The result of SSC

Today is 17^th June.

The thing special about today is concise and confined. Some people were waiting for this day to come, must have planned this day minute by minute, and recharged their phones, the eagerness and hope and fear in their eyes. Some kids of 15-16 must be having their heartbeats reaching to the optimum intensity unless they were caught while some ill-doing by someone before. But for the rest of the people, this day would be just a normal Tuesday as it is in every week. A day following Monday and a day preceding Wednesday.

Today is the result of 10^{th standard}, SSC.

What is a 10^th Std? It is as important as the final exam of the senior year of the high school. After which, on your academic marks (score), depends which college will accept you. Better the college, better the chances of the future.

10^th in India is one of the most Hyped phenomenon in a student’s life. It is said to be the stepping stone of the kids’ career. It was different some 10 years ago. Your score decided which stream you would go for. Least score window meant Commerce, Medium score window meant Arts and Better score window meant Science. Somewhere someone might choose Diploma, which is a sugar coated face-off engineering I would say. But now things have changed. Kids go where they want to if college puts up their name, in the lists they release which contains the name of the students which the college (here, high school) is ready to accept for the year.

I agree that it is important, but people do not understand that the times have changed and there is a lot more in this world to do apart from Arts, Commerce and Science. Even though one chooses the stream of his choice, it may not be like, he is getting the exact subject he really want to study and flourish in. he has to go through something that he never wants, or something that is not going to make one bit difference to his entire life that he is going to lead.
This is not the fault of the subject. It is the fault of the system – educational system.

Unfortunately, the system cannot be changed. But what can be changed is the attitude. I have seen parents pressurizing their kids to bring good marks. I have seen them comparing their own kids with the better competitors in their class or area. Some even threaten kids. Why? Because, they should not be let down if all other kids get more marks, and the kid should get a better college.

What I have to say is, ask the kid what he wants to do and let him decide the score for him. If the kid wants to do a business, why torture the kid by making him study at IAS level? And at 16, Kids are sane and sound. If they know how to lose their virginity by 16, they know what they have to do to pamper themselves for their careers.

And it would not have been this much of problem, if the limit of “good marks” was set at something. People are just not satisfied with anything. My cousin was in 10^th, it is his result today. His mother is over ambitious with him…I mean too much. It’s a joke in our family that on the first day of my cousin’s exam, people called his mother to wish her luck and completely forgot that it’s her son who is going to give the exam. 100% is the highest one could get. “The Percent” means “of them”. And according to me 80% is a decent score. It needs hard work, dedication, talent and a lot of study to acquire this number. I had score 81.23% in my SSC, 6 years back and I knew what I went through to achieve this. I am not talented or extra-ordinary. Few are, I am not talking about them. But what about the rest of them who are compared to them and forced and tortured to be one of them? For my poor cousin, the scales of scores are marked this way –

91% - 93% = He got less marks.

93% - 95% = this is what the minimum he is supposed to get. Nothing big.

95% - 97% = the kid has put some efforts they would say.

97% and above = Yes, he has scored very well.

Though the number just grows by two, the efforts and hard work to jump to that two, is in multiples.

People claim and pretend that they are not like the parents who force their kids to get such marks. They say they have told their kid just to give his 100% and whatever marks he will obtain will be accepted and celebrated. However, what happens behind the closed doors of the study room is only known by that, unfortunate kid and his unkind parents.

Why do we do all this? To become big? I am not giving people an excuse but I want them to keep in mind these examples.

Sachin Tendulkar, Bill Gates, Charlie Chaplin, Steve Jobs…these are the few that are on top of my mind right now. If I Google, the number would just go on.

These people have put themselves above the pinnacles in their fields. Everyone was a dropout.

Good grades are not everything. The life and mentality of that kid is.

“I was born intelligent, education ruined me!” I believe this saying sometimes. Education is the framework for your vision, agreed!

However, the frame sets its limitation too.

Do not run for education, run for knowledge. Do not go for marks, go for information. Do not go for biggest college, coz what is inside you is going to make you big.

Maybe the best of the education will create an extra-ordinary person. But what is created by the knowledge and instinct is a person above the excellence of any extra-ordinary.

Where syllabus ends, a visionary is born!