Our children are now getting exposed to unprecedented stress level in the society. All the children are expected to do extremely good in their studies. If a child performs worse than some of his neighbours or relatives then it becomes almost unpardonable. These children, in their attempt to meet expectations of so many around them, keep trying in arbitrary ways and end up having a very stressed life. This article is an attempt to provide some strategic direction to enjoy the work they do and also excel in that.
We often put the children to work on their weak topics. If we analyze as why a child is weak in certain topics of his study and why is he strong in some other topics, we find that it all depends on the interest of the student. If a topic is of interest to the student, it will be his strong topic as well or can be made strong very easily. But, if a topic is not of his interest, it will be his weak area. Working on these topics are normally stressful. By expecting to put extra efforts on the weak topics we expect them to work more on topics which are not of interest to them. In a true way, it is difficult to perform high on such topics for any student. This is also a major source of stress. Even if one manages to get high marks in the examination, this is not a valid indicator of student's excellence in the subject. So, it doesn't help. On the contrary, it harms because due to putting extra time working on weak areas, one doesn't give enough attention to strong topics and thus fails to attain the success he is capable of.
The best strategy is to work according to one's strength. Identify the topics that are of interest. Excel in those topics. Spend time in learning them, thinking about them, conceptualizing them, applying them and trying different variations with them. This will be enjoying because one works on the topics of interest. Once the path is shown, it may not be necessary to keep chasing or reminding. Do a conscious check on whether working on weak topics or topics of no interest is that necessary. Student will not be able to score anything from such topics in examinations where cut-off is low. Many important examinations are like that. Even if it appears to be necessary to work on some of the weak topics, it will be better to first generate interest in those topics and then motivate the student to decide to work on them.
All of us know the famous Rabbit-Tortoise story in which the Tortoise won the race because the rabbit became complacent and chose to take rest after getting a good lead. In present days, a tortoise cannot expect to win a race depending on the complacency of rabbit. Things are much tougher now. As an extension of that story, the rabbit felt very bad after his defeat and challenged the tortoise for another race. This time the rabbit was careful, didn't repeat the past mistake and stopped only after reaching the goal line. No doubt, he won convincingly. Tortoise could not believe his fate. Is he destined to lose to rabbit like this? He refused to accept it. He analysed his strength and decided to challenge the rabbit for another race. Rabbit knew that tortoise was not a challenge for him. So they got ready for the race. This time, the tortoise kept the goal line on the other side of a small river. Rabbit reached to his side of the bank of the river much earlier than the tortoise could do, but was not able to cross the river to reach the goal line. The tortoise came to the river bank in his own pace, peacefully crossed the river and again walked up to the goal line. Tortoise could win the race because he ran on a track that used his strengths. If we think keeping our basics right, we find that goals are everywhere. If we identify our strengths and play as per that, we can achieve what we want. This strategy can help our children enjoy their study and do much better in life.
Hence, enjoy your studies.
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