When should one start preparing for professional courses? - Part II

My previous blog post " Preparing for professional course, when should one start? received several helpful comments from parents and friends through mail and face book. Thanks for all the views and opinions that each one has given me. This made me get a better perspective and was really helpful.

Listed below are some of the opinions.
1. There is no need to start so very early.
2. This would put a lot of pressure on the child
3. Children at this stage cannot decide or will not be clear about the course that they prefer
4. Parents are the best judges to decide for the child.
5. The child should be the decision maker on what field he or she wants. We, as parents need to just be there to guide them.
6. Is it mandatory for a child to choose the traditional professional course at all?

We therefore thought that the best course of action was to clarify our doubts through the Programme Co-ordinator. A session was therefore arranged by the school. We were told that the CBSE curriculum for lower grades has been diluted over a period of time in order to cater to all IQ levels. However, those children who would like to pursue professional courses after their eleventh and twelfth grades need to be prepared to take up exams at a competitive level. 

As schools will not be able to fill this lacunae, children need that extra coaching. We were also told that in these classes children get to learn from a different perspective when it comes to solving problems. It would be more of analytical and logical thinking. Also children would get to know where their strength lies and hence prepare accordingly.

After this session we as a family had a discussion and the outcome was :

1. It is best to get a general idea of how challenging a subject can be and how he can work through it.

2. Let him have the opportunity to explore his own strengths and work on his weaknesses.

3. Finally, provide him with this opportunity and see if he likes it.

4. This would be part of his learning process and could be a stepping stone for the future course of action. 

We decided, as parents, we can only be instruments of guidance and help provide opportunities for our children. After this it is left to the child to understand and go through this process of learning and try and achieve whatever goals that he or she sets. After all I guess isn't that what life is all about? Learning continuously and discovering oneself?