3 Idiots the movie has been termed an all time hit and its content has raised many a debate about the Indian education system. There is a soft sermon to parents too to provide the requisite freedom to their kids to choose the path that they are passionate about. Nothing wrong about the subject in general and it is indeed a trigger to many of us - parents to not be narrow in determining the choice our kids should make. There is a life and career beyond an engineering, medical or MBA degrees.
Having said the above, i believe it is human nature to make safe bets and as a parent (and a professionally educated one at that) it is an impulsive inclination to think about safe paths which have a proven history of employ ability. It is also not easy to determine a cut-off point when we feel our kids have the capability and sensibility to make the right career moves. There are times when we are pleasantly surprised by the depth to which our children can articulate what he or she wants but in the absence of it, it is but natural to choose a path for them and in all probability a safe one. A desire to be at one of the ivy league institutes is common thinking and it does have a visible guarantee to success.
I will not claim that i knew i wanted to be an Engineer and MBA from top notch colleges at the age of 14 (when i passed my tenth grade); to be honest, i don't think i had the maturity to think beyond for a radically different career path. In hind sight i feel i could have been a good musician or may be a good cook even but i have no regrets today with where i am and what i have accomplished (i am at the moment trying to give wings to some of my cherished dreams though).
Compared to a decade+ ago, the options available today are many. The proliferation of content / information in all shapes and sizes does make a child mature faster and gives him / her certain ideas on what he / she wants. They may be able to articulate better but yet, i will advise caution to evaluate any decision and check genuine interest or indicators before a go ahead is given.
While it is good to start early in a particular direction, it is never too late actually to start after securing a good employable / professional degree. Chetan Bhagat an IIT and IIM started writing much later in life and as on date has moved on from being an investment banker to a full fledged writer / columnist.....i know of a singer too who completed her professional degrees and later took to being a playback singer and i should add ...a successful one too.
Allow your children to follow their dreams....it is critical.......but understand there is nothing wrong in the common way of thinking that provides the children and the parents with a sense of security.
Having said the above, i believe it is human nature to make safe bets and as a parent (and a professionally educated one at that) it is an impulsive inclination to think about safe paths which have a proven history of employ ability. It is also not easy to determine a cut-off point when we feel our kids have the capability and sensibility to make the right career moves. There are times when we are pleasantly surprised by the depth to which our children can articulate what he or she wants but in the absence of it, it is but natural to choose a path for them and in all probability a safe one. A desire to be at one of the ivy league institutes is common thinking and it does have a visible guarantee to success.
I will not claim that i knew i wanted to be an Engineer and MBA from top notch colleges at the age of 14 (when i passed my tenth grade); to be honest, i don't think i had the maturity to think beyond for a radically different career path. In hind sight i feel i could have been a good musician or may be a good cook even but i have no regrets today with where i am and what i have accomplished (i am at the moment trying to give wings to some of my cherished dreams though).
Compared to a decade+ ago, the options available today are many. The proliferation of content / information in all shapes and sizes does make a child mature faster and gives him / her certain ideas on what he / she wants. They may be able to articulate better but yet, i will advise caution to evaluate any decision and check genuine interest or indicators before a go ahead is given.
While it is good to start early in a particular direction, it is never too late actually to start after securing a good employable / professional degree. Chetan Bhagat an IIT and IIM started writing much later in life and as on date has moved on from being an investment banker to a full fledged writer / columnist.....i know of a singer too who completed her professional degrees and later took to being a playback singer and i should add ...a successful one too.
Allow your children to follow their dreams....it is critical.......but understand there is nothing wrong in the common way of thinking that provides the children and the parents with a sense of security.
3 comments:
an intersting read :) may we know which is that dream which you are accomplishing now? music is all i can guess...... await your answer to this.
I agree with you completely... when I passed my 10th all I knew was the best of the lot chooses either engineering or medical... I was inclined towards architecture though.. again not sure would that be a right descision ...would that help me get control of my life and eventually career...i don't know!!
however, I chose civil engg as I did not want to do Mech at some far off place after 12th...
That was what I followed... then came a stage where I had to run my Dad's Ad Agency as he met with an accident and lo...I found my passion...
The knowledge base that I got from those engg years help me to think better, analytically and take descisions..
I guess..we have to mould ourselves to identify the talent in our children and then let them develop it with we being in the background..lending them support ONLY where they need...making them feel that we are a supprot system they can rely on and hence go go raring in pursue of their dreams...
I really appriciate your abilty of doing so many activities in a SINGLE DAY... I would like to span my day and organise my passion along with my responsibilities like wise...
Very nicely conveyed. I wanted to convey it is nothing wrong on parents side to choose or define a career path for children. Just that the customizing option should be available for children if they are mature enough to decide what they want to do.
For indian conservative families (like mine) it gets really difficult for the kids to make their parents understand that I want to cook, but I also want to go for engineering :)
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