The Goose That Lays Golden Eggs

Today I am sad. I have been very saddened by a news I heard today. It’s about my school, my first school, where I have studied for 11 years of my life. It has always been a practice there to show parents the answer scripts of their child for the annual examination and in any other examination the answer scripts of those who have failed used to be shown. My parents were never very interested in looking at my answer script, even though they are teachers themselves, and trusted in whatever the teachers had to say about me and my work. Well, I cannot complain because if my father had looked at the answer scripts he would have killed me for the awful handwriting. My mother did go to have a look at my answer scripts, but that was only a few times. The practice has continued till date and nowadays, due to pressure from the parents, the answer scripts of all the exams are shown to them.

I heard this from my mother today. She had met a teacher of mine from school and heard it from her. My school now shows answer scripts, but has also been forced to bring out a circular that prohibits parents from carrying pen, pencil or eraser when scrutinizing the answer scripts! Why does the school have to state this in writing?! This is because some parents are covertly correcting minor mistakes that their child has done and then confronting the teachers, accusing them of carelessness! I used the word ‘scrutinizing’ because this is what the parents do these days. They are least interested in why their child did not do well or how the child’s performance can be bettered; rather, they are interested in pointing out the teachers’ mistakes and accusing them for the bad performance of their child.

I agree that sometimes teachers make mistake while correcting copies and some take their duty very casually. These teachers should be taken to task for their insincerity. But the worst thing is that parents are using this vulnerable point to attack them, and are so ready to use deceit. The fact that the school had to issue such a circular is evidence enough that this is not a rare occurrence but is becoming rampant. I fail to understand why parents are stooping so low? Are they ashamed of their children? Ashamed of their childrens’ performance? Too busy to find out what is wrong with their children? Too busy to even look after their children? Are they so selfish that they do not care about what is good for their children? Or are they confused about what is good for their children?

Children and their marks and ranks in examinations have become a symbol of social status. Parents shun other parents whose academic performance is not as good as their child’s, and are very eager to join the social circle of parents whose children are doing better than their’s. Children have become just another commodity that you possess to increase your social status. Children are no longer being governed properly by their parents and are immensely pampered. They get what they want, they do what they want, and the parents have no problem as long as he or she fetches marks.

This is what saddens me today – the realization that children are no longer adored for being children. They are just being treated as a commodity – the goose that lays golden eggs.