An Open Letter to The Indian Parent

Dear Parent,

I know that your primary concern is always your child. I know that you worry about their safety every day. I know that you worry about their future every day.

But, as a former Indian child and an educator, I know that you are actually causing irreparable harm to your child. I know that your worry is also causing them to be unsafe. I know that you are compromising their future every day.

You are asking your kids to achieve an A+ grade in every subject. You are asking them to go to tuitions and coaching classes starting from Class 1. You are using the same formula for success that was handed down to you by your parents. You are making your kids use the same formula for success.

I recognise that you are doing your best. Beyond your best.

But, here’s the kicker. That formula doesn’t work anymore. It has not been working for a while. It didn’t work for my generation and it definitely will not work for the current generation. The excessive focus on exams and getting a 100/100 is limiting our students. Not just that, students are experiencing the most amount of mental stress and depression we have ever seen. Student suicide have shot up across the world.

As part of Entrepreneurs’ Academy, we interview students, and actually ask them how they would change the world. Here’s a transcript of the conversation with one of our potential students — “My parents don’t understand me. They think I’m wasting my time on graphic design and that I should become an engineer. I don’t want to be an engineer. I want to do something of my own…”

We also interview their parents because we know that students are at their most powerful with their family in their corner. Here’s another transcript of the conversation with one of the parents, “Ma’am, I understand that this program is valuable. But, she cannot do this now. She should only focus on getting marks right now. She can wait…”

Think about these conversations for a second. Design is one of the hottest growing trends in the world, and comes with some of the highest salaried jobs. I was a student who got an A+ and aimed for a 100/100. I was also bored out of my mind, all through school. I could not wait to actually get my hands on something meaningful, but everyone told me that I had to be older to really do anything. I had to wait too.

These students have energy, focus, and time — they want to solve real world problems and develop skills by “doing” — Why are we telling them to wait? Their energy is drying up as they wait.

We are far behind. We need to play catch up. We need to prepare our children for this exponentially evolving world.

Let’s say you believe everything I say and ask, “But how do you do this?”

Here’s your brand new formula for success: Trust Your Child. Trust them to take the right call. Trust them to reach for more. Trust them to change the world. Train them to feel joy in learning and growing. Train them to be explorers. Train them to be people who love solving real-world problems. Train them to understand the value of work ethic.Train them to appreciate effort more than marks. Train them to be people who say, “I don’t know, YET, and I can’t wait to learn.” Train them to love and accept themselves.

We are hiring, if you are truly interested in shifting the paradigm of education in India and across the world, drop us a line at team@schooloffuture.in

We are looking to partner with amazing VCs who understand both the challenges and the opportunities in this space. Drop us a line at team@schooloffuture.in.

Join us!

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