Childhood is most beautiful and innocent stage of life where every touch makes you tickle, small things make you laugh, love is true, hate is volatile and friendship is unshakable. Every moment is full of energy and joy. It is a state free from tension, deceit and competition. Their world is, as it appears to be.
Life does not need to be a race for positions, if you want to enjoy it, you have to let go the race, take a stroll and enjoy every moment of it. You might not win the race but certainly you will make most of it. Life has a lot to offer apart from competition.
Life does not need to be a race for positions, if you want to enjoy it, you have to let go the race, take a stroll and enjoy every moment of it. You might not win the race but certainly you will make most of it. Life has a lot to offer apart from competition.
Few days back, I was watching TV news on Kapil Sibbal’s proposal to make 10th board examination optional. After an interesting group discussion, news channel was showing responses of parents and students on the same topic. I was shocked and disappointed by some of the parents’ and students’ reactions. Couple of shocking responses were:
“It will discourage competition among students and there will be no difference between the topper and rest of the good students. We will never know who topped the school”
“What will be difference between two students who score 97% and 95%?”
Above responses made me realize how steep cut throat competition is in 10th standard. Should a child of fifteen years old be exposed to such level of competition? Isn't it the case that every year number of students committing suicide is increasing? Earlier students used to commit suicide because they used to fail, but now students are also committing suicide because they could not top the school or they could not achieve 95% marks. This is madness. The idea of a student scoring 97% is better than a student scoring 95% is simply absurd. This defeats the purpose of education, which to educate and gain knowledge; and not to outscore someone in the examination.
I personally welcome the idea of making 10th board examination optional. Grading system will continue to provide healthy competition among students and will remove unnecessary fight over 1 or 2 percent. Other good thing about proposal is students will be accessed over the year and not just on the basis of a day’s performance.
I am in favor of keeping 12th board examination as there should be a standardize school leaving examination to bring all students on same platform. Anyways, 10th board marks had no real significant career value except getting admission in a good higher secondary school.
Now, I want to focus on why I condemn such cut throat competition. Firstly, it puts extra pressure on child throughout the year and it keeps mounting till results are declared. After that either his ego gets boosted or he has to face never-ending sarcastic remarks about how somebody else did well in examination than him.
Parents are the sole reason of this pressure. Their constant nagging to do better and how it is related to their prestige generates a fear among student that they can not fail their parent’s expectation. You can always find some parents bragging about their child who tops school in first standard or disappointed for their child not doing well in second grade. Parents start making their child’s performance their prestige and social status as soon as a child enters the education system. To feel proud of one’s child performance is one thing but to make it a social status and ego is dangerous. From beginning parents start pushing their child to the limit and with that starts no more child time. Decreasing number of children playing on streets and spending more time with home tutor is the sad picture of reality. Last Holi I was shocked to see my neighbors’ kids studying during Holi. When I asked my neighbor, he told me his examinations are one month after so he has to study. I do not know how these kids will learn any other human emotion apart from competitiveness.
Life is too competitive but one's childhood should not crumble under this pressure. Let us not disturb their world. Let kids be kids and have them their moment which they will cherish forever. Let us not steal their childhood for our false pride.
