What triggered off this story idea was something we heard, as students collected their ICSE marksheets in one of the schools.

In the midst of rejoicing children, was a young girl who was sitting with her mother, telling her something. In her hands she had her marksheet, and while the mother looked distraught, the girl looked calm and cool. Our curiosity aroused, we sneaked up to hear them and naughtily eavesdropped.

?And Ma, you must be obviously knowing about Bill Gates, how he dropped out of school and look where he is now! I haven?t even dropped out. I have merely stood somewhere near the bottom. Big deal!? she was saying, while we gasped with wonder at her smartness.

Her mother, of course, needed more convincing. For which the girl was more than ready, rattling off names like she was born with them in her head. ?Then there?s Abraham Lincoln, he failed so many times before he went on to be the president, there is Albert Einstein, there?s Pablo Picasso...?

We thought that her mother looked rather vague, but that?s probably because she couldn?t figure out who Picasso was. We, however, were grinning with delight. So busy we had been covering our toppers, we had almost missed out on such beautiful stories.

Stories like these, of this brave young girl, so full of optimism and sense, so sure of making things work for her even if she had fared badly in this one field. There must be so many more like her, maybe giving these very examples, which ought to reach out to all the children and parents out there who had perhaps not thought of such a bright way of looking at things.

While parents agree with this thought, they do feel that schools should put in a little more effort to help out the kids.

?We were hopeful at least the summer vacations would be utilised for some remedial classes, but there was no such attempt from the school?s side,? said Aarti Paul (name changed) whose son had to repeat a term at Carmel Junior College. ?Every child is not equal, so schools should give a little extra time to these students,? is what most parents had to say.

Students, too, agree. ?I have never seen special classes being organised for students who do not perform well,? said Soumya Chanda, a student at Loyola School Some schools though, like ADLS Sunshine English School, have lined up special classes for students who fared poorly. What?s really unfortunate is not just how little is done to help them, but that very often, the special skills such children have are not much encouraged either. Often, not even recognised.

Gaurav Singh (name changed), a Class VIII student in a reputed city missionary school, has won several certificates and medals for his school in the past few years, but each year the number of red lines on his report card only increased.

?My son is not good in academics. He misses classes all through the week as he is practising or participating in some events. But schools hardly take the initiative to compensate for the loss,? his mother rued. This is a common complaint. That schools do little to channelise the special skills that these kids have.

?These days schools wash their hands off saying the child is grown up and that he or she should know what?s good. But along with the parents, it?s also the school?s job to see that every child does well,? said Anjali Nair, whose son too has been missing the score once too often. So what?s the solution? Extra classes? ?Why extra classes if the school teaches properly,? rued R. Sriram, a senior executive at Tata Steel, not too happy at the way her daughter?s education was shaping up.

And about extra classes, there?s another problem. Many students shy away from attending them for the fear of being ridiculed. ?The fear of being ridiculed by fellow classmates is the main reason why most students stay away from extra classes,? said Oindrilla Roy, a Class XI student at a reputed ICSE-affiliated school.

As grades fall, and help seems no where in sight, most turn to tuitions. ?Why not?? argues Sriram. ?If the child is not getting all that?s required in school, tuitions are the only option.? One understands the need for grades, but one wishes that more parents and the kids themselves will dare to soar high and explore newer skies, where so much is waiting to be discovered by them.