Growing up in a Process-oriented world
As I was growing up I was given the ability to chose what I wanted to do, I was allowed to read what comics/story books interested me, go out and play with friends, allowed to pack for lunch whatever I liked to eat (mostly what my mother cooked that day, but as a kid loved that anyway), did whatever I chose to during my vacations. We were not taught innumerable languages such as French, German, Spanish just because it an essential skill and "might" be required in the future. I do not think my school taught me anything that was directly useful in my life today. But each of the teachings that were taught helped me in becoming the person I am today.
These days the schools and parents have hijacked the lives of their kids. You hear a lot about helicopter parents who are hovering over their kids’ lives and trying to control whatever they do. And whatever little space is left out for the kids is being taken over by the schools. The schools these days have started dictating the lunch that should be packed for the kids, the kids schedules are so well managed that they do not have any time for going out to play with friends, even the vacations are being taken over in the name of being better prepared for the next schooling year. Excellent isn't it? We have successfully ISO certified the upbringing of our kids. We have report cards for the progress of the kid, vocational trainings to prepare them for the working environment (from the time they are in grade 5), summer trainings for ensuring the kids are prepared for the next year, etc.
One can almost predict the way a kid will turn out once he/she is enrolled into one of these process-oriented schools. They most definitely will become an Engineer and then an MBA, or go into the Medical field (definitely do some specialization as General Physicians have no social standing anyway). Some of these schools have started boasting of the fact that none of the students who join their school becomes anything less than an MBA or an MD. I think the day is not far when these schools can claim they can turn not only humans but also dogs and crows into Engineers and vice-versa.
Anyone who has worked in both process-oriented as well as non-process-oriented organizations will agree with me that there is more creative output in non-process-oriented environments. I definitely agree that quality of work is more defined and predictability increases in process-oriented organizations and thus helping their businesses. But life does not have to be all predictable, there needs to be a lot of creativity and some uncertainty for it to be exciting. Parents and schools today are ensuring that the kids careers are predictable, at a point in the kids’ lives where they do not know what is good for them. But who is to say that it will help in the future, as the future itself is unpredictable. Remember a few years back becoming a MD was the only future the parents wanted for their kids. I also remember about 15 years back everyone used to advice against taking up Computer Engineering as there was no future or "jobs" for that skill, I took it up because I really enjoyed working on computers, I could choose because my parents allowed me not only to choose but also to think. We must allow the kids to think and choose and refrain from molding them as per our limited thinking.
These days the schools and parents have hijacked the lives of their kids. You hear a lot about helicopter parents who are hovering over their kids’ lives and trying to control whatever they do. And whatever little space is left out for the kids is being taken over by the schools. The schools these days have started dictating the lunch that should be packed for the kids, the kids schedules are so well managed that they do not have any time for going out to play with friends, even the vacations are being taken over in the name of being better prepared for the next schooling year. Excellent isn't it? We have successfully ISO certified the upbringing of our kids. We have report cards for the progress of the kid, vocational trainings to prepare them for the working environment (from the time they are in grade 5), summer trainings for ensuring the kids are prepared for the next year, etc.
One can almost predict the way a kid will turn out once he/she is enrolled into one of these process-oriented schools. They most definitely will become an Engineer and then an MBA, or go into the Medical field (definitely do some specialization as General Physicians have no social standing anyway). Some of these schools have started boasting of the fact that none of the students who join their school becomes anything less than an MBA or an MD. I think the day is not far when these schools can claim they can turn not only humans but also dogs and crows into Engineers and vice-versa.
Anyone who has worked in both process-oriented as well as non-process-oriented organizations will agree with me that there is more creative output in non-process-oriented environments. I definitely agree that quality of work is more defined and predictability increases in process-oriented organizations and thus helping their businesses. But life does not have to be all predictable, there needs to be a lot of creativity and some uncertainty for it to be exciting. Parents and schools today are ensuring that the kids careers are predictable, at a point in the kids’ lives where they do not know what is good for them. But who is to say that it will help in the future, as the future itself is unpredictable. Remember a few years back becoming a MD was the only future the parents wanted for their kids. I also remember about 15 years back everyone used to advice against taking up Computer Engineering as there was no future or "jobs" for that skill, I took it up because I really enjoyed working on computers, I could choose because my parents allowed me not only to choose but also to think. We must allow the kids to think and choose and refrain from molding them as per our limited thinking.
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