Exam time: Students feeling the burden of expectations!
Give me some sunshine, give me some rain,
Give me another chance, I wanna grow up once again!
Someone has very well written a song, may be keeping in mind the current state of mind’s of students and the present scenario of studies in India. In Indian educational system, the spirit of competition is taking a wrong turn causing stress to students and ultimately bringing them at the verge of depression. Cramming all the chapters for various exams is already a burden which is multiplied by the parents by asking for improvement in grades. As the exam time approaches, the cases of suicide attempts to fainting to depression start taking the rounds. I think the major cause behind the exam related stress is the high expectations of parents which are forced upon the child. These days, analytical learning and understanding of the subject has merely been reduced to cramming and bringing more grades irrespective of the in-depth learning. With the increasing competition in the educational system, parents while forcing their kids to study hard, sometime forget their tender age and mind.
A child with a fear less mind can always perform better than a child beneath the burden of expectations. One major fault appears to be in the educational system and the syllabus of examinations. Since the examinations are tri or biannual, the huge syllabus makes the child nervous. Instead of examinations with long syllabus, the assessments should be based on the small monthly intervals with fewer chapters to be given for each time.
How can we make them fearless and boost the self confidence. Well, now the role comes for the parents and the school teachers. As a parent, one must make it clear to the child to not to worry about the outcomes and just to put in their honest efforts. This will boost the self confidence of the child. Teachers must not distinguish among their disciples based on grades and there should be no place for favoritism. Parents must keep their children under observation for if they see any extra stress surmounting their kid which he is not able to handle. In such case, they must get him counseled by a psychiatrist.
Every kid has their own capabilities. We should not ask them to push beyond boundaries. And the case may be child is not very good in studies, but he is a performer in sports, music or arts. We only need to look for the spot where their actual potential lies. Let them flourish in their childhood for it will never return. Keep them out of chains of stress and expectations so that they can push themselves beyond the boundaries of their dreams.
