se nahi maanta kyunki maine main maine ek hi curriculum mein maine bahut saara Pakistani critical thinking wala bhi dekha hai.
She says a story was used for role play, and the lessons were then applied to the participants themselves. But kahani mein se we took out so many things. There was role play, there was so many things and then usko apply karna apne upar.
She says having the right person in the right place is very important. Having the right person at the right place is very important.
She says today's children have a lot of potential. Toh humare abhi bachchon mein bahut potential hai
She says the influences on children today will shape what they become tomorrow. Kyunki yeh these influence are going to mold them into what they become tomorrow.
She says the students of today will be the future leaders of Pakistan in 2050. 2050 ka Pakistan jo hai woh usme yeh wale bachche jab aage aayenge toh they will be the future leaders.
She says she hopes Pakistan will be very good in 2050. So I hope ke 2050 mein Pakistan bahut achcha ho.
She says Pakistan has many good developments and also many things that are not good. Bahut sara kuch achcha bhi ho raha hai. Bahut sara kuch bahut achcha nahi bhi ho raha.
She says public awareness is high and growing. Awareness bahut zyada hai logon mein aur woh aur zyada ho bhi rahi hai.
She says schools have woken up to their responsibility for ethics and morals. awareness regarding ethics, regarding morals, yeh bhi abhi schools have again they have kind of woken up to their responsibility.
She cites a book which says that if teachers are not fed, they eat the students. maine kitab padhi thi which I think every leader should read and that school leader should read and that is if you don't feed the teachers they eat the students.
She says a girl once told her she wanted to be a veterinary doctor, which she found very rare to hear. Ek bachchi ne kaha I want to be a veterinary doctor which was very very rare for me to listen to.
She says students she speaks to now are more aware of ways to improve things. Today when I talk to students woh zyada aware hain regarding unhone kya behtari ki taraf kya cheezein kar sakte hain.
She says many students are now more sensitive to the environment than before. Bahut saare bachche aise hain jo ke pehle environment ke liye itne sensitive nahi the.
She says these developments give her hope. Ab yeh wali cheezein jo hain these give me hope.
She names women's empowerment and a focus on the country's values as two areas to improve. Do cheezein hain. Women empowerment and focus on our values.
She says women feel empowered when they are treated with respect outside the home. Hamari empowerment yeh hai, hum tab empowered feel karenge jab hum bahar jayenge aur hamein treatment bhi izzat ka milega.
She says families have not taught boys to respect girls and sisters. Humne ladkon ko ladkiyon ki respect karna nahi sikhaya, na behno ki respect karna ghar mein sikhaya.
She says society has neglected how boys are raised. Humne ladkon ko neglect kar diya, yeh toh ladka hai, khair hai.
She says she believes change will come if everyone does their part, as many people already are. I genuinely believe so. Kyunki agar hum saare apna apna hissa karne lag jayein na jo ki bahut saare log kar bhi rahe hain, toh hope hai, hoga.
She works at a girls' institution. in the girls institution jahan pe main hoon