Straight A culture

In recent times, I find it really strange that more and more parents are obsessed with their children attaining as many As as possible in school and public examinations. What's the deal anyway?
It is true that this is not a new phenomenon as when I was in school aeons ago, my father expected good results from me and often, relatives would ask me 'How many As did you get?" whenever the public examinations results are out.
However, the situation now has worsen. Children as young as four years old were expected to get excellent academic results in kindy/nursery or else face the wrath of their parents.
This is scary! These parents, presumably, thought the stress they place on their children was just a way to ensure their children have a brighter future; albeit with good academic results.
Well, hello there! Straight-A students may not necessarily become hugely successful while Bs and Cs students don't always end up as roadside sweepers or beggars. In case they haven't noticed, Bill Gates dropped out of college and was not a straight A student. Okay, some may say it is an isolated special case, let's look a little closer to home.
The late Loh Boon Siew (famous tycoon in Penang) was not educated and look how he ended up. There are also quite a lot of owners of huge local corporations from developers to factories who are not highly educated. Some couldn't even speak proper English! They were not straight A students and yet they are so successful they formed big corporations and some of these companies are even listed.
So, what's this preoccupation and obsession over academic achievements? According to a child psychiatrist, this undue stress and pressure on children to perform well academically from such a tender age will only cause more damage to the child. In some extreme cases, five and six year olds have been known to want to commit suicide because of all the stress over their academic achievements.
These children are robbed of their childhood thanks to the endless tuition classes, homeworks and whatnots to ensure they earn more As.
Where is the time for them to play, to imagine, to be children?
Where is the time for them to be creative, to express themselves, to build their own self esteem, to enjoy the fun part of life?
Why are young children being taught that life is all about getting As in examinations? Whatever happened to taking time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life such as enjoying nature with a walk in the park? Or reading storybooks for enjoyment and not for academic purposes? Or going for a picnic by the beach? Or even playing badminton with the neighbourhood children?
Are the children being taught the right thing at all with all this exam-orientated obsession? Are they taught to form their own opinions, to troubleshoot problems and try to solve it on their own, to be more creative, to interact well with others, to be kind to others, to question whatever is told to them instead of just memorising whatever the teacher said?
What about basic living skills such as how to communicate with others, good manners, knowing right from wrong, etc?
It is no wonder that company managers are complaining that uni graduates of today, especially those with straight As in school, have virtually no interpersonal skills and when it comes to problem solving or brainstorming sessions, they are at a total loss.
Why? Simple, it is because they were taught from young to just memorise facts and score As. They were taught to be like computers via tuitions and extra classes. They were not given a chance to think for themselves, to question, to voice out and to form their own opinions.
Of course, our education system is partly to be blamed but if most parents seemed to think that scoring As is the be all and end all, then, it isn't only the government's fault. It is everyone's fault.
This is indeed sad. So, I make this solemn promise to my son and any other children I may have in future that I would never force them to get As in their exams. Sure, education is important but living life to to the fullest is more important.

I would never rob them of their childhood.