Skip to main content

Many Shades Of Board Exams

After an exhilarating Holi, comes the boring and haunting board exam, the exam for which no amount of preparation gives an impression of sufficiency. Students across the nation get excited as well as depressed. They are ‘excitingly depressed’. Excited to give the final exam of their school life, to enter into a new world, and depressed thinking what society would say if their marks won't be that good. Sharma Ji’s meritorious child is making things worse.

board-exams-the-sunshine

While the level of questions asked in the exams has become easy these days, the quality of students being produced is decreasing, WhatsApp, Social Media and expansion of internet are to blame. The internet and smartphones may help students in their higher studies, but it misfires in case of younger kids. It only serves as a distraction, the biggest of modern times. Earlier, when kids go out to play some sports, it was treated as a distraction from studies. But now, it has been understood clearly that it wasn't seeing the present scenario when children play sports in mobile phones & computers and prefer to remain in the virtual world, the world in which they want to be lost in.

When a child gets in the reach of smartphones, it has wide social implications. Other kids, too, want the same. Smart devices are a full package of entertainment — from music, videos, games, messaging, and what not. Who on Earth would not like to have such package? Parents cannot deny their wish for long. Sooner or later, willingly or unwillingly, they have to fulfil their child's whim of owning a smart device. Some parents provide it with terms and conditions, only to be broken later.

Information is at fingertips, away from just a Google or DuckDuckGo search. That’s why its value has decreased drastically as obtaining it has become a lot easier. The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is on the rise globally, mainly because of the increasing usage of internet by pre-teenage and teenage groups. With the rapid digitalization and continual advancement in technology in which one-month-old latest gadgets become obsolete.

Deciding Fate With Marks 

The symbol of being an excellent student is to score more than 95%, more than 90% are studious, more than 80% is average, less than 80% is below average, and you fail or somehow survive with less than 40%. The below 40% guys are treated as pests. They're regrets, a shame. Schools wish they should never have admitted those pests. Parents, howsoever scold their kids, at the end of the day, they have to tolerate them. Yes, we give too much importance to marks. This reduces education to rote-learning and mugging up lessons to fetch marks. Independent thinking, creativity is discouraged in the Indian education system.

Meanwhile, coaching centres and private institutes are preparing for their next batch of ‘bakras’ (to be sacrificed goats). The target is to get the more students than the previous year — forced engineering, medical or CA aspirant are still the top products. They do it with help of careful and intelligent marketing. The ones which couldn’t give good results are negotiating with topper students to make a sweet deal covertly. The students for the meagre amount of money sell their years of labour and help coaching centres to get some more bakras. It's not a joke.

Every child is special. The goal of education should be identifying that speciality. It should be done early. The new paths must be explored without fear of failure. We tend to choose the known paths where we found crowds. The more we go with the crowd, more we tend to be depressed later. A wide range of career prospects is the way to avoid depression.

During ‘big’ exams, students need psychological help more than academic help. There are multiple pressures involved, social pressure, peer pressure, the pressure put by Sharma uncle, etc. The psychological help need not be through professionals. Moral support by parents and teachers would suffice. My closing comment would be that, like Holi, the colours of board exams, too, is loaded with fun and excitement. Enjoy it. Live it. Nurture it. It is the moment you’ll cherish later in your life. By the end, you’ll only be left with memories. And try not to be influenced by Sharma family.


*First appeared on amiteshgupta.com titled: 'The Marvels Of Board Exams'

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Indian Society And The Struggle Of Our Sports Fraternity

India, the world’s second-most populous nation, fails to show its dominance in sports. In fact, India's performance remains terrible except in few games. So, what's holding India back when it comes to competing in world sporting events like the Olympics? First, it's the conservative Indian mindset of the Indian society. You might be aware of the saying in India “ Padhoge likhoge banoge Nawab, kheloge kudoge banoge kharab ” which translates to “You can be a king if you study, can be spoilt if you play games.” Social life of a person who took the plunge of making a career in sports in India can be challenging and demotivating. An Indian parents or teachers, being part of the society, don't consider sports as a career. They have the biggest influence in a child's future ambitions. They may scold the child that “playing a sport will get you nowhere in life, but to make a life you need to be good in academics”. In other words, young Indians are discouraged from playing s...

Forgiveness - Your Way Towards Peace

Forgiveness is a divine power, something that ordinary humans are not entitled to have. And, those who have this quality are more than 'a human'. One, who is free from materialistic desire and, most importantly, the ego, is blessed with such divine power. Whether it is of physical or mental strength, weak cannot forgive others. Forgiveness is always an attribute of strong people. It is a trait of a mature person having deep inner control over his mind. This strength cannot be bought, it has to be earned. But, how would you earn that? I think spirituality may be the answer. There are multiple benefits of forgiveness. It directly influences our thinking process. It sets you free from the negativity building around and boosts positive personality. It saves energy which can be redirected to do productive things. It is also the key to longevity and good health. But, how will you forgive someone who is not even sorry for their action? How will you respond to evil with kindn...

Why India Couldn't Compete The Developed World At Olympics?

India has, over the years, struggled to find medal-winning athletes for the Olympic Games. Let's take a look at the past performances of our players and team.  As an independent country, India won the first gold medal in 1948 in field hockey defeating Great Britain in the final. In the subsequent years, the expectation of medal was from our hockey team alone. After winning gold in 1980, the hockey team went downhill. Several times after 1980, Indian contingents have to come back empty-handed with a few exceptions in between. We have been helplessly standing close to the bottom in the league of third world countries.  India saw a watershed performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where Abhinav Bindra stunned everyone and became the first Indian to bag an individual Olympic gold along with wrestler Sushil Kumar and boxer Vijender Singh winning bronze medal. Only four years later, a large 83-member contingent from India took part in the London Olympics, while setting a new bench...

Nuclear Friction - Are We Moving Towards Nuclear Doomsday?

It was a moment of joy for the North Koreans when they heard the news that North Korea has successfully tested H-bomb on January 6th and thus “guaranteed the eternal future of the nation”. But it was also a shocking and despairing moment for others. Followed by the claim, came the condemnation from most other countries of the world including US, Japan, South Korea, and even China (supposed friend of N. Korea). But it was not unexpected that the North Koreans will do a further nuke test after the three previous ones in 2006, 2009 and 2013. But nobody on this earth, or even in space, thought that they would be able to do an H-bomb test. It was a second nuclear test only in four years during the rule of Kim Jong Un, the young head of the mafia family that controls North Korea is a sobering reminder of the progress that three generations of Kims have made in expanding their nuclear capability—despite outside efforts to curb it. Few think that North Korea has yet managed t...

My Tribute To The Missile Man Of India

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was his name, like his 'big name' he leaves behind a very big legacy which cannot be forgotten. He was an example for the underprivileged children that just by will-Power and determination you can reach the top post. The thing matter is "your dream" and how much you work to achieve your dream. If you have a legitimate dream and at night you are not enjoying a sound sleep because you want to achieve that dream as soon as possible, then nothing can stop you from achieving your dream. In his words: "Dream is not that you see in the sleep, but it is something that does not allow you to sleep."  There was nothing negative about him. Everything he said or done had a positive impact to such extent that he was elected as 11th President of India unusually by the BJP and Congress together. The awards he got from Government of India includes —  Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990, Bharat Ratna in 1997 and Veer Sa...

The Magical Castle - Sank Of SATAN-3O1

According to the weather forecast experts, it was an ideal weather for commencing a journey. Therefore, the ship SATAN-3O1 commenced its journey to Guyana. It was containing a large number of gold coins which was to be transported via sea route. During the start of this journey, everything was normal. However, somewhere in the mid sea, the weather became extreme. Suddenly, there were high tides, an unstopping rain and a violent storm. The captain and his co-workers fought the storm bravely but couldn't control the ship, and at last, the ship along with all the gold coins sank as the result of extreme weather. And, all the humans in the SATAN-3O1 became dinner of killer Sharks. The Magical Castle In the sea, the sank SATAN-3O1 has now a major attraction for the sea creatures. It has fallen into Octo uncle's territory. Octo was a wise octopus. He decided to build a castle, with the help of crab and sea ants, around it to protect them against theft. The ugly Octo has now beco...

MY OPEN LETTER TO RAHUL GANDHI

Dear Mr Rahul Gandhi, First, welcome back from your two months of secret absence. God knows where you have gone to?  Unlike other politicians, your life is full of thrills. Perhaps you have gone for Tapasya and returned with some powers gained by it as told in Hindu mythology. You were unable to lead the 150 years old party but now it seems you can. Hopefully, you will use your powers for the mankind with skill and don't make it poison as your mom told. You speak well especially Hindi language which when your mom speaks appears that she is forced to make speech in Hindi. You can communicate with people better than her. Now you also learnt how to make jibes, it's a good sign of your becoming a contemporary politician because your opponent is the master in these things in front of whom you are still a beginner. Sir, please understand politics is not a part-time profession. You are a dynast so we know you but if you were a normal part-time politician, People and ...