Competition ? There is none

I have been reading about this " Competitive World" syndrome off-late. Hence this post.

Competition is handled by understanding you opponent, his/her strengths, weaknesses. You then understand your strength/weakness. Work on your strengths that can win over your opponent's weaknesses, and if you succeed to beat that, you win !

Whom are you competing with ? With the 7 lac kids who wrote the exam together ? How can you compete with them, not even knowing who they are ?

When it comes to a job, you can't compete either. You are selected based on a test, an interview. What stands out is only you, against the benchmark set for that role. There is no opponent there.

We have over years, craft-fully fallen prey to the whole gimmick of the invisible competitor , who in reality doesn't exist.

85% of the jobs that exist today will become obsolete in a decade. 70% of are not doing the jobs that we got educated for . What are you preparing your kids to compete against ?

High time we teach ourselves and our kids that the world is big enough for everyone to co-exist and win our own bread. It need not be competed, because the one you are fighting with in disguise of competition is yourself ! And you will never win that battle.

Let the kids enjoy their childhood, without fear. Let them learn from mistakes, Let them choose their path. Just be the guiding angels.

Alternative Education - A testimonial

This is not a testimonial for a school, this one is for a philosophy.

I have been a fan of alternative education for long, and both my kids go to such a school. One common concern I have heard from parents against alternative education is that, the kids are not able to score marks. Though this has never concerned me or most of us who believed in the concept, Im happy that this time around, with personal experience, even that myth is busted. Children from the alternative spaces have scored in excess of 97% and are at par with any conventional school where the only focus is academics.

So what have my kids done along with academics..

- They spend time preserving a lake
- They went for study tours , to far away villages, traveled in public transport, lived in minimal facilities, worked with the villagers, ate their food, and realised life is not as glossy as it sounds
- They learned that humility is the first lesson in life ,when they saw their aayas and sweeper ammas, light the lamp at their arts and sports meet
- The PTM meetings never discussed marks, we discussed children, their learning, their experiences, and their way of life.
- They learnt competition is not the way to survive, collaboration is ( As i write this they are not bothered who scored how much, who is the first in class etc etc )
- They are more than happy that the school is not even putting up their marks on display, let alone the pictures of their toppers all over social and print media
- They were calm and composed before and after the exams. We spend quality time watching a movie, or reading a book, or having an ice cream, and did not panic that exam is the next day.
- They had fun, and they also wrote their exams and came out in flying colors. It was just another day for them.

To all who still have worries on alternative education vs conventional, this is my answer .

And again, alternative is not for all . Each kid is different , each school is different. Choose what suits your kid, and not what suited you, your neighbor or your colleague !