When you hear the word ‘Exams’ what comes to your mind? Most people would relate it too boring chapters, restricted freedom, stress etc. there are a few positive words that can be associated with ‘Exams.’ Do we actually learn? Honestly, every year I forget most of the syllabus after I finish writing a paper.
Let’s take a look at what exams are:
What we are told - Exams are a good way of seeing what the children have learnt throughout the school year. It jogs their memory.
What students think- A freedom snatcher and very boring.
What Google says- A formal test of a person's knowledge or proficiency in a subject or skill.
What it is - A big cause of stress which puts you in a category of people for the rest of your school life.
You mug up whole chapters and write everything down on a piece of paper. After you’re done your teacher will give you a certain number or alphabet which determines how well you did. This is called an exam or test, and these tests torment the brains of kids everywhere around the world. There has always been at least one night in every student’s life when they couldn’t sleep only because they had an exam the next day.
Why should the numbers and words written on a piece of paper decide if you are dumb or smart?
Before exams, a lot of my friends stop coming to play or they can’t sleep at night. Why should having to write on paper scare you so much? It’s hard to believe that learning new things can be so stressful. Learning should be fun, something to look forward to but the way we are taught, also makes it so dull. Everyone has a different way of learning. Sitting in one place and listening to some lecture till our butts are numb won’t benefit anyone. We stay in one place in the same class for 8 hours straight how do you expect us to pay attention in every single class.
Why should the numbers and words written on a piece of paper decide if you are dumb or smart?
Will these exams help us as human beings?
The answer is NO. More than half of the things taught in school are useless in real life. Why do we need to know how Humayun died? Will the Pythagoras theorem help me in a bad situation? Why aren’t there lessons about honesty and integrity? No one sees that being talented in arts is an accomplishment. Most of the stuff schools teach us do not help us function as human beings in society. No one will tell a bartender that they want C2H5OH or while giving directions no one will tell you to take a 90-degree turn. Schools don’t focus on practicality they direct us more towards theory and hypothetical situations.
Paper decides our life
People in college and university work really hard to get a degree which is yet again, written on a piece of paper. This system is just messed up. So many jobs require a degree, No one knows how a person got a degree. They could have cheated, rote learned everything, actually studied etc. However they got the paper doesn’t matter, there’s a degree right there and it certifies a person worthy for a job Let’s turn to the people who didn’t have a good percentage in 12th grade or don’t have a certain degree. They will have to struggle to get a job, to earn money, just because of some characters printed on a paper. Why should the performance of someone’s 17 year old self judge them for the rest of their lives? You can’t even vote when you’re 17! These papers do not tell a person’s capacities, how good they will be at their job or how sincerely they will work. This totally contradicts the saying of not relying on the past for future success.
What change should be brought?
You might or might not agree with my opinions but you will certainly want to ask, “What should we do to schools then?”
First of all, we should stop judging everyone by their grades. Most of the times, students find difficulties because the way of teaching doesn’t make them understand relation between practical use and theory. Make schools fun.
Secondly, make the word school associated with fun, not boring. If studying is seen as enjoyable people will want to learn more and that won’t make studying a source of stress. Then, grades wouldn’t be a problem either.
Look at the qualities of a person, not their marks. Numbers shouldn’t be the deciding factor in someone’s life. The current system just causes stress amongst students. The exams should help children develop an interest in learning and a thirst for knowledge. Schools shouldn’t be a place for marks, they are a place where you can learn. Focus on the knowledge not, the numbers.
Will changing the system make a difference? Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comment box 
below.
Read some of my other blogs. The links are down below.
How to Handle your Annoyingly Bratty Little Sibling
My Dream to Make my TED talk a Reality
Pune a Union of Heritage and Academics
