Every time the same students appear on the stage to receive awards, but the average and slow learners are not given a chance to bring out their talent in front of the world Spelling, quiz and debate competitions, sports and various championships and what not — you all might be familiar with these co-curricular activities, which are part of almost every school and college activities. These competitions are held for the skill enhancement of students, for making them confident and developing better personalities.

But the question is, are they really a platform for learning or just a competition to defeat the opponent team?

I had been thinking about this for some time now and finally I decided to pen down my thoughts. School is a platform for learning, isn’t it? Learning doesn’t mean cramming the formulas of maths, derivations of physics, reactions in chemistry nor the history of the subcontinent. Learning is what helps us to handle various things in life, how to come out of a thick forest when no one is there to support you, how to have a confident and balanced personality when you step out in the world and experience new and confusing challenges.

The selections are done on the basis of “Who is the best in this task” or “Who can help us defeat the opposite team”. No one thinks “Who is willing to learn, but can’t because of no support”. They think of “Who is the best”. No one thinks “How to bring the best out of the worst one”.

this for some time now and finally I decided to pen down my thoughts. School is a platform for learning, isn’t it? Learning doesn’t mean cramming the formulas of maths, derivations of physics, reactions in chemistry or the history of the subcontinent. Learning is what helps us to handle various things in life — how to come out of a thick forest when no one is there to support us, how to have a confident and balanced personality when we step out in the world and experience new and confusing challenges.

It’s also about how to start a meaningful conversation with a person having a lot of knowledge and we don’t know anything. But unfortunately, learning in schools today is not real learning. Every year we see the same classmates coming on the stage to debate either in favour or against a topic. We observe the same old classmates proudly spelling a word to the judges on the stage. The same face being selected for inter-school competitions. This is really disappointing and unfair, isn’t it?

The selections are done on the basis of “Who is the best in this task” or “Who can help us defeat the opposite team”. No one thinks “Who is willing to learn, but can’t because of no support”. They think of “Who is the best”. No one thinks “How to bring the best out of the worst one”.

Every time the same old students appear on the stage to receive the award, but the average and slow learners are left behind as no one bothers to give them a chance to bring out their talent in front of the world. Yes, they are rejected sometimes just on the basis of being told that their English accent isn’t good so they can’t do well in a debate, or their spellings are weak so they can’t participate in a Spelling Bee.

Teachers and the management of schools or institutes should keep in mind that English is not our mother tongue, so we will not have a British or American accent. Weak spellings are always polished by continuous practice, even the intelligent ones who participate, practice day and night. And lastly, confidence is always boosted by teachers and elders when they encourage kids even if they haven’t done well at all.

All these skills are developed later in the life because not all kids are born debaters or geniuses. How can a person be a good debater if he never gets a chance to perform on the stage, how can he improve his spellings if he isn’t encouraged to practice and come in front of the class and then on the stage to try his luck? How can one be a good debater if every time he is discouraged by those around him?

If teachers only focus on the intelligent ones in the class, the average kids will never come in the limelight. They will always remain behind and would never know how it feels like to stand in front of an audience and deliver something. This not only discourages the academic performance of the average kids (who are greater in number then the intelligent ones) but also lets them down in various fields of life.

My point is, nobody is born intelligent or confident, it is the positive upbringing and encouragement from the parents and then the teachers which make children confident and good learners.

Apart from that, a general concept that usually kids develop during their academic life is that no matter what they do, a particular teacher’s favourite student would win or will be selected for any competition. So they don’t even bother to try their luck. Majority of kids really want to come forward and try their luck at various activities, but are not guided or supported the way particular kids are.

An average student always needs more support and guidance to bring his/her talent out in studies and co-curricular activities. If not supported, he may take a lot of time to do it by himself or it is likely that he may never try. This is what is actually happening in our schools and colleges when we see the same kids appearing every year in various extracurricular activities.

Nobody is born intelligent or confident, it is the positive upbringing and encouragement from the parents and then the teachers which make children confident and good learners.

Has anyone ever given a thought to the majority of class left behind, that they too may have a sports champion and star debater among them who has just not received any training or guidance? Why they have no role in any activity?

So, the conclusion is that the management of co-curricular activities in every school should focus on the training and nurturing of students, but not with the aim of gathering maximum trophies for a particular house or team. It isn’t about winning, it’s about learning from participation and even failure. It’s about improving after you are acquainted with your weakness.

I strongly believe that every student in the school must get a chance once to try his luck on the stage. It’s okay that the ones who are best, they can participate in any of the events to utilise their talent but not every time. Every year new students should be motivated and supported to face the crowd, to express their views and to know their weaknesses. They should be taught to “learn not to earn.”

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 2nd, 2018