In our last article, we discussed how children should be exposed to a balance of good and bad in order to make informed decisions in their future lives. By ‘protecting’ children, adults just manage to delay their point of contact with bad. Since there is no way to remove it altogether, it leaves children unprepared for the bad or ugly things in life.
On the same lines, today we look at the role of examinations in children’s lives. Several policy changes have been demanded for our examination system – some of these managed to see the light of day and others remained buried under bureaucratic files. One such was the shift from a ‘marks’ system to a more egalitarian ‘grades’ system. Strong voices had been raised for some time about how the percentage/marks system was causing obscene levels of competition among children and leading them to great stress. The superficial change to the grades system meant to control this. Effectively it was like saying to a child, “You must get an A+,” instead of, “You must get above 90 percent.” How these two statements were any different to the child was anybody’s guess.
Let us for a moment play the devil’s advocate and plead the marking system be. Before you think of us as callous and insensitive, just step back and reflect on life and work. Can you single out a job that is completely devoid of stress? Can you name an area of expertise where people don’t face competition? Then again, can you forget the joy and sense of self actualisation that we experience when we achieve something that is difficult? If their future lives are going to be about managing a certain amount of stress, pressure and competition, then how correct are we to shield our children completely from it in their present lives?
Examinations can be stressful for children who are unprepared and have not learnt time management skills. They have also been made ‘monstrous’ by the gamut of adult influencers – parents, schools, society - who are more pressurised than the children themselves!
Let us share here about Akshat - a 6th grader who is appearing for a formal examination for the first time. When asked if he is scared, he replies “No, my teacher says exams are just like worksheets that we do in class all the time. They are only a bit longer.”
*Photo Disclaimer - Inspire does not claim copyright on this picture. Any resemblance to any person alive or dead is purely coincidental.
For a child, annual examinations, continuous assessment and the grading system are all the same. Each experience can be equally stressful or completely blissful. A child is not anxious about an examination till adults make it seem that his/her entire worth is dependent on the received marks or grades. So, no matter what the mode of assessment is, as long as we adults continue to pressurise the child, there is no solution to this examination conundrum.
The only way we can prepare children for the future is by creating an atmosphere where they want to do the best for themselves. They are guided by their natural instincts to excel and achieve in any area of their interest, and not just math or language or science. Let us not make them wilt under our expectations and pressure. We need to reflect on the role we play as facilitators to bring up children who are informed and prepared for their future without having undergone unnecessary strain to learn all of this.
On the same lines, today we look at the role of examinations in children’s lives. Several policy changes have been demanded for our examination system – some of these managed to see the light of day and others remained buried under bureaucratic files. One such was the shift from a ‘marks’ system to a more egalitarian ‘grades’ system. Strong voices had been raised for some time about how the percentage/marks system was causing obscene levels of competition among children and leading them to great stress. The superficial change to the grades system meant to control this. Effectively it was like saying to a child, “You must get an A+,” instead of, “You must get above 90 percent.” How these two statements were any different to the child was anybody’s guess.
Let us for a moment play the devil’s advocate and plead the marking system be. Before you think of us as callous and insensitive, just step back and reflect on life and work. Can you single out a job that is completely devoid of stress? Can you name an area of expertise where people don’t face competition? Then again, can you forget the joy and sense of self actualisation that we experience when we achieve something that is difficult? If their future lives are going to be about managing a certain amount of stress, pressure and competition, then how correct are we to shield our children completely from it in their present lives?
Examinations can be stressful for children who are unprepared and have not learnt time management skills. They have also been made ‘monstrous’ by the gamut of adult influencers – parents, schools, society - who are more pressurised than the children themselves!
Let us share here about Akshat - a 6th grader who is appearing for a formal examination for the first time. When asked if he is scared, he replies “No, my teacher says exams are just like worksheets that we do in class all the time. They are only a bit longer.”
For a child, annual examinations, continuous assessment and the grading system are all the same. Each experience can be equally stressful or completely blissful. A child is not anxious about an examination till adults make it seem that his/her entire worth is dependent on the received marks or grades. So, no matter what the mode of assessment is, as long as we adults continue to pressurise the child, there is no solution to this examination conundrum.
The only way we can prepare children for the future is by creating an atmosphere where they want to do the best for themselves. They are guided by their natural instincts to excel and achieve in any area of their interest, and not just math or language or science. Let us not make them wilt under our expectations and pressure. We need to reflect on the role we play as facilitators to bring up children who are informed and prepared for their future without having undergone unnecessary strain to learn all of this.
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