Suicidal tendencies in the student world are not extremely rare but they are something that occurs at the more senior level, like college. The recent incident was devastating but I am not surprised.
I remember how much pressure I was under when it was my time to sit the SEA exam. My parents wanted me to go to a "good" school, where I could associate myself with noble individuals and become somebody significant later on. They made me understand why it was necessary for me to attend what they called a desirable school. I thought to myself, why can't this be possible at any school that I went to? I am only 12 years-old. Why must there be such a distinct division?
When I wrote the SEA exam, this is how it worked: my parents chose three schools they thought were the best options and my scores would determine my fate. Unequivocally, I understood the situation and executed my task with precision. Basically, the smarter kids are sent to the better more celebrated schools where opportunity and the realisation of greatness were more likely. The other kids were placed in schools with a caliber of students similar to themselves.
Although I understood its purpose, I was never a big fan of standardised tests. Einstein said it best: "Everybody 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."
These young students are not given the same opportunity and schools are not given equal funds. In the United States, your geographic location determines where you go to school, not how well you score on an exam that you take when you are 12 years-old. Of course, there are still high rates of failure and delinquency as there are high degrees of success, but at least children are given an equal opportunity at that age.
With all things considered, everything I have attained and able to accomplish thus far, I would safely say that the SEA examination was the most important exam I took in my life and the results were a major contributing factor to my success. I truly understand the pressure the young ones are being put under.
Akeem Deacon,
via e-mail