Coach-Ram

Finally, the long wait for the 10 th  Standard results are over. I am still not sure whether it is the child or the parents who seem the most relieved. The media did not help the cause by crying wolf every other day thereby sending the impacted parties into a frenzy. To add to the confusion, we have 3 different boards which not only have a different curriculum but also evaluate the students differently. Comparing them all with the same yardstick seems unfair but that’s the system and we have to accept it and move ahead. As the results sink in, it would have left a plethora of emotional beings in its wake. How important are these results anyway? The child is still only 15 and we do hear people commenting “No one asks my 10 th  Standard results in my job interview”. Don’t we see a number of examples of successful people who have not done well in their 10 th  Standard? Why this frenzy? I suppose, the pressure is created by the impact that it leaves behind. The results do...

The 10th Standard results are around the corner and WhatsApp groups are flooded with the possible result dates and the expected trends. Parents would also have planned the gifts that they would buy for their child if their (parents') expectations are met. For the parents, every discussion happening in their office canteen, in kitty parties or on a local train invariably veers to the possible career options available and the choices that they have made (for their child).  “My son loves drawing but he cannot make a career with that”, “My daughter is a born dancer but we are a Brahmin family and she cannot make it a profession”, “We are a family of doctors and our son will also become a doctor”. How often have we heard these comments or for that matter how many of us make these or similar comments? My response to these comments will be “It was not too long ago that you showcased your son’s drawings to every person who visited your house”, “It was only a few ...

  As the temperature soars, so does the anxiety of the parents as they await the impending results of the 1st major milestone in their child’s life, namely the 10th standard board exam. Every newspaper has articles on the past result trends, colleges and streams available, the quotas available in each college and so on. If this plethora of choices was not sufficient, there is increased confusion with regards to the admission process which seems to change every year. Unfortunately, it is the 15 year old child in the midst of his much awaited summer vacation, who has to bear the brunt of this information diarrhoea.  My advice to the parents is to calm down and keep it simple. This is an important milestone but not the be all and end all for your child. His career will be positively impacted by an excellent result and with the entry into a reputed college but there is no guarantee. Conversely, not getting into the right college or stream is not the end of the world. Finally, in...