Tests: Not the True Predictors

I came across an article that has Narayan Murthy talk on how the quality of students in IITs has deteriorated over the years. Do you know that the entrance tests to these institutions are extremely difficult? They are so difficult that some students would rather go to a different technology institute and gain an education than slogging nights to mug up what the coaching classes teach. Then why is it that people who pass this difficult test are being called of low quality? Why is it that when they graduate from these esteemed institutions, they cannot survive and succeed in the work world?



 

Tests are not the true predictors of success! You can mug up something and get very high marks… but do you get an education? Do you actually learn the subject and along with that necessary skills to handle yourself later on in life?

‘Success’ on a test is only artificial success and is no guarantee for actual success! So, when studying, always keep in mind – study and work hard for gaining knowledge and skills. That’s all that matters in the long run! And the bonus of doing this? Well if you have the knowledge that is being tested, then you have success in the test as well as in the future!

 

Obstacles

Life is a mixture of good times and bad times. Many times we get to do the things we like to do and many times we are forced to do the very things we were dreading!

Similarly the road to success is filled with fun things; all the beautiful flowers of paradise but you also get thorns and road blocks. Many times, even though you are doing what you love, you will encounter difficulties. This is the way of life…

When you embark on your journey, brace yourself for the difficulties in advance. Prepare yourself well enough to face all the challenges that are thrown your way. If you start your journey expecting it to be easy, you will be in for a big shock and quite a lot of delay. Once you come across a road block and then try to get over it, it gets all the more difficult.  It’s like a 200 meter dash. If the runner is just running a normal race and suddenly a hurdle is thrown in, she stops, and jumps over it. Then, she has to start running and picking up speed. However if the runner was running a hurdle race, she would be prepared for the hurdle. She would then just jump over the hurdle without having to stop or change speed too much.

When you prepare yourself mentally for hurdles and fill yourself with the confidence of overcoming them, you are like the second runner. When the obstacle comes, you will be able to jump over it with greater ease!

Computer Class Endeavor

Einstein is famed to have said “Genius is 1% brilliance and 99% hard work”

To achieve success in any field, you have to make the effort! Having big ideas and ambitions is all great, but the true test comes when you actually have to work towards that idea.

Many times successes seem like fluke. The stupidest of ideas go out there and become successful… what is not so apparent is the amount of work the ‘idea bearer’ might have put in to make even that stupid an idea work! It’s all about how much you are willing to do. How much are you willing to stretch yourself to ensure your idea succeeds?

Let me give you a simple example. I moved to US from India in 11^th grade. I wanted to take a computer class that 11^th graders normally take. It was a 1 semester course – nothing big. The teacher asked me how familiar I was with a computer. I had been using a computer for 3 – 4 years then and knew the basic MS Dos that they taught me in school and Microsoft programs like doc and PowerPoint. I probably knew more PowerPoint than every student in the school because playing with ‘ppt’ was my favorite pastime. Then he asked me if I was taught how to type. In school, they never taught anyone to type. We just picked it up as we went. I said so… and he refused to let me take his class.  All the other students learnt to type and were very fast. I used only one finger tap each key and that took forever – I would slow down the others. He asked me to take the lower class and then take his class the next semester. It took all my negotiation skills and promises to learn and prove in order to be allowed in.

Back home, I did all my assignments on the computer to practice typing. Googled out ‘typing’ for tips to type faster; even offered to help my dad type out his stuff in order to practice. All in all, I made through the class with flying colors.

My little computer class endeavor was a success. And it was a success due to the effort I put in!