Value The Present And Future Will Take Care Of Itself

Beginning of a new session always brings a lot of enthusiasm and excitement in the lives of students. It gives them an opportunity to turn a new leaf and start afresh. Reflecting upon their shortcomings and building on their strengths, kids aspire to reach new heights. The new session becomes all the more special for class XI students who commence a new academic journey, choosing a stream based on their interest and aptitude. But this journey often becomes bumpy and stressful if the subject chosen coincides neither with their interest nor aptitude.  Well, this happens in the cases where the child is not made a part of the “choosing” procedure of his own future. I would like to share an example which I came across recently. The school asked the children to give their choice of the streams(more appropriate would be to say combination of subjects) for class XI provisional admission. The child was offered the first choice filled. After few days father comes and gives his own reasons to change the subjects and the school accepted the same. After few days same person came and asked for the third choice available with the school and the school agreed to that too.  But the issue is that father is still confused and does not know what is good for his child. In this entire episode the child never came to school and expressed his/her desire and interest. The child seems to be toy in the hands of the father who is an educated person working in a responsible position in reputed institution(I felt relieved that my father was not that way educated).  Due to high aims and aspirations the parents convince their kids to go for “much sought after” streams and subjects, neglecting their capabilities and inclinations. With this starts an endless struggle where the child tries to cope up with the subject and in case he fails he is subjected to coaching centres to remedy the situation. I have often vehemently criticized coaching institutes in my articles. I don’t believe in their very concept. These are the places where kids are sent to get rigorously trained to fulfill the demand and expectations of “high scores”. These institutes lure the parents with their false promises and assurance of securing for their child a prized seat in a premier institution.  High scores, ranks and cracking entrance exams become the pivot around which a child is thus forced to revolve. Two years of her/his life i.e. classes IX and XII are burdened under the pressure of coaching institutes. Their innocence is crushed and they become machines which are expected to produce “excellent” scores and grab one of the limited seats.

These coaching institutions play on the Indian psyche for academic excellence and categorize the students as per their scores based on MCQs; various batches are framed based on these scores neglecting the children’s people skills, kinetic skills, linguistic skills and their social and emotional IQ. Even the parents who are focused on their child’s “better future” forget about the importance of her/his school life. “If students are going to spend two years focusing only on the methodology of cracking the prestigious exams, what about knowledge and intellectual growth they are supposed to imbibe in these crucial years of their development?”

Things get worst when students being unable to cope up with the pressure of coaching with regular school are forced to get into dummy schools. This totally deprives the students of the nurturing and learning environment of the school. They miss on many cultural, literary, social and co-curricular activities which are of utmost importance especially in the last two years of school. So is “sacrificing two years in the prime of a child’s life for the sake of a guaranteed future” worth it? The major question is that could these coaching centres even “guarantee” a “secure future”.

Recently, I met a parent who lamented the plight her family has faced due to the trap of the coaching centres. They got their child enrolled in a renowned coaching institute hoping to help him score better. By the end of the year they realized that the child wasn’t able to cope up with the stress and when he wasn’t able to perform up to the mark he went into severe depression. Fortunately the parents were there to understand his situation and did the needful in time otherwise the consequences would have been terrible.  But it is also true that there are many cases where this pressure and depression engulfs the child and the stats show us that it has become a matter of great concern.

So, we know the problem and its ramifications and it’s time to realize that if aptitude, interest and hard work blend in with regular attendance in school, no competitive exam is difficult to crack. Devoid of pressure kids will develop holistically and enjoy learning. Very often, we have coaching class where we just regurgitate the same stuff just many more times. Schools on the other hand focus on clarifying basic concepts, encouraging practice and pay attention to Social Quotient and Emotional Quotient with Intelligence Quotient.

I request all the parents to realize that every child is unique and has her/his own inclinations and capacity. While main stream education is an important part of life, ranks and cut-offs do not matter in the larger scheme of life. Life is not an exam where you need to pass every time to go ahead. Life is all about recognizing one’s potential and honing one’s talent with hard work. These values can only be inculcated by parents and teachers by providing opportunities to explore and experiment in a focused manner. When we show faith on children, appreciate and encourage them and let their creativity flourish they show keenness and do things happily. With natural curiosity they feel connected to their subject and try to understand, explore, analyze and question. This is the best way of acquiring long lasting knowledge and this can only be achieved in the school environment and not in a crammed up coaching centre devoted to short term goals. I would also request the schools which become part of the game played by coaching centers in the name of partner schools popularly known as dummy schools. Schools are considered the temples of learning hence let them remain the same and do not convert into money yielding places. My fellow principals and teachers please realize your strength and responsibility for the better future of the children and in turn the nation and entire human race and do not fall prey to the ill intended people for which education has become business.

I would like to conclude my thoughts with these soulful words from, ‘The Speaking Tree’, “We are born the same, at different locations and times, but we all start our lives the same way. Some achieve success in their professional life; some excel in the personal sphere. There is no right or wrong way to live.  Everyone has their own pace of life — learning and exploring — and they are all correct in their own way.  Life is not a competition.  It should not become a rat race; rather life is an art and whoever excels in it and makes it beautiful in his own terms, is the one who knows how to live. Living a happy life is not a hard task; but there is a secret rule — realize your potential and work hard with passion for your goal.”