Values are More Important than Marks

It was the time when I was in Class 11. I was not very good in academics. I hardly read my course books. I preferred reading books that were not in my syllabus — sometimes stories from Panchatantra, Jataka Tales, stories from the Mahabharata, biographies of Swami Vivekananda and Dayanand Saraswati Ji. I read that kind of stuff.

And then our Half-yearly exams started.

And to others' surprise, I did exceptionally well in all subjects except Maths. I got only 41 out of 100 in Maths. Then I became a topic of discussion among students.

How?

Haha, because I was hardly ever seen reading course books, so how did I get good marks?

That day we were shown our answer sheets. In our time, teachers hardly increased marks, and if you went to them repeatedly, they deducted marks. But my case was different. My actual marks in Economics were 51, but my teacher, Sethi Sir, had given me 61. I went to his chair and said, "Sir, there is an error in totalling. My marks are 51, but you have mistakenly given me 61."

He smiled and said, "Well done, beta. I like your honesty." Then he appreciated me in front of the entire class. It was the first time I was appreciated by any teacher. Otherwise, I was always scolded or beaten for not doing Homework on time. Specifically, I got beaten by our Punjabi Teacher because I never learn the homework he gave. But those words from Sethi Sir left a deep impact on my heart. I learned that honesty is more important than marks, and therefore I should focus more on honesty.

A simple gesture taught me a life lesson and a value.

And now at this moment when I am writing this, I think about our present time. Parents are hardly concerned about values. Sorry to say, but it is true. As a teacher, I have not seen any parent who asks me how his child behaves in class. They never ask if their child respects elders or not. Their only concern is marks, success and achievements.

Don't they think that success without values will only create a chaotic and self-centric society?

Please do appreciate your kids when they do household work, when they respect an elder. Celebrate that too just like the way you celebrate when your child got 1st position or good marks in Board class. 

Let's bring the change.