Contest crazy schools

The pandemic has brought about a sudden shift from the classroom culture in schools to online classes in home comfort. It appears to be becoming the new normal. It may not be long before we are left with only fond memories of the school days. Along with the regular timetable, parents would be invited regularly for interaction with the teachers and the correspondent. They would chip in with their views on important issues concerning the students.

It was the usual parents-teachers meeting for kindergarten students. Every month, invariably, the last Sunday was earmarked for this event, or ritual, if one may call it. Strangely, the school authorities had some issue or the other to hark upon and advise the parents on the areas of concern in bringing up the children. Sometimes, it was the unbridled access to the television sets that hampered the children’s academic progress; sometimes, it was the smartphones that the doting parents pampered their children with. The reception at the gates would start with a bang, with the correspondent welcoming all with a big smile, followed by a sumptuous breakfast.

As usual, the cyclostyled letter with the date and time of the meeting was sent to all the parents. This time they had to be accompanied by their wards. The footnote at the bottom read “contests for parents with exciting prizes to be won.” What contest the school would hold for parents? I thought aloud. My colleague, whose son studied in the same class as my daughter, remarked that they may have a quiz competition to test our knowledge or even ask us to sing a song. Being contest crazy, I jocularly stated that even if we were required to shake a leg, I would go for it provided there was an open competition and prizes were on the cards. My colleague burst out laughing. Breakfast over, we proceeded for the meeting.

The correspondent readout, “Henceforth, we propose to hold contests exclusively for parents during every meeting. It is for fun but with a purpose, and we encourage parents to whole-heartedly take part. Participants may be required to complete some well-known quotes, correct some grammatically incorrect sentences or write multiplication tables. Are you game for it?” he asked, casting a searching look around and then announced a nursery rhyme contest for the parents.

Many were seen squirming in their seats at the unexpected announcement. My colleague promptly stood up. He appeared to be the lone contestant sure to win, hands down. “For a healthy contest, there should be at least two participants,” the correspondent remarked, scanning the register where my colleague was entering the personal details and smiled at me. My colleague had entered my name in the first place before entering his.