Examinations

Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.

- Margaret Mead

This statement is very apt in today's world. If we look at the education system, not all children are inclined towards studying. Schools focus more on the marks that their students are getting rather than what they learn. Parents care more about the marks their children get rather than what they have learned. But at the end of the day, what matters the most is what the children know, because it is their common sense and knowledge that will take them ahead in life, not the marks they achieved in their sixth grade.

Now when we talk about the Indian system of examinations, the first thing we associate with it is terror. Children no longer have a genuine interest in learning new things about themselves, their surroundings and the world. All they aim to do is please their parents and teachers and get away with it. There used to be an age when children would have curiosity in their minds, be inquisitive and be restless till they found their answer. Nowadays, children are afraid of touching of touching their books because of the vast syllabus it guarantees. There is no joy in learning. All children do is rote and write it onto the paper. Corrections are very strict. There are some teachers who do not have an interest in the subject they teach and do it half - heartedly. This causes the already bored students to completely lose their interest in the subject. All they see is a life of gloom, for 5 or 6 years, till they reach college. Then there is an even gloomier life ahead.

My opinion is that the teachers should go slow in what they teach, ensuring that the students understand what they learn, rather than causing concepts to be embedded in the fresh young minds by rote. Work can still be done to ensure that the Indian system of examinations does not terrorize the students, rather it should encourage them to put up their best game and show everyone what they are truly capable of achieving.