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Testing Times





I cringe whenever I see parents pacing up and down the corridors as they wait for their 5 year old to come out from the "EXAMINATION" hall after a few hours.

Hours of testing their maths, language, and social skills along with their intelligent quotient. To tell you the truth, I am still developing my social skills, so what social skills can a 5 year old have?!

Shouldn't schools be a safe haven where any child can go? Isn't it their right?
Then why the admissions test? All schools should be be able to take in these children and help them achieve 'their' full potential instead of churning out successful graduates. I can feel the agony of the parents when they get a polite letter of rejection. What they read is: " Your child is not good enough." And what is good enough?? "Your child does not have the potential." Define potential please!

Today, my students were writing about their dreams of what a future India should look like. My dream is a country where we have stopped letting the system dictate to us. Schools will become a lively, creative, and fun place where children can learn about values and ethics. It will be a haven where the pursuit of knowledge will be to satisfy their curiosity, not some phlegmatic didactic down the examination hall!

The door of the school will have a sign reading: " All Children Are Welcome here."
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(source: http://maine121.org/tag/assessment/)
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