THE CONFUSED GENERATION

By Mrs. Jayashree Patel

When a student is asked to select a stream after 10th, they usually choose on the basis of the marks they get on 10th board exams and textbooks they have studied or what their parents aspire them to be or just blindly following their peers. The real world of careers is very different from what a student is exposed to in schools. Therefore, it becomes very important that we give them opportunities to meet and interact with professionals in different fields. This will help them understand more about what it takes to become a lawyer, doctor, entrepreneur, designer, etc. CBSE schools in Indore and elsewhere also offer some good subjects like legal studies, commercial art, textile design, Information Technology, Web application, etc. We need to introduce such subjects in schools in Indore & and go beyond conventional careers like Engineering, Medicine, CA, etc. Today’s generation wants to explore more and we should give them encouragement as well as prepare them well by teaching real-life skills like multi-tasking, communication, problem-solving, technical skills, eagerness to learn and adapt, think creatively, take responsibilities and manage themselves well under pressure. Internship in the summer holidays is another way of understanding the nature of work in a specific industry. It also helps students develop work ethics and dignity of labor. Maansi, a student of mine could come up with very clever business and marketing ideas after she did an internship in a start-up. She felt that she would have never been able to discover her creativity and love for marketing until she worked two months in the summer for the start-up in grade 11. She knew that marketing was her true calling and she could learn better in a University program that promoted experiential learning. She worked extremely hard in Grade 12 to reach her dream University in the United States as she found her goal and the motivation gave her the energy to put in the efforts needed. Students need to have new experiences in school and outside. At GD Goenka Public School, Indore, we give them a chance to discover themselves and know who they are and what they want to be.