When pursuing subjects that they are interested in, students are less stressed and more involved.
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At my daughter’s school campus, several parents were discussing the streams their “children were going to choose” in the 11th grade. In most cases, children were not given the choice to choose, and the majority of their parents wanted or threatened their children to opt for either the Biology/Maths stream or the Maths/Computer Science/Physics stream.
One mother said her daughter wanted to be a professional musician. So, her daughter was going to join a music school after the 10th grade. There were gasps of shock among the parents. The student was popular in school for her singing talent. She played three different musical instruments and would be regularly selected for her skills on the keyboard for all the school functions. Some parents curtly told her that she would regret her decision. But the mother deserved accolades for encouraging her daughter to tread on a career path based on her passion.
When the academic year for the 11th grade began, a PTA meeting was held for the parents. The principal told the parents of students in the Science and Maths stream that if their respective wards want to join another group, they had to decide within a month.
Within two weeks two girls from the Biology group had begged and pleaded with their parents to switch to Humanities. But their parents did not agree. These two girls shared their dilemma with their class teacher. The reluctant parents finally agreed to the change after a meeting with the class teacher and principal. One of the parents lamented that she was embarrassed to face her relatives after her daughter opted out of the biology stream. Sadly, this parent had failed to understand the mental anguish her daughter would probably have had to undergo if she’d been forced to continue in the Biology stream. Instead, she was naively worried about her relatives’ opinion.
One woman told me about her niece, whose parents threatened to whip her with a belt if she told her class teacher that she wanted to change the stream. This girl’s parents are nothing but tormentors in disguise. Many parents have no qualms in pushing their children into the cauldron of pressure and anxiety by coercing them to take a stream they had no interest in. These hapless children are branded as failures by their own parents when they are not able to excel in Maths or Science.
The present-day school curriculum and the hectic schedule of students rushing to coaching centres and activity classes after school have stopped them from exploring their creative side. Many students are clueless about where their aptitude lies and meekly have to follow the goals their parents have chalked out for them. Children should be given freedom and time to discover their passion for a particular subject.
I think about the girl who joined the music school. I am sure even if she doesn’t become a famous star, she would still be happy in her chosen field.
anjoosharon2001@yahoo.co.in
