This takes me back to an experience not so long ago as I was studying in Harvard University. In the Quantitative techniques course, I remember seeing a nearly teary eyed class mate of mine walking out of the exam. He used to be among the toppers of the class and as I asked him what was it, he burst out into tears and exclaimed how he had fared very badly in the exam by messing up the first question. Here was a middle aged man, who had been a great achiever almost all his life, feeling tormented and depressed by a ‘poor’ performance in the exam. I could completely empathise with him as just the previous day, following the Economics exam, I almost found myself walking quietly to the Charles river and sit silently, watching the water as my self struggled with the pain, the lump in my throat called inadequacy! After all these years, I thought if I didn’t learn to deal with this disease called inadequacy right here and now, I will never ever learn.. I literally threw away this disease in the river and thought this would be my most important take away from this course and University.
Where does this feeling of poor performance strike? Is it because the construct of the ‘self’ is so fickle and elusive that one gush of wind is enough to make it come crashing down? Since this is an issue troubling all of us concerned with the spate of suicides in the State in the build up to the exams, is there something that we can do about this? Whenever there is a crisis of confidence how is this to be dealt with? The story of Budha and KisaGautami is one that comes to the fore. When she is absolutely distressed and broken at the loss of her child, instead of lecturing to her, the Budha seizes the moment for her to learn an important message in a poignant way. He assures help to her and merely asks her to get him a handful of mustard from a house that has never seen death. As she moves from house to house in her search she understands that ‘all those who are born on earth must die’. Such a deft handling of the crisis in the life of a student can help them get an insight into a silent ‘clearing’ in the midst of the clutter of life, pick up a lesson and move on, better poised and primed to deal with the ultimate, continuous exam called life.
Today, more than ever, as the nearly countless possibilities of career paths and options present themselves, it is increasingly clear that the global world is not marred by competition but it is marked by collaboration and commitment to excellence. The quest for excellence and commitment to the age old, time tested virtues of truth, beauty and goodness can be undertaken on a path guarded by the four gatekeepers of wideness (Varuna), Untiring efforts (Aryaman), Harmony (Mitra) and Enjoyment (Bhaga). This path would have to be traversed by each student with the hand of the teacher and parent leading her. Getting started with an understanding of the self and a SWOT of her likes and dislikes, the student could gradually learn and figure out ways of dealing with failure and success; dealing with difficulties and setbacks, dealing with competitions and defeats in the life simulator called classroom, warmly ensconced in the comfort and care of the teacher.
The solution, therefore, may not lie in throwing the ‘baby and the bath water’ by doing away with exams. However, this obsessions with cracking exams is to be done away with as this is in no case the ultimate aim of education. Yet, exams would have to be an integral part of the process of the student understanding more about herself, her strengths and challenges.
The examination ought to test the Knowledge, Undrstanding, skills and application of students and also their High order thinking skills; but most importantly the process of education in general with examinations as an integral part of it ought to build the 'life' muscles of students, prime them to be able to deal with the bends and twists that one would encounter on the jourtney of life, as it throws problems and puzzles along the way. In fact, teachers ought to be trained to use the class room processes including examinations as a bridge to reach the 'soul' of the student and build that. The true joy of teaching really lies in relishng that soma which is realized as the teacher and student truly share their thoughts and insights from the depths of their being.
The class room process should be abundantly peppered with discussions, guided deliberations and sharing of experiences, all in an atmosphere of freedom and full,healthy respect for both the teacher and the students for them to to truly learn to know, learn to do, learn to live together and learn to be.
And, yes, policy-makers, educationists and academicians have an obligation to change the entire system of tests and examinations. The Wisest Teacher of our times has counseled that tests should be given only when students are ready to take them, and they should be of varied types, depending upon the needs of those who take them, whether they are needed for self-evaluation or for encouragement or for gaining guidance or as a stimulation for pursuing higher achievements or excellence.
Already, NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) has made a bold experiment in this direction. Can we not derive lessons from this experiment? Students need to be liberated from the fear of examinations, and examinations should cease to be tests of memory instead of comprehension, character development, skills and physical health and fitness.
- Smt. Jayantiben S. Ravi
