Sunday, December 31, 2006

The question I have to ask........

Is society right in passing judgment on an individual based purely on academic achievement? I believe not and yet this is exactly what happens.

In today’s ultra competitive modern world every one is struggling to earn recognition from the world at large. Pushing and shoving up career ladders is considered a normal thing to do. But at the end of it one of the things the pushers are looking for is approval.

For about the first twenty years of a person’s life he is a student and through those years he is watched and judged based on his “report card” which at the end of it all is just a sheet on paper after all. Just because a person does not do well in school he is labeled dumb by the all-powerful society…that social order that seems to have the right to pass opinion on all and sundry. Where did they earn that right from?

A notable example to illustrate my point-Thomas Alva Edison -His teachers thought him stupid because he questioned every answer given him and his doctors thought young Edison might have brain trouble because of his very large but well-shaped head. His mother, however, understood that her son asked so many questions because he wanted to know exactly how things worked. Yet until the light bulb his most notable invention he was considered dull.
I have nothing against education or the system that is perfectly fine. I do not claim that we should do away with education but I do believe that opinion should be formed on a person based on overall abilities rather than a solitary aspect. I think passing premature judgment on a person is not only wrong but can also scar people for life.

My suggestions on how to fix this- go back to the Stone Age where people were judged solely on abilities. Of course that Stone Age would have to include the TV, phone lines, chocolate and naturally the light bulb.

Of course my resentment could be due to the fact that as much as i might lowe and excel in what I classify as an 'education' and 'cultural enrichment' it still wont get me into college.....we really do need a wider criteria for judgement. Then again that could just be me sitting at my comp and typing maybe it just isnt possible....but it is okay to dream right...

1 comment:

Barath said...

well.. i totally agree with you on these points..
nd another thing.. no onee tries to even find out what a child is good at to encourage them....

every1 does the same thingg... whose interests are these!?