This week, a student fell asleep on the exam paper. It was not just ‘lay your head down on the bench for a bit’ kind of rest. It was proper, deep, lightly snoring snooze. Had this student not been noticed and consequently shaken up, there is a fair chance of their sleeping through the exam. The sad part is that this is an intelligent, smart person who stubbornly refuses to show that intelligence on the answer sheet. My interpretation of this callous attitude “ and I would love if I were proved wrong “ is that the person is not just undermining the importance of graduating college in the first attempt, but undermining their own self-goals, dreams and aspirations.
There is a back story to this behavior. Apparently, the student wanted to study abroad. Having missed the deadline, studying in a local college seems below their assumed superiority. Two or three other students share a similar, self-harming grudge. Eighteen, 20, or even 22 is too young an age to demand successes right away. This is also too young an age to get bitter and enter into pointless rebellion against factors that one has no immediate control on. And yet, this is the pattern one observes a lot these days. Lack of effort is more damaging than unpaid effort and the point of this article is not to stress on attempting an exam simply to get high marks, but to cultivate the patience and discipline to attempt wholeheartedly.
Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters touched millions after penning Another Brick in the Wall that said “Hey teachers, leave the kids alone.” All of us have wished at some point or the other that our teachers vanish in thin air. But, it is not with relish or joy that educators act tough. If being happy, free and chilled out was all there was to college life there would be no colleges in the first place. Learning calls for discipline and a fair bit of struggling with what we hate. Ironically, an educator’s biggest challenge and measure of success is how well-prepared they “leave the kids alone” as they get into the real, big, bad world.
Parents and students who are disillusioned by the formal education system may find fault with the stress on the importance of getting a college degree. But, even though the skewed focus has been grades and creating job-ready youth, one of the unwitting upshots of organized schooling is learning to cope and cultivating skills of living in a society. Alternative methods “ home-schooling or un-schooling have had results in niche groups of possibly high-income parents.
Many may also argue that getting a degree doesn’t guarantee a job, leave alone success. True, many of the world’s richest people dropped out of the formal educational rat race. Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College and Mark Zuckerberg dropped out after founding a Facebook test-model from a Harvard University dorm. Bill Gates continues to be an easy name-drop for smart-ass slackers.
Here is the thing: Even if they dropped out from college, these billionaires were rock solid on the understanding of their core subjects. More importantly, they understood the contribution of failure, persistence and hard work. Scorning formal education without being equipped with either is just foolish overconfidence. Without a college degree, and without commitment or conviction to be prepared to fail till one succeeds, one is more likely to be another resume dumped in the dustbin.
The heart-breaking reality of being an educator is also that from time to time, one has to show students the mirror, confront them and ask difficult questions. Not everyone is cut out to be a Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg or a Bill Gates. Exams are a straightforward, rather simplistic means to test where students stand. The catch is that educators give exams on the assumption that each student is putting in their best. With a lot of students taking exams lightly - putting in more strain to copy than study, aimlessly bobbing their heads around the exam room and exchanging private jokes - there is no way of getting an accurate reading.
Many of the restless exam-takers are students who shine in class discussions, ask probing questions and direct the entire class to unique viewpoints. They just to seem give up when it comes to writing the exam paper. It is heartbreaking to see such talent wasted out of nothing but ill-advised youthful buoyancy.
Agreed, if we compare our current systems of teaching and testing, we do have a long way to go. Founded in 1921, A S Neill’s Summer Hill School in the UK continues to be a model of innovative, democratic learning. David Kolb’s research on experiential learning explains how individuals are born with innate learning preferences. Classroom teaching may not always serve all individuals equally, but innovation in assignments and changing teaching modules from time to time can address these shortcomings.
If educators try to do their best within the rigid constraints of an organizational set up, students can try too. Sleeping on a paper is not an option. If students can’t cultivate that least amount of patience for a two-hour test paper, one fears how they will deal with more daunting challenges. A nagging partner, obligatory small talk, fickle social circles, a mean boss, Power Point presentations that make or break an appraisal, EMIs “ these challenges will get thrown on your face with immediate deadlines. How you will wish you had learnt to persevere and be patient, if nothing else, while you still had the time.
