The question of competitive examinations is always on our minds.Is it good or bad? should we go for standardised testing?
The issue, according to me, is not so much about skills but about endurance.The entrance tests in India are certainly to test endurance ,the patience of the public and the innocence of our children.Months of anxiety precede the circus that these tests have become. I would even venture to say ,that the anxiety could be of a thousand years.
Sometimes i have this quirky feeling that parents in India miss out on the giggles of their offspring.Maybe they just stare at it wondering whether they will make it in any of the entrance exams.Babies ,i have a feeling are judged entirely on an imaginary idea of success .Do they have a chance against prejudice? Will they ever be able to prove their mettle their individuality?
Standardized testing,again, has it's drawbacks.Has anyone ever thought about those who can't get through an academic program successfully because of developmental delay? They too have to go through a process of assessment.
Somehow, this does not involve the artistic process. However,as Howard Gradner keeps insisting development is as integral to the artistic process as hormones are to sexual development.Which means that artistic development,the level of it achieved can truely reveal a child's development and it's potential for further growth.Then why do we disregard it ? why isn't the creative process in children left out of assessment? Standardized tests etc? Is it because most of us would rather ignore the potential given to us to move from being good to great ?
The issue, according to me, is not so much about skills but about endurance.The entrance tests in India are certainly to test endurance ,the patience of the public and the innocence of our children.Months of anxiety precede the circus that these tests have become. I would even venture to say ,that the anxiety could be of a thousand years.
Sometimes i have this quirky feeling that parents in India miss out on the giggles of their offspring.Maybe they just stare at it wondering whether they will make it in any of the entrance exams.Babies ,i have a feeling are judged entirely on an imaginary idea of success .Do they have a chance against prejudice? Will they ever be able to prove their mettle their individuality?
Standardized testing,again, has it's drawbacks.Has anyone ever thought about those who can't get through an academic program successfully because of developmental delay? They too have to go through a process of assessment.
Somehow, this does not involve the artistic process. However,as Howard Gradner keeps insisting development is as integral to the artistic process as hormones are to sexual development.Which means that artistic development,the level of it achieved can truely reveal a child's development and it's potential for further growth.Then why do we disregard it ? why isn't the creative process in children left out of assessment? Standardized tests etc? Is it because most of us would rather ignore the potential given to us to move from being good to great ?
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