The Yardstick

 How are things quantified? How do we know the value of a kilogram of sugar? How do we arrive upon the conclusion as to whether the distance to be travelled is too far or not? It done by the virtue of yardsticks. The Americans measure distance in miles while we do so in kilometers. However, in the end, both parties are able to effectively arrive at a conclusion based on the quantity measured. The effective distance or the mass of the object isn't going to change regardless of whether it is measured in miles or kilometers or pounds or kilograms. Now, this isn't some introductory note to some class on Physics. This is just a clarification that the characteristic feature of an object doesn't change based on the yardstick we use to measure it.

Now we move on to the realm of beings whose origin story itself is highly conflicted. Whether, these beings evolved from monkeys or whether they were crafted by the “All-Knowing One Above” is something that is still debated upon. Now we are different from objects mentioned earlier. We are made of organic entities called cells. As you’re reading this, millions of bio-chemical connections are being formed in your brain which the average human terms as “thoughts”. Our characteristics won’t remain same with the changing yardstick of measurement.

Being societal beings, we are constantly under the pressure to do a lot of things. We were never given a chance to contemplate upon the reasons for doing many of these things. We walk around clothed. None of us came into the world with the notion that covering one’s nudity was a necessity. But somehow, we ended up being clothed. Now, please don’t blame Eve for that. Similarly, we were never given a proper reason behind attending school. Everyone was doing it. So we just followed the same suit.

As the years passed by, I began to question the very essence of schooling. The existence of an institution which measures its students with the yardstick of marks (mere numbers) seemed too minimalistic to be plausible. If that was the case, then the topper must have had life easy in front of him and the supposed “dunce” must be destined for failure. But, upon close probing, that wasn’t the case. The revered topper, who was believed to be at the pinnacle of success, then tumbles down to get caught up in a rat race. The dropouts, often free from the bondages of being reduced to a mere rank or number often go around creating ripples in the society which may be in the form of a start-up that our topper friends probably dream of getting into. Now, as I mentioned earlier, the “dunce” isn’t an actual dunce. He just couldn't cope up with a system that merely reduced him to marks. He had a brain capable of generating ideas that could possibly change the world as we know it. Similarly, we get to see that the topper was actually an entity accustomed to the system.

When subjected to the real life where intelligence isn’t measured by the yardstick of marks, the topper fumbled. It was only then, it dawned upon him that intelligence, in fact, was a spectrum that was a mix of academic, experiences and most of all, the ability of being street smart and in tune with the happenings around him. The topper can’t be blamed for his obliviousness towards the system. After all, he was just a kid stepping into real life. So now we move on to the question as to who is to be blamed. The institution of course, and its idea that its yardstick of measurement was accurate when it was not even close.

I am often fascinated by the things my parents are capable of doing. They are not even close when compared based on marks. But the amount of skills they’ve accumulated over the years is something that never ceases to amaze me. It’s not that my parents are special in any manner. They were subjected to a different education system that didn’t consider marks of utmost importance. They were taught to value experience along with the various modules on their subject. As I just began with my college life, wherein you are responsible for everything starting from your nutrition to your academics, I realized how faulty our yardsticks were. Being the fairly academic student didn’t give me an edge when it came to money management. Being the fairly academic student didn’t give me an upper edge when it came to finding good places to eat or washing my clothes properly.

Hence, it is high time we changed the yardsticks of measurement. As the Internet claims that Albert Einstein said, “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”