Upon returning from school, my son immediately rushed towards me sobbing. His tears scared me off making me run my hands all around his body in the search of a bleeding wound. Alas! Instead of a bruise, I found his test scores. To my amazement, these tears were not because of failing the course, but because of not scoring the highest. Wiping off his tears, I smiled at him telling him that success and intelligence is not always measured by scores. It is the effort, the dreams and the hard work which counts because grades do not reflect a person’s capability. I told him that his mother doesn’t always want him to score the highest in class. Instead, she wants his son to try his level best in whatever he does. His mother wants him to be an honest happy man in whatever field he opts for.
While assuring my son, I thought about a similar situation; much worse than this. I still remember those days when my teachers used to advise my parents to consult a psychologist guessing that I was suffering from dyscalculia because of continuously failing Mathematics. Upon the diagnosis of the guessed learning disability, my teachers became skeptical about a successful life. Despite living in such an air of disgrace, my parents never showed a hint of sadness. All they used to say was that I was capable of doing anything; even if it meant to become the President. They had hope; an unshakable faith in me and probably it was this behavior which encouraged me to become what I am today. At times, their extra efforts of saving money for my tuitions and consulting the best psychologists in town made me guilty of burdening them with my disability, but their hope was a constant doze of encouragement. Soon, the guilt and self pity faded when I started improving in Mathematics. Although, I did not score the highest in the area where I lacked, I was successful in entering university. This progress did not only made my parents happy, but also made me realize that they were right when they told me that not doing good in mathematics did not mean I also lacked in other disciplines. They were right; today, I am well known writer!
Fred Rogers correctly says: “No child is perfectly whole in mind, body, spirit, ability nor can any child meet all of a parent's hopes and expectations. Yet there is a wholeness of each and every child, a wholeness that is unique and brings with it a unique set of possibilities and limitations, a unique set of opportunities for fulfillment” (Gill B., 1997). My success is not only because of my skills but mainly because of that hope and faith of my parents which remained intact throughout the ups and downs of my life. It was their belief and trust which encouraged me to continue struggling to put in all the efforts in the field I chose.
Reference
Gill, B. (1997). Changed by a child: companion notes for parents of a child with a disability. Ontario: Doubleday.
