Maiden Test

This has been long pending, I wanted to write about it as soon as it happened but other things kept me occupied.

Sahil had to face the first test of his life at school. It was a dictation test of the small set of words he has mastered. In his life he will have to pass so many exams that it would be rare if he remembers this one. And I am not sure if this blog will exist when he has grown up.

I think anyone who faces an exam of any kind in life, is scared at first. Unless otherwise, it is a field where she has mastered her skills. Call it human nature, basic instinct or fear of unknown, it happens with almost everyone. And once we pass the test, we proudly tell that it was not that difficult.

Most of the time the scare builds up due to expectations ….. could be a self imposed also. However, when a person treats the learning more as fun rather than something to prove, the learning remains with him lifelong. Unfortunately in India, fun learning is not yet upto the mark. Otherwise with the second highest population we would excel in almost every sport and work.

Competing in areas, which interest a child less, could kill the creativity in areas where a child could excel. Most of us tend to compete in spaces where we are not comfortable, probably because it is not in child's control.

See how cutely calvin expresses his thoughts about this.

One of my friend recently sent me a speech by Chetan bhagat where he rightly points out that “Being sincere is more required than being serious when you are performing”. As long as you try sincerely it does not matter if you

Lines on forehead are not required to successfully finish a job, unless you are working for a theater or acting school.

Today's newspaper caries a Q&A with Sri Sri Ravishankar on education. He suggests that education should be more like fun.

He also points out that, even after going through schools and colleges, if a person cannot go back to home and fix basic things then there is something wrong in the education or learning system. There should be enough motivation for a kid to go to school.......

Which could be as simple as a bus ride he takes to go and come back to school. As my wife narrates me once a while about sahil's mischievs , i am sure Sahil is having a good time in the bus.

I remember when I was in school, till 10^th standard school was something I would not want to go. Surprise holidays were like the greatest gifts for me. The situation changed after 10^th standard. The subjects were more interesting for me, there were more of practical aspect to most of the subjects, atleast for me. And in college it was all the more interesting, I could relate to most of things which were being taught.

The conventional education system failed to motivate me in areas which I liked. Practical experiences with my father were more interesting for me as I could examine instant results in whatever he used to do. I could see that when you switch on a light bulb, with wires disconnected, the lamp would not glow, but when we connect these wires, the lamp would glow. It used to be magical and entertaining for me.

In school everything was in books….. same type of books for all subjects.

The education system in India has not changed much, so still there is a need for additional excitement and motivation for kids to learn.

I also plan to provide my kids another parallel school where they will learn about practical concepts of what is being taught

……..seeing is believing …………. That is what I believe in. I’ll try to make them see and learn from practical experiences.

I am also trying to blend religious practices and the science behind them so that if my kids are praying or performing a religious ritual then they know the why, what, how and when of those.

e.g as per ancient definition ghost is “something which can not be seen by naked eyes, is harmful, can kill us, can enter our body and can spread its influence using our body”.

The scientific explanation that I provide to him is that, it could be something like a bacteria or germs or virus ...... which fits the definition as per my understanding.

Don’t think the discussion ends here, he has thousand follow up questions ready to fire, as soon as my explanation gets over.

Well, I don’t mind giving him explanation as long as he is listening to me and not watching TV :)

So my boy, keep it up and as you grow vertical, find out your area of interest and do well.