Since human beings possess an innate social nature, are predisposed to seek acceptance, approval and validation from others in their social circles. Peer groups significantly impact over the course of a person’s educational journey in the complex web of adolescence, when identity development and decision making converge, and act as a powerful influencer that shape attitudes, morals, and goals towards the academic endeavors. In a world where modern education is not only redefined by changing societal norms and advancing technologies but also caused a transformative shift in the definition of success in education. Success is linked with high grades, getting into a top university, scoring well on standardized tests, and are considered as the main indicators of educational achievement. These markers are important, no doubt, but they only scratch the surface of what it takes to succeed in the complicated and linked world of today.It needs to be redefined to include a wider range of skills, values, experiences, going beyond traditional measures of academic achievement and professional gains. Furthermore, it is necessary to adopt a holistic viewpoint that recognizes the complexity of human development and flourishing in order to redefine success in education. Success includes not simply achieving academic goals but also developing personally, being happy, and finding purpose in life. It includes the capacity to adjust to change, work well with others, persuade others, and make a significant contribution to society, also encompass social justice and community well-being in addition to individual achievement, emphasizing the significance of moral duty, empathy, and compassion. The main architects of children’s educational goals are their parents, they set their standards and aspirations as per their own will or societal expectations and implement them on the children and decide their academic choices without realizing it’s a two-way street. Although parental involvement is a good thing, offering support, direction and encouragement to help them but if the academic choices are totally dictated by the parents without taking their children’s preferences and interests into consideration it often leads to a feeling of resentment, frustration, anxiety, and a lack of control over one’s chosen course of study. When parents have high expectations for their children, they could unintentionally set them up for failure and put too much pressure on them to perform well and negatively impact their academic achievement. These children are more reluctant to so called let-down anxiety, depression, and let’s not forget the increased suicidal rate,if they don’t meet the expectations of their parents. While socioeconomic status plays its part too which includes occupation and income, education level, access to resources also affects the aspirations of parents for their children. Every person has its individuality and should be cherished with their substantial capabilities without judging their abilities based on their performance in different fields which might not interest them. Often times children who strive to meet the expectations of their parents and societal norms can serve as a powerful motivator too for their success but let’s prioritize their aspirations as the relationship is not always unidirectional.
“In order to have a successful and productive life a two-way street of parental aspirations and children’s aspirations should be converted into one way street and unidirectional, parents should take the struggle and dreams of their children in consideration and children should also respect the expectations of their parents. With proper support and mutual understanding surely, there will be a breaking point to live up to high social expectations in relation with education.”
In an era where social media rules the roost, digital platforms have a widespread impact that goes beyond simple social interactions to affect students’ academic experiences. Due to constant comparisons and irrational norms, social media increases academic pressure.Even as it provides never-before-seen chances for networking and knowledge sharing, the biggest problem lies in the culture of comparison that it promotes, students are frequently exposed to well-constructed representations of their classmates’ extracurricular, academic, and personal accomplishments, which can cause emotions of impostor syndrome, inadequacy, and self-doubt. The constant barrage of accomplishments posted on social media platforms sets up irrational and inflated expectations of success, which feed students’ feelings of insecurity, uneasiness and a great deal of anxiety. The pervasive pressure to live up to online achievement criteria significantly impact the academic performance of students. Relentless comparison of oneself with others who seem to excel academically might result in a heightened level of stress and anxiety. Furthermore, fear of not measuring up to others may prevent them from asking for assistance or taking calculated chances or risks in their education, which will ultimately impede their academic progress. Every person has been wired differently by the creator so where lies the comparison as we have been given different potential and abilities. In order to live productive life, focus should be on our own abilities rather than on comparisons. A well said quote by Albert Einstein holds a good lesson “Everybody is genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live it’s whole life believing that it is stupid”. Why only focus on literacy but not on education as anyone can be literate but not everyone is educated and successful. In order to have a successful and productive life a two-way street of parental aspirations and children’s aspirations should be converted into one way street and unidirectional, parents should take the struggle and dreams of their children in consideration and children should also respect the expectations of their parents. With proper support and mutual understanding surely, there will be a breaking point to live up to high social expectations in relation with education.
(While Gowher Nazir is a speech pathologist at Government Medical College Anantnag, Sameena Ramzan is a pursuing M Pharma at the Department Of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Kashmir University Srinagar. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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