Bold and most relevant article by Mamatha Subbaiah. Learning by rote, Coaching Classes, Guides for Papers – doing well in exams has become a racket, bordering on criminal intent. There are Coaching Institutions in Kota where students are exposed to such intense stress that they take the extreme step – thinking about the consequences of failure.
Talking about the future of education – especially for Kodavas and institutions in Kodagu – the future focus should be OUTCOME BASED EDUCATION at all levels, especially starting from High School. Students should be guided and provided “relevant” education – instead of a General degree; such that they have a ready made job on completion of their academic qualification.
– CLN Newsdesk
I have been writing over the past few weeks about “Coorg The Cookbook” – Book Review, Interview with the author and Book Event at Madikeri, centred around the author Kaveri Ponnapa. I am proud to have been a part of that event and equally delighted to have interacted with her. I sincerely thank my readers and elders for their valuable reactions and responses which makes the creative process for any author and writer deeply motivating to continue writing with greater responsibility and purpose.
What struck me as a not-so-obvious outcome after reading The Vanishing Kodavas and Coorg The Cookbook was the immense “oral” knowledge passed on by our ancestors and elders, who dare I say, were not exposed to the formal education we have today. Of course, Kaveri Ponnapa should be credited for her delightful writing skills accredited with the background of English Literature and Social Anthropology; but I can also vouch what experience brings to the table.
Today I turn my attention to another most important topic, especially for parents of students who are facing the stress of exams – jointly.
Every exam season brings with it a familiar silence – books stacked higher like the leaning tower of Pisa, timetables pinned tightly, and childhood quietly demolished. Homes begin to breathe in Ranks and Percentages. Conversations shrink to a single question “How much did you score”? Somewhere between report cards and comparisons, we forget a simple truth – a child is still growing, still learning, still becoming.
Marks come and go, life does not. Our Education system has trained us well to measure success in numbers, to equate intelligence with grades, and to believe that one exam on one day can define a child’s future. But marks can only tell us how a child performed with regard to a particular set of questions, under extreme pressure, on a particular day. They cannot measure curiosity, kindness, emotional strength, creativity, resilience or the courage to rise after failure.
Every child learns differently. Some bloom early, some later. Some excel with textbooks, others with music, machine, land, sports…. Yet we insist on fitting all children into the same narrow mould. When they do not fit, we label them – average, slow, weak. These labels often wound deeper and last longer than the exam itself.
In the race for marks, childhood becomes anxious. Fear replaces the joy of learning. Failure becomes shame instead of a lesson. Many children begin to believe that love, approval and self-worth are conditionally earned only through scores. This is not Education, this is pressure disguised as misguided discipline.
We must pause and ask ourselves an uncomfortable but necessary question. What kind of adults do we want our children to become? Do we want high scorers who crumble at the first setback or confident individuals who can think independently, adapt to change, or face life with courage?
Life doesn’t come with question papers or answer keys/guides. It tests us through uncertainty, loss, relationships, responsibilities and resilience. The skills needed to face life‘s problem solving empathy, perseverance, and self belief are rarely taught and never examined.
Parents play a crucial role in changing this narrative. Instead of asking “what grade did you get” ? We could ask “what did you learn”? Instead of comparing report cards, we could celebrate effort, improvement and honesty.
Grades matter – but they should never matter more than the child. Life after all doesn’t grade us with percentages. The intelligence needed to navigate life is built through encouragement, understanding and the freedom to learn without fear.
As parents and educators, let us remember marks and grades may open doors, but confidence, values and resilience determine how far our children walk through them. It is time we look beyond the score – because intelligence is not measured in numbers.
In this race for numbers, we forget a simple truth; MARKS DO NOT DEFINE A CHILD’S FUTURE.
The long term remedy is to restructure teacher-training courses and make teachers inspirational, rather than knowledge vendors. Unfortunately many take up teaching as a last resort and don’t have the passion to teach and guide developing minds properly. Even an inspiring and passionate “low grade” teacher can instill the love of lifelong learning which should be the primary goal of a “good” education I think; after primary/basic education, knowledge (especially now in our free-for-all cyber world) can be acquired as the need arises and as the growing individual’s interests are self-identified