my 2 cents worth on certain matters

This is actually a piece of homework but it's also very much my opinion on academic achievements..

In an article “Parents pressured to kill childhood” , the writer questions the need of parents to start their children on the paper chase from the tender age of 3.Shouldn’t children be allowed to enjoy their childhood to the max instead of being cooped indoors poring over ABCs and story books? I feel that the situation today greatly disadvantages the kids as they are forced to grow up too fast.

Parents nowadays have too high expectations for their children.Do we study for our parents or ourselves? The truth is, most of us study for the sake of our parents’ pride. We get good results so our parents can hold their heads high during meetings with friends or family reunions during which the ever concerned relative will enquire about our studies. EG: OH, aunty/uncle so and so is very concerned about your studies.. with such results, how do you expect me to asnwer? (Well, for starters, you can tell them its none of their business and I dont study for other people's sake.Really, it none of your concern)Extracurricular achievements are rarely mentioned.

In my opinion, parents nowadays are pressuring their children too much in search of perfect grades. Gone were the days where scoring 6 A’s in the lower secondary examination (PMR) is a cause of celebration. Instead, they will be chided for not scoring straight A’s, thus affecting their chances of getting into the top science class in school. Does scoring perfect grades maketh a great person?

Every year when the results for government examinations are released, reporters flock to famous schools to capture pictures of the top scorers and high achievers. The beaming face of the person with the highest number of A’s is normally plastered on front pages followed by statistics showing an increase in the percentage of students scoring a whole string of A’s. What kind of picture are we giving our kids? It is thus not surprising to find students who did not fare well academically committing suicide after collecting their results. A few A’s is no longer enough to satisfy their parents as an increasing number of straight A scorers are produced magically every year.Tell me, what is the logic behind taking so many irrelevant subjects? A person in pure science stream takes Science, which is meant for art stream students.They're all aiming for that extra A, arent they..If u study physics, chem n biology, i believe that Science isnt a hard paper as its about the same as above,except that u study less in depth.

Ask the top scholars a simple question of what do they want to be in the future and not surprisingly, 9 out of 10 will answer confidently “I want to be a doctor.” I fully agree with the writer that some people are in the medical profession just for the money, to make their parents proud and achieve a higher status in life. Is this what the people really need? Doctors mechanically carrying out tasks without any compassion for the patients? Some arrogant doctors even view themselves as superior beings and treat patients according to their financial status.

All in all, I feel that there is over emphasis on academic achievements alone in our country, and this will lead to an unbalanced future generation.