e_Paper, Monday, May 8, 2017

14
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
DT
Opinion
When social pressure kills
Academics are important but they don’t determine outcomes later in life
SERPENT
IN EDEN
• Towheed Feroze
In Jamalpur, an SSC candidate,
after learning that she did
not pass her exams, jumped
in front of a train and killed
herself. Her aunt was also killed
when she tried to save the
distraught girl.
In Jatrabari, Dhaka, a student
committed suicide after he failed
to get the coveted Golden GPA.
The thought that came to mind
as I read the news was: Society, at
least here in Bangladesh, puts too
much pressure on young students
to perform in academia.
The result in some extreme
cases, such as the two described
above, is death. But in between,
there are countless shades of
despair.
Like the son of a person I know
who was not content with his A
grade because, in his words, A plus
eluded him.
While countless students are
happy with their results, there
are many who are made to feel
that they have failed in achieving
what was expected of them. When
the social pressure becomes too
much, young minds decide to take
extreme measures.
Who is to blame?
I personally believe that a lot of
the blame lies on the parents who,
often for their own glory, exert
unnecessary pressure on their
children.
If the young boy or girl is
titled more towards the arts or
humanities, parents force him/her
to take up science because society,
in its black and white definition
of everything, deems students of
humanities as fools.
This is not a new phenomenon
and, when I think back to my
days in school in the mid-80s, I
recall quite distinctly that, out of
pressure from families and peers,
students were forced to take up
science and a dreaded subject
called Elective Mathematics.
Pity, here in this society, two
contrasting outlooks persist: We
want to see youngsters take up
science but, when it comes to
corporate hiring, the emphasis
is on English proficiency -- and
Elective Maths is hardly taken into
consideration.
In the past, parents selfishly
and overtly used their children
to enhance their social position
Is it right to put so much weight on exams and academics alone?
and, unfortunately, they still do,
in more covert ways. Perhaps they
don’t realise that their demands,
no matter how sweetly put, often
translate into parental pressure.
In some cases, especially for
students in English-medium
institutions, I find that the
pressure is so overpowering
that youngsters are detached
from common sports and
entertainment.
Yes, it’s a competitive world but
why take away the fun of being a
teenager?
From time to time, I talk to
parents with teenage sons or
daughters and it appears that their
main concern is the academic
excellence of their child.
Whether their children can take
the pressure or not is the least
of their worries. Their rationale:
If the other kid can take it and
perform, so can you.
The death within
Some do the extreme, others die
within. Forced to take subjects
they abhor, young minds can
become resentful.
I have seen educated parents
do the same as uneducated ones --
creating pressure for better grades
and imposing their wishes on the
child.
A telling account from my time
in high school should drive the
point home: One time our class
teacher asked us what we aspired
to be when we grew up and she
added: “Do you want to be a
doctor, engineer, an architect, or a
government official?”
Framing the question in this way
made it seem like those were the
only plausible options. If we look
around carefully, this trend still
persists.
By presenting only a few known
professions before the child, we
are forcing him/her to take one
and not think about anything else.
For the two young persons who
committed suicide, the pressure to
deliver must have been enormous.
They were indoctrinated over time
to believe that unless they got
what was expected of them, their
lives were meaningless.
A drastic act like suicide can
only be considered when a person
feels utterly bereft of hope.
While the papers have
dutifully reported the news of
similar tragedies that have been
happening over the years, sadly,
there is little to no societal effort
to tackle or understand such acts
among young people.
Grades are not the end of the
world
When we were teenagers, life was
made to revolve around divisions
in SSC or HSC; who got star marks
and how many letters (80 plus
marks ensured a letter in a subject)
was the talk around us, creating
an invisible pressure, but so many
years later, we find, these matter
very little in the vast canvas of
human tribulations.
Academic results are but
one factor in professional life
-- employers look at many others
during recruitment.
When it is commonly
understood that not everyone is
academically inclined, teenagers’
lives will become a blessing. Some
will excel in academia, a few may
become star footballers, some
other kid may show aptitude
for the arts or interest towards
theatre.
Many will try to become the
top cricketer but only a few will
make it to the zenith; but for those
who will play in the mid-level and
never be a celebrated sportsman,
life need not be a failure either.
S/he did what they wanted to
do and whatever they achieved is
a success. Hence the player who
spent most of his adult life playing
for third division clubs and then
retired with a small stationary
shop in his area is certainly not a
failure. Some may never become
a celebrity, but can still lead an
ordinary happy life.
Destiny is an enigma
Not everyone will drive a BMW;
and by the way, the first boy may
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
For the two young persons who committed suicide, the pressure to
deliver must have been enormous
end up being a corporate dog but
the last boy, whose name was once
synonymous with failure, and
was seen spending time on the
roads with reprobates, can, due
to a twist of fate, become a top
public figure, flag flying on the car,
police in front and back, everyone
using “Honourable” before his/her
name.
“Lekhapora kore je gari-ghora
chore she” (those who excel in
education, can afford cars and
carriages), goes a popular Bengali
proverb but if we look at the
current world, we find that those
who put education behind sports
and other passions also drive the
best cars, those who did not even
go beyond SSC, opting for a film
career not only live in luxury but
are seen endorsing top consumer
products.
I have countless such tales
of ignored rascals who have
outshone all the academically
brilliant later in life.
By the way, to my teacher’s
question I answered: “I want to be
the captain of Bangladesh Laaldol”
(Bangladesh Red team in football,
comprising the best players) at
which everyone laughed. •
Towheed Feroze is a journalist working
in the development sector.