The Hindu Business Line : `We know what we want'

Call them what you will, but today's teenagers know their minds, especially when it comes to choosing their careers. They definitely don't need their parents to think for them.

Helping your eldest to pick a college is one of the greatest educational experiences of life — for the parents. Next to trying to pick his bride, it's the best way to learn that your authority, if not entirely gone, is slipping fast," say Sally and James Reston.

But then you can interpret this quote in a more flattering way to suit today's teenagers. Rather than call them rebellious individuals who don't need or think they don't need your help, you can call them people who know their minds.

Today's teenagers don't need their parents to think for them. Focus is something that you tend to associate increasingly with many youngsters.

Interestingly, there does seem to be a gender divide — at least in the beginning. Girls seem to have a clear focus on what they want to do by the time they enter high school, says Vidya, a teacher in a Chennai school. Girls, even in Class IX, seem to be very clear about their career options, and they build on this clarity.

The boys, generally speaking, are playful even in Class X — which is a defining moment — in terms of having to choose a career. The marks they secure in the board exam at the end of this academic year determine their choices. As a group, boys seem to be casual, up to the month of November or so, for that matter. Come January and they are bucking up. And there's a miraculous change in their Class-XII phase.

Vidya feels today's teenagers are very savvy about career options — what course to apply for and in which college; what facilities are available and what they cost. Whether it is from seniors or peers or through the ubiquitous Internet, children in this age group are very well-informed. She adds that the children in her school work towards awards while in school because they know these details will lend weight and value to their CV.

And who inspires these teenagers? Mostly it is their own parents, as far as her school is concerned, says Vidya.

Educated and cultured, both mum and dad shine in their jobs and the social circuit, and become natural role models for their children.

Coming to what the teenagers themselves say, for most of them who are in the Class-XII phase, doing an engineering course, especially at one of the IITs, seems to be the main ambition. For instance, Harish Srinivasan, who has just passed Class X, CBSE, from a Chennai-based school, is clear on his goal: IIT. His parents approve too but haven't put undue pressure on him. He realised early on what it would entail, and has worked towards this from Class VIII or so. Also, senior students of his school have been a source of motivation. Medicine comes a close second as a career option. Shruti, who has just completed Class X, knows what she wants — a career in medicine. Others chose options such as law.

What roles do parents play in the choice of a career? Sometimes it is significant. Children do sometimes feel a subtle and indirect pressure to take after the profession of their parents. A chartered accountant or a lawyer or a doctor parent, can sometimes make the choice for their kids — simply because they need to hand over the family business to the next generation.

Of course, there are others who allow their teenagers the freedom and don't interfere in the choice — never mind if it is not conventional.

For instance, B. Desikan, who has cleared Class X from a State Board school in Chennai, wants a career in archaeology. Riyaz is eyeing a career — you simply can't guess this one — in snake catching. He wants to become a herpetologist. Some opt for careers relating to fashion, physiotherapy and speech therapy too.

From the parents' point of view, all the right things are said: We give our children the freedom to make up their mind, but then we must also guide them on what is best for them. Some parents do admit to putting pressure on the children, but perhaps few teenagers today opt for something they feel they cannot do.

One worried parent, R. Srinivasan, has a word of warning. He says some schools, especially CBSE ones, give children the impression that they need to concentrate on IIT/medicine options far more vigorously than they should on the school board exams.

But should they fail to bag engineering/medical seats, there's nothing to fall back on, if their marks in the school leaving-exams turn out to be unimpressive.

And then there are the students who remain in the `confused lot' category too, with parents and providence nudging them in turn towards their unfixed goal.

Asked for her take on how focused teenagers are in deciding their options, Dr V. Sujatha, a sociology lecturer, says the concept of education has gained tremendous importance over the years. With specific reference to Tamil Nadu, she cites an interesting development.

Earlier, the rank-holders in board exams were mostly from the metros, but in the last few years, she sees a `widely distributed pattern,' with teenagers from smaller towns and cities, even relatively backward areas, emerging top performers. Often, these are first-generation learners. Education, she says, has become a vehicle of economic mobility for the less privileged classes.

So, today's youngsters know their mind and can act on it too. And they can often demonstrate a surprising clarity that belies their tender age.

A friend recalled how he had quizzed the six-year-old daughter of a cousin: What would you like to become once you grow up?

Fully expecting to hear one of the conventional answers, he was flabbergasted when the child replied: "Ask me when I'm 19."

That was several years ago. But perhaps he doesn't need to wait any longer to call up this young lady now in her early teens.

Picture by Sandeep Saxena

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