By Nirjara Rustom
Quite often, I've heard parents tell their children "I want you to become an engineer / lawyer / doctor" etc. Your child's stream selection should be made by him/her and not by you. Your job is only to ensure the right guidance, be it from you or someone else qualified enough to guide. If you're not qualified enough, keep your ego aside and be open to guidance from several sources. This includes and is not limited to:
Your child's trusted teachers.
Your own trusted circle of knowledgeable folks.
Paid education consultants.
Researching on the internet.
Psychometric / aptitude tests.
Your job is to ensure that your child understands the various options based on interest, capacity, (your) budget, and then take an educated decision. Don't pester your child with too much advice and recommendation. This will only cause confusion and reduce the child's confidence level which can be detrimental for the overall mental growth. A very important thing to remember, especially when you're discussing future education options is to speak to the child in an "adult to adult" style. Let the child argue, respond, interact, discuss, etc in any way he/she wants to. If you adopt the "adult to child" style, the child will not be in the right mental level to communicate freely and your control over the child will affect the discussion. Only a mature discussion between the parent and the child can prove to be constructive and fruitful for the child's future.
I am surprised to find that even well educated parents try to take a dominating stance when it comes to choosing careers for their children. In my opinion, this is mostly because they're more concerned about their social status than their child's future. If both parents are well known chartered accountants and if the child wishes to become an inde musician, more often than not, both parents will tend to disagree. They start wondering what they will say when asked about their child's whereabouts, at their events and parties.
If you're planning to take guidance from a consultant, be sure to approach a trusted one referred by a known student who has already used their services and is happy about the decisions made. There are many unqualified individuals who do some research on the internet and deem themselves competent enough to guide the lives of students at such a critical junction. So be cautious – some consultants even receive a hefty commission for referring colleges abroad and they will try to do just that even if it really isn't the right choice for the student.
Finally, make the child visualize his short term and long term goals and then decide accordingly. The education scenario has become very complex now than what it was earlier. There are too many choices and new options are growing at amazing speed. It's not enough to like a subject; students need to be so passionate about it that they won't get bored following it all their life. At the same time, the field should also allow to accomplish the future life style needs of the student.
Nirjara Rustom moderates the Education Resources Section of http://www.bharatbhasha.com at http://www.bharatbhasha.com/education.php - your best free information resource on education.
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