Are CBSE results the turning point of your life?

CBSE results 2016 are out! But is this the turning point in your life? (Photo credit)

The CBSE results for this year are out. Girls top again. The wait for the college cut off begins. Another generation of kids is going through the same mixed emotions we went through. Jubilation - for having cleared their exams, maybe with good percentage for some. Apprehension - whether their marks will get them through the cut off of the college they desire. Some kids are the stars with their sterling performance. Some others barely scraped through and are probably facing the wrath of their parents. And some others did not live to find out their results. The stress that our society, parents and the education system puts on scoring well got the better of their will to live.

I have always believed that how you fare in school has little to do with how you turn out in life. Yes, it is important for kids to study well and take their course work seriously. But there is no need to make it an end-of-the-world situation. Because it is not. When I look at this whole results drama and compare it to the times we live in, it comes across as so anachronistic. Times have changed rapidly in the last few years. And yet here we are stuck to the archaic system of marks to give our kids an identity, a sense of success, a boost to their self esteem. I think going through schooling is a part of growing up but not really the only thing kids should focus on through those 15 years.

Coming back to the changing times - I still remember my friend and her spouse talking about their 4 year old boy who was very fond of playing with the pots and pans in her kitchen - "Jo banna chaahe ban jaye. Baal lambe karke rockstar bhi ban jaye chalega. Bas shaadi kare aur ladki se kare tho bahot hai hamare liye!" (He can choose to be whoever he wants to be when he grows up including a rockstar with long locks of hair. We just hope he gets married - and to a girl - and we'll be happy). Such are the awesome times we live in! I feel sad that the education system is still the same as it was when I was in school. That hasn't evolved to address the changing needs of the world. Every student is expected to do well in a set of subjects which are deemed important to learn - for ages now! And this is not fair, if you ask me. I accept that I'm not really clued into the details of extra curricular activities. But I am sure everything finally boils down to how you do in your exams. Class 10 is still the year parents warn their kids about. Only to repeat that in class 12 too! Isn't it more important to help a child find his or her own identity without comparing it to others? And inculcate a value system that will stand by him (or her) through out their lives? And give them the freedom to be who they want to be. Irrespective of what Sharmaji's son/daughter is upto!

So what I'm trying to say is - if it's not already apparent - it's time we loosened up a little. Stop scaring kids about how their life depends on a their ability to mug up a set of subjects randomly chosen for them. And kids, no matter what you scored in your exams, it is not as life altering as people around have you believe. Do your school work well but most importantly, find your passion. Unless you love what you do, you'll never do well. And when you indulge yourself in what you love, the drudgery of school that the society heaps on you wouldn't seem that bad at all! :) So go ahead! Be who you want to be!