burning the midnight oil

                                                                      Long ago while i was in medical college a prominent music band came to play for our college festival . Being a western music fan we enjoyed the  music they played very much and after the function me and my friends went backstage and talked to them . When one of the guitarists told everyday he used to practise for 4-6 hrs my friend who was an amateur guitarist smiled knowingly while me (who used to appreciate music only  )  was puzzled at why you need to practise this much everyday for many months for a series of 5 minute rock and pop music  ?

In my childhood i used to burn the proverbial midnight oil  . Excepting the first one month of an academic year everyday i used to study many hours  . But just like i was perplexed by the guitarist who told he practised many hours everyday  i too encountered so many people who was surprised by the hours i put in everyday in my studies  .  Apparently  many expected genius to take care of the examination  results . In short few people understood the amount of studies required to really excel in the examinations .  It was even funny sometimes when some parents used to take me to their home to tell the "magic secret " of how to excel in the examinations .

Thinking retrospectively  i think there are indeed a few secrets in really excelling in examinations and first one is really the obvious one as told above  but seldom understood by most  .  Depending on your target you have to put in proportionate hours of studies ( i deliberately avoid the term hardwork :)  cos thats a misnomer  )  .And dont tell me all are targeting the 99 th percentile (the rank  )  .

Other than the hours of study  another key secret is you have to be really interested in knowledge  .  I still remember i used to get really thrilled when the teacher was teaching not only the working of human body but the prime numbers , the male female differences in hindi words , the historic battles in history subject etc etc .  Dont know whether i had this extra curiosity for this academic (  ?? boring ) subjects but this helped a great deal in making the "hardwork " of studies really interesting for the most part .  Even after so many years i still remember how each metal which we use for daily use gets extracted from its ore ,  etc etc . Maybe because i was a bookworm  :)  but  i really enjoyed studies  and i think if not there in the child can be instilled to some degree by proper teaching methods  .

If you think i am a narcissist  (which i am :)  )  dont read the third secret  .  Keep  reasonable targets .  Everyone is not cut out to be a rank student  .  The same person (myself )  who was a rank student knew at an early stage that i will not be a great sportsperson  .  But right from childhood made it a point to attend most of the sports competitions in school knowing fully well that i will not be best in it  .  I still remember where i combined my long jump and hurdles in one go  where i was flying in the air having hit the hurdle and having enough gashes in my leg  . The point is keep reasonable targets for the children knowing fully well where their interests are . i am fully aware that in our soceity though no one wants to be a bookworm everyone wants great academic results . But  be realistic about your childrens academic pursuits .  Most children are agreeable to put in reasonable efforts in studying but push them adequately but not too much  ..(I have many academic failures in my mind now who were pushed too much)  . . I gave the sports example because though there are a few "gifted " people who really excel in both sports and academics i was not that gifted to excel in both  .  (no regrets too ).

Last secret  is just because you are studying and doing "hard work " doesnt mean  that you shouldnt relax . Though it was not apparent to others except my parents i used to take frequent breaks from my studies to enjoy all my  small hobbies which included but not limited to seeing tv , reading fiction , music , cycling and even sports ..

So  understanding that academically this is a competitive age but still push in sufficient strength so that children realise their optimal academic success which can easily translate to first classes and distinctions and for a few really interested ones the rank too  .  My point is dont push them so much that they hate studies and also dont ignore them so much that they forget that the key secret of academic success is " studying regularly and of sufficient duration "

Nowadays i am not pressured to study cos i am in a job for past 10+ years . But still the "bookworm " in me is as active and tries to eat what it gets from the internet and books on various fields .. Is it called study  ??  I dont know

--- a bookworm ...