Finally, after over three weeks of our hard work, the students received their report cards today. There was only one thing that was worth noting and that was the change in parents' attitudes towards the annual exam results.
Firstly, it seems there's more pressure than ever to perform. Not just do well in the class, but more importantly, to do better than the neighbour's child or a sibling or the first boy/girl in the class. It isn't enough to do well in all subjects, one must score a certain percentage to be acceptable to their parents' ego. What happened to the notion that a child, however he/she was treated elsewhere, would always be loved unconditionally at home ?
Secondly, parents appear to nag their wards/children too much. Why do you talk to friends so much over the phone? Why are you so easily distracted ? Why are you always reading a storybook ? Why do you spend so much time on the net ? Of course, parental supervision is crucial as children often get carried away and spend too much time at a particular activity. However, teenagers are fiercely protective of their freedom and too much of any attempts to curb their will results in a rebellious attitude, often extrapolated into the school. And that, as I've often noticed, never bodes well.
Finally, where are those silly people who think learning itself i.e. the process of gaining knowledge is itself to be enjoyed ? Marks, marks and marks - that's all that education seems to amount to. Then why did the higher authorities feel the need to ensure that passing/failing did not matter till class 8 ? If one goes by the attitude of certain well-meaning and concerned parents, the former were all blustering fools who should ideally poke their noses into things other than education !!!
Firstly, it seems there's more pressure than ever to perform. Not just do well in the class, but more importantly, to do better than the neighbour's child or a sibling or the first boy/girl in the class. It isn't enough to do well in all subjects, one must score a certain percentage to be acceptable to their parents' ego. What happened to the notion that a child, however he/she was treated elsewhere, would always be loved unconditionally at home ?
Secondly, parents appear to nag their wards/children too much. Why do you talk to friends so much over the phone? Why are you so easily distracted ? Why are you always reading a storybook ? Why do you spend so much time on the net ? Of course, parental supervision is crucial as children often get carried away and spend too much time at a particular activity. However, teenagers are fiercely protective of their freedom and too much of any attempts to curb their will results in a rebellious attitude, often extrapolated into the school. And that, as I've often noticed, never bodes well.
Finally, where are those silly people who think learning itself i.e. the process of gaining knowledge is itself to be enjoyed ? Marks, marks and marks - that's all that education seems to amount to. Then why did the higher authorities feel the need to ensure that passing/failing did not matter till class 8 ? If one goes by the attitude of certain well-meaning and concerned parents, the former were all blustering fools who should ideally poke their noses into things other than education !!!
