The Paradox of Ambition (Edtech perspective)
Ambition takes up an interesting spot on the rather large arc of emotions.
On one hand, it acts as a provider of hope, and on the other, it acts as a fertile ground for reason and purpose.
Reason and Purpose are two different things, and not just in their application in the path to ambition, but, in the intensity of the feelings they evoke.
For example, a Reason to study could arise from a short term need — it could be society, parents or peer driven, or, it could even be a cause or a justification to an action (in this case, the story that we all are told sounds something like, ‘What will you do if you don’t study?’) however, Purpose is often attached to a singular goal.
When you seek Purpose, you start from one or many Reasons. These reasons could be — a trigger, a situation or anything else that propels you to think in a slightly larger fashion. And, your Purpose in life could take various meanings and paths, depending on where you start and how defined your reasons for that goal are. But often, there is one singular purpose behind all tangible progress that you wish to see.
For students, aspiring to begin their professional journey, could have various reasons behind the choice but it seldom is detached from the real singular purpose. For some, that purpose is simply understood and verbalised as ‘becoming financially independent’ followed by the ‘need of feeling fulfilled’ and/or ‘the feeling of being validated’.
Let’s talk about Validation for a moment. Validation can take several forms, but it usually starts from feeling validated at home. For example, doing better than my parents financially (or in any sense of economic opportunities) becomes the central idea around which young adults seek their first set of validation.
Freeing the Self or Parents from their current financial limitations becomes an important goal-post and this lays the foundation of deriving Purpose. Thoughts begin to solidify and mental language of “doing something better” starts to form. Sometimes, more than the economic progress, purpose evolves to ‘liberate’ the family from a limited means and way of life. Nevertheless, any progress made towards this ambition starts to feel rewarding and gives a sense of fulfilment, even though nothing has been achieved yet. This can be generalised as a placebo effect, and briefly put, it is ‘not’ helpful. It makes you think that you’ve progressed but there is no tangible progress in reality. What you have achieved is really just the mental literature of the ‘intent to achieve’. Having a mental goal is important, but recognising the Planning Fallacy can help you stay on the track of ‘doing’ things instead of ‘imagining’ to do things.
Well, Ambition is paradoxical. The good part is that the more you strive for something, the more it pushes you to explore outside your mental boundaries and the more fulfilling that process becomes, but on the other hand, failure hits harder too.
In India, the lived reality of dealing with failure takes a grim picture when students feel the negative pressure when they fail at their ambitious goal of hitting a certain scorecard. Ironically, in common parlance, ‘feeling ambitious’ also gives off a negative vibe and sets the play at a weak start by calling something ‘ too ambitious’ and implying that the effort/ability required to reach that goal could be more than one is able to offer.
The larger point in this context is the intention we attach to ambition. If the intention to succeed is rooted in desire for Progress, Learning, Challenge for the self and healthy striving, then the experience will feel more rewarding. But, if the intent behind the ambition has undertones of Fear, Inadequacy and Guilt then the same journey will feel exponentially unrewarding.
In the context of the booming EdTech industry in India, these realities need acknowledgement. I’m made aware that I am a product of privilege and I write from my rosy lens where I’ve had access to education and even though affordability was challenged, my parents still pulled through and gave me a platform to learn, and experience the power of education. However, a significantly large population still vies for the basic right to education, access and environment. The rise of the middle class is encouraging but the disparity of income between the rich and the poor has widened and with this I bring your attention to how this affects the education system and its repercussions.
I would fast-forward from the bureaucratic ways of standardised K12 education that India (like may other countries) feel challenged with, straight to the phase where most students feel dejected for most part of the journey — the competitive test prep phase.
The minimum requirements to apply for competitive exams start from the fact that preparing for entrance exams are rooted in privilege. The learning spectrum is expensive to say the least. The social costs of pursuing a prep test feel more expensive than the monetary costs. For example, in the cost of travelling to the coaching centre, the cost of fuel feels less expensive than the cost of danger involved in commuting in the wee hours, owing to the early morning dedication that test-prep centres demand. The effect of these choices are magnified for the female test taker in any city. Another example from a female pov- The cost of not finding a travel buddy to commute to the same centre seems insignificant at first but becomes an eventual barrier to the process. “How do I travel if I don’t have the means, or the permission, or the lack of public transport in wee hours to the centre? Am I making a safe choice for myself by choosing to travel alone? Do I trust the route I take? Do I have an alternative to reaching there which involves less risk?” Non-pedagogical questions like these feel more pervasive than the questions related to the curriculum.
Similarly, the cost of not being able to afford extra classes which invariably pulls rank in the peer-hierarchy at class feels more incriminating than the cost of paying for the fees itself.
It suffices to say that the test-prep phase is a long and tiring journey for an average student in Bharat, and Ambition plays an important part in preparing the youth better. And, EdTech today does not only need to think laterally about expanding the market, but also think about expanding Ambition and helping youth to design their own narrative about their Purpose. Teaching them with tools and tactics to reimagine their lives is paramount, and this can be achieved by guiding them to dream bigger, strive mindfully and chase healthy goals. To help them create a future that is motivated with ambition, purpose and the right environment, it needs as much hand-holding to impart professional guidance as it screams the need for innovation. Edtech in India might have had a better head start for now but will require more disruption than ever. So much to do and further to go.
