Yes, yes, I know- huh! Is what I thought too. But let’s rewind to the beginning..
With my child reaching school-going age, the school hunt has begun. My checklist includes- Which school, distance from home, syllabus, extracurricular activities, sports, school meals, uniform, transport- to name a few parameters!
This particular school situated at Karvenagar has great reviews, CBSE curriculum, nutritious meals- suffice to say, it weighed high on my preferred school list. So, next step was to ensure we get the admission form. Which meant twice-weekly follow up on the school website. This fortunately, led to success and we were able to submit our application. What does this application comprise, you might wonder? Well- Parent details, address details, religion, caste, extracurricular activities of interest and an additional form which parents are urged to fill- Why do you want to send your child to school? I assumed a well-written, witty yet realistic paragraph would earn brownie points. Hence I swallowed any duh’s I had, finalized a draft and then wrote a few paragraphs in cursive handwriting.
When the admission list was announced, I was informed my child had not been selected in round 1. Round 2 would be on day of school commencing, where any seat availabilities would become clear. Which meant, to my dismay- this form did not have brownie points for securing admission!
I am disappointed in this school’s selection criteria. I gave free reign to my duh’s and shared my disappointment with anyone and everyone willing to lend a ear. Why does your admission form want to know- parents income, religion & caste details? In a global environment, how do these parameters matter? Why not instead ask about- interests of the child, daily routine of parent-child bonding & television exposure? If our society is really concerned about the “future of our children”, get your parameters straight.
Following is the exact “Why do you want to send your child to school” that I filled in. Me thinks, this deserves a gold star.. do you?!
Why do you want to send your child to school-
As a parent, you dream up a grand future for your child- from the time the maternity test shows ‘positive’! this grand future only has place for all that is ‘best’. Best of doctors, gadgets, tutors, clothes, vehicles… an endless list! And ofcourse- when my child grows up, he will make me proud! Tagged along with (this is straight out of regional soap operas!) HE will shower fame, prosperity & good fortune on my child.
For OUR child, we instead want to give proper guidance and encouragement so that our child can do his best himself! The foundation has begun at home- inculcating proper behavior, humility, good manners with a wholesome diet. This foundation needs to be nurtured and molded in my child’s forthcoming years- where school forms an important building block. Nurturing our child’s interests with proper guidance, harnessing these interests to the utmost effectiveness with proper encouragement and coaching so that our child is a good human being while doing his best- is our grand future for our son!
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