Students of class 10 and 12 will gear up for their board exams in the coming months. Many will be dealing with the pressure of performing well in their class. The stress sometimes becomes so much that many children undergo anxiety and depression, and maybe sometimes attempt a suicide. In between all this, the principal of a school has written a letter to parents to remind them that marks are not everything. The principal urged parents to encourage their child’s dreams. A lesson that we all Indians should learn.
Exams and stress
Exam stress these days becomes so much that many children suffer from panic and depression. Many students even go beyond this and attempt suicides as reported every year after the exam result are announced. Parents are a major victim of this mess. It is not that they do it on a purpose, indeed, they want the best for their children. They usually dream of their children visiting the best of universities and then obtaining a most admirable job in modern society. They want their kids to work and earn so they can take care of them and their families in the future.
A principal of a school wrote a letter to parents to remind them that marks are not everything. Zubair Ahmed Khan, Principal of International Indian School, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, wrote a letter to the parents on Wednesday to remind them that their kids do not need to perform well in every subject to be successful.
Beautiful lines from the principal
The letter explains how various career options are open to students. “Please do recognize, amongst the students who will be sitting for the exams, there is an artist, who doesn’t need to understand Math. There is an entrepreneur, who doesn’t care about History or English literature. There is a musician, whose Chemistry marks won’t matter. There’s an athlete, whose physical fitness is more important than Physics.”
Firmly the principal urges parents to not “take away the self-confidence and honor” of the children if they are not able to live up to their expectations. The letter encouraged parents to become a supporting pillar for their children.
The Indian parents and society
In Indian modern society is a very competitive place. Adding that, the pressure on students, considered the future, are those parents who place tons of responsibility on their children. It is hard to guess how the kids go through these situations. Parents like forcing their children into becoming victorious and children often end up as victims rather than successful.
Some parents haunt their kids over these scores so much that they forget how their kids go through such situations. Parental pressure leads to stress and anxiety. When students are confused with such high expectations, good intentions go wrong. But the question is, what happens when they are squashed by high expectations and become underachiever?
What parents should understand?
Commonly, parents want their children to be the topper of the class. We must indeed aim high to touch our full potential but still, there are also different ways to achieve success in one’s life other than scholarship. As an English saying explains “a fish should not be judged on its ability to climb a tree.” We must never judge a student from his marks sheet, who knows he could be a better artist or a sportsman.
Maybe that’s what the Saudi Arabia principal describes in a beautiful line that says “Please motivate your kids, and when you do, watch your children conquer the world. One exam or a low mark won’t take away their dreams and talent. And please, do not think that doctors and engineers are the only happy people in the world.”
