An issue that many parents bring up is the number of subjects that are available to students for the Boards... In the past year both Biotechnology and Drawing/Painting have been shown the door, and this is a matter that is of some concern.
At a meeting with the Principal and other officials of the School, where a fellow parent, Sanjay Gupta (of Chetna) was also present, we had a chance to discuss this and other matters. I thought I would summarize some of the important points that came up.
On the matter of subjects getting dropped, the main problem is the numbers of students that opt for a given subject. The Biotech class had dwindled to 4, and in these circumstances, one can imagine that teachers also get demotivated. Apparently the same is true of Art. There is a bit of a Chicken-and-Egg problem here, maybe some parents prefer to change their children's school if a given option is not available...
I guess one would like to be realistic while keeping some options open for the future- and it would probably help the School Management if more parents let them know how they felt. The loss of 3 options in Class XII is a serious problem, and it closes more doors than necessary, given how competitive things are (and will be). The way in which the CBSE and the Universities value the different subjects is also to blame- I can see that parents are loath to encourage those subjects which are not going to be "counted"... But what is the right balance? Please write in and let me (and the School) know how you feel.
At a meeting with the Principal and other officials of the School, where a fellow parent, Sanjay Gupta (of Chetna) was also present, we had a chance to discuss this and other matters. I thought I would summarize some of the important points that came up.
On the matter of subjects getting dropped, the main problem is the numbers of students that opt for a given subject. The Biotech class had dwindled to 4, and in these circumstances, one can imagine that teachers also get demotivated. Apparently the same is true of Art. There is a bit of a Chicken-and-Egg problem here, maybe some parents prefer to change their children's school if a given option is not available...
I guess one would like to be realistic while keeping some options open for the future- and it would probably help the School Management if more parents let them know how they felt. The loss of 3 options in Class XII is a serious problem, and it closes more doors than necessary, given how competitive things are (and will be). The way in which the CBSE and the Universities value the different subjects is also to blame- I can see that parents are loath to encourage those subjects which are not going to be "counted"... But what is the right balance? Please write in and let me (and the School) know how you feel.
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1 comment:
Dear Parent
It is amazing as to how many of us are so concerned about the career choices, the Board Exams, subjects to be "counted" and dropped and other such issues for our small children.
Have we ever taken a step back and seen if we really love them, care about them, are interested in what they really want to do. Do we care about what they eat, what they play, what they do on the net - and how they are releasing their energies? Has any of us ever done anything to really get some happiness in their lives - have we ever bought any joy to them - have we ever played with them - have we spent quality time with them to do something that the children really enjoy doing? Is it really about concern for them or is it about our petty egos?
All we are bothered about is that they get "good" marks - "good" meaning better then their freinds, their class mates and winning the rat race.
What we do not look at is that ninety percent of them are bound to fail as they require at least 95% marks to get into a college like St. Stephens. Anything less is considered a failure. But most of us are flogging our children to death to make sure that they get that 95% - even if in our hearts we know that they are incapable of it.
All children are different - each child cannot be a topper. Instead of realising this fact most of us parents still spend all of our time and energy to make our children top the Board exams.
Can we all take a step back to think why we made our child join this School rather than any other School - because we thought that this was the best School. Can we look back at the progress the School has made in the fields of art, music, debates and sports - do we remember that this School was once the best in these areas - and this was one of the main factors why we considered ourselves so lucky to get our children into this School.
I really thought that this was the best School - I am no longer sure. It is very fast on the way to becoming like any other School. Is the management aware of what is happening and do they really care?
I would be very glad if the parents can take this debate forward. I am not too sure if the management of the School is taking steps in the right direction - or whether they have a game plan for thi institution that The Mother had blessed.
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