A child struggles since the early years to survive in the society.

It’s okay to worry about your baby’s admission when it’s time for the admission. Well, it is also acceptable to be concerned about their school admission when they are going to be admitted in a year. However, my question to all dear mommies is that isn’t it too much to whine about your baby’s admission when they are not even born yet?  One of my relatives started visiting the ‘great’ Karachi Grammar School-KGS, right after the affirmation of her pregnancy. They say it’s tough to get your hands even on the admission form during the admission season. We all must have witnessed the rat fight of the parents for their child’s admission in the most elitist predetermined social norms of the city. Why do parents even send toddlers to tuition centers to prepare for admission tests? Perhaps just to bring out the best product for the future society?

Ralph Emerson admired the child’s view of the world when he marked a point in one of his famous essay, “Their mind being whole, their eye is as yet unconquered”. A child conforms to no norms. Like children, one should have no prejudices and should not be caring about the status quo, and must not let the fixed social norms conquer them. This is how it should remain till the very end. Sadly, as the child grows up, it turns out to be a roller-coaster ride from an unconquered infancy to the obtuse conformity. Molding your child the way you yearn for will do no good to your child. Why is it necessary for your child to get admitted in KGS, or CAS, or Beaconhouse School System, or FPS to become a good student? How your child’s imagination and potential is measured merely by some institute?

What if the parents are successful in the quest for the admission in the top-notch school? Is their job done by then? Parents are ready to fritter away handsome money to get the admission, and this will then lead to lavish feasts and parties to celebrate the admission but what after that? I have been teaching to the kindergartners since last four years in one of the renowned school of Pakistan. I have observed what parents are expecting from the school is that they have done their job in getting their child admitted in the school now it is solely teacher’s responsibility to work with the child. I believe each child is unique, sadly, the parents don’t see it that way. All of them want their child to excel in all the aspects that too in the early years. I wonder if they suppose they have reproduced some machine to feed everything in one go.

 One of my former student’s mother, who was a doctor, wanted her 4-year-old son to converse in English fluently. As a matter of fact, English was his third language and Urdu was second and they were using some local language as the medium of language at home. My counseling did not turn out be successful when I informed about the situation that her child is unable to speak English. However, by the end of the year I informed her about the achievement of the little boy that he was able to comprehend the instructions given in English, she did not seem quite happy about it and utter a blunt remark, ‘We are paying so much, and our children should speak smoothly in English’.

My generous advice to all the parents why lose sleep for your child’s writing, reading, speaking, and artistic skills during the time when they need to be taught a lot of other significant lessons about life? It is essential for them to learn to greet everyone nicely than to stand out in conversational skill. It is important for them to know that they should not pluck flowers, they should share things, they should not lie, and other things which will help them to become a good human. And this could not be done only if your child is sitting in a well-equipped classroom of a well-known school. To facilitate them in becoming a responsible citizen and a good human, you need to set yourself as an example for them and not only rely on the school. Imagination is important than knowledge. Help your child promote and ensure their imagination. Scoring good grades and securing a well-paid job will eventually come later in their lives.