Competitive Exams / Interesting Exams?

Here is a comprehensive list of all the interesting exams for 2017 !!
https://simcc.org/contest/
Yes, I prefer to call them “Interesting” rather than “Competitive”.
Please read further in case you are not sure whether you should enroll your child for some of these exams or not.

What do we want our children to master during their foundation years?

To learn class notes, mug up answers at least 5 times and sit for an exam which is based only on these questions. Is this really learning? Are we really training their minds ?
I am not against traditional learning. Class notes are very important, they connect things in a structured way. However, that is not the only thing they need out of their 15 to 20 years of education.
I believe that we should help our children in mastering these 2 skills:
– Art of Learning
– Art of Problem Solving
This can be done by attempting non-routine problems that are a part of such ‘interesting’ exams.
Few parents have a very valid concern for not enrolling their children for such exams.

They say, “Kids are already so busy with their studies, we don’t want to add to their burden “. Agree, we should not add it as a burden on them.’
We have so strongly coupled “result” and “exam” that at first sight, we don’t see any connection in “learning” and “exam”.
If we tell our kids that ‘I am enrolling you for this exam not to win any medal, but simply because I think you will really learn cool things while preparing for it. So, just focus on learning a) how to learn & b) how to solve problems.’
This will take away all the burden off their shoulders and yours as well.
You don’t need to register for any preparatory classes for the same. Just buy few good books and start playing with the challenging problems.
In the long run, ‘bad results with rich learning’ is a better combination compared to ‘good results with poor learning’.
Wish all the children ‘the joy of learning’ !