What dictates your life choices? Trophies, awards, public recognition?Or a desire to excel, fuelled by passion?
Degrees, awards, honours, titles and Who’s Who lists occupy a pre-eminent position in the Indian psyche. While we prize accolades andflaunt laurels won by Indians, especially those bestowed by foreignhands, we define ‘success’ in very narrow terms. During a child’s scholastic career, success is synonymous with marks a student obtains. However, even in adulthood,we continue to place a premium on external indices. The number of zeroes in a person’s salary is directly proportional to a person’s status in our social hierarchy. ‘Success’ in our country is synonymous with public recognition, and, at times, even adulation. By thus paying tribute to achievement, we fail to nurture genuine passions and intrinsic drives.We motivate children to succeed by conventional standards, but do not necessarily inspire them to excel.
Can conditioning stop?
From a very early age, we instil children with the notion that how they appear to others is crucial. So, when a test is returned in class, students vie for the book with the highest mark, not to read and learn how the topper framed her answers, but to see if they can haggle with the teacher for an extra half mark. Furthermore, when life-altering decisions are made, we give more emphasis to societal expectations than a child’s own proclivities. As a result, many students end up in fields that they are not ideally suited for. All top-performers in Board exams are expected to pursue engineering, medicine or economics regardless of their interests. As these coveted fields lead to jobs with lucrative salaries and high status, society expects all bright children to followthe beaten path. So when Jairam, a topper opted for history, hewas derided by his family and friends. “What will you do with a degree in history?” is a question that he heard repeatedly. When Jairam emphatically stated that he wantedto be a professor and pursue research on ancient Dravidian scripts,he was scoffed at.
