Should we, shouldn’t we? As the pandemic continues to spread fear, one of the biggest debates was whether to conduct exams. As the situation worsened and time passed, the opinion of teachers and principals was sought. Parents and students weighed in too as the future of thousands of youngsters was at stake.
As I read various articles and suggestions, I was reminded of my younger sister`s handling of this issue when she was in school many years ago. She had a strange but very effective way of putting the little unpleasantness of life in the proper perspective and place.
Fond of meeting people, she was our contact with the neighbourhood and got us all the news, gaining the apt nickname “evening news” from our grandfather. All the social contacts she had to keep, naturally left her with no time to study; yet the final exams were never ignored. The problem was the terminal tests which were held every three months. She obviously did not think them important enough. The only trouble was the report card, which had to be signed by the parent. She resolved this pesky issue with as much aplomb as she did with the rest of her problems.
She would keep the report card with her till the school bus came and the driver honked outside the house. At this point, she would whip out the report card and rush to our father’s bedside. “Papa, papa,” she would call shaking his arm. “Here, quickly sign my report card.” As he fumbled for the bed switch, she hustled him on breathlessly, “Hurry please, papa, I’ll miss my school bus.” Father would grope for the pen she held as she guided his hand. Half asleep, he would sign her report card.
“Is everything all right,” he would ask. “Oh yes papa,” she would reassure him.
Just before the final exams, our parents went to attend the PTA meeting.
“Well, Mr. Khurana, your daughter hasn’t been doing well in maths, history and sciences.”
“But she passes her tests,” my father protested.
“Why sir, surely you noticed that she doesn’t, you have seen and signed her reports.”
My father looked at my mother helplessly. They could hardly wait to reach home and sort out things. Besides feeling let down, they were feeling guilty about not paying more attention to the academic progress of their youngest child.
“Well,” said our mother, “what I really want to know is why you had told us you had done well when you had failed?”
“Mummy, I will tell you if you promise not to hit me.”
“Of course, I will hit you,” our mother screeched, “you little liar!”
“In that case I will not say a word,” she said.
“Mummy, why don’t you let her at least give us the reason,” I pleaded.
At last, mother calmed down and Vera came out with her excellent explanation.
“I have eight subjects. Now if I were to come back and tell you, you would scold or whack me eight times and then when I brought the report card, that would be the ninth time, when I can easily save myself eight out of that and the ninth too if papa is sleepy. I do pass the finals, don’t I? Then what is the problem?”
For once, mother was completely floored.
Today, seeing the objection of principals to passing students on the basis of previous test results, I recall the cherub logic of many decades earlier.
ranidevasar@gmail.com