This is the sentence that impressed me most in the movie "Starting Line". Whether you agree or disagree, any responsible parent will give top priority to their child's education. This is not only a problem of education in India, but also a problem that many Chinese parents are struggling with and worrying about.
Pia, the little girl in Starting Line, was born into a middle-class family. Her father, Raj, is a successful garment merchant, but he was born into the ordinary urban class and speaks Hindi. Mithu, the beautiful educated English-speaking wife, is unable to make it to the upper class on her own. So she tries hard to get her daughter to study in Delhi Grammar School, a top educationally prestigious school in the capital city of Delhi.
For the promise of love to his wife and for the future of his daughter, Raj goes to great lengths. They move house, become neighbors with upper class people, enroll their daughter in expensive training schools, make connections and look for a back door, but none of it works out as they had hoped. When they learned that the school would have a handful of slots for poor students each year. They do not hesitate to put aside their own privileged environment and go to live in the slums. Finally, they helped their daughter to win the enrollment qualification.
The days they lived in the slums, the kind-hearted Shyam's family took the initiative to help them fetch water, buy food, and help find a job....... Shyam even risked his life to help Raj get his daughter's tuition on the road. And after their son similarly failed to apply to the school, he reassured his child "You are the luckiest child, the acceptance or non-acceptance of the school does not determine whether you are lucky or not, it is the school's luck that is too bad."
Poverty is like that, there is no qualification for great joy and sorrow
Perhaps it is poverty that teaches them to cherish the life in front of them, and to smile in the face of whatever situation they face. Raj was touched by the arrival of Shyam, who anonymously sponsored the local public school with a large sum of money. When Shyam goes to thank his benefactor, he realizes that he has been cheated. Raj is a rich man and it was this man who stole his son's enrollment. He had wanted to take revenge but chose to forgive and give up after seeing Pia. His culmination and generosity is not diminished by his poverty, but rather by the fact that he is able to choose to think of others despite being in such a bad situation himself, which makes him seem so noble.
Poverty does not diminish, wealth is kind. Raj himself went and admitted his mistake to the principal and wanted the qualification to be given back to Shyam's son. After being rejected, he resolutely offered to give up further schooling. On his own initiative, he transferred his daughter to a public school. For the essence of education is first and foremost to teach a child to be an honest and good person. As a qualified father, he is the best example for his child. Although the ending of the movie is too idealized, but after watching it, it still gives birth to a lot of feelings.
In fact, the so-called starting line is a product of the anxiety of middle-class parents themselves. Because the original is not very good family conditions, most rely on their own hard work, in the community to occupy a place. So I hope their children can suffer less. Have a good learning environment, receive quality education, the future can be in the life of the road smoothly. But life can not be without wind and waves, even if you can wish to go to a famous school, the future career success, or in the upper class have enough say, it does not mean that life is a complete success.
The principal in the movie is a good example. She was fortunate to enter a prestigious school as a poor student, struggled all the way and finally became a person with a voice. However, she is not capable of breaking away from the class thinking that has been customary in this society for thousands of years, and really make some contribution to education, and fight for more fair education opportunities for poor children, and in the end, she is also reduced to a so-called elitist who discriminates against the poor.
Poverty is not scary, what is scary is the poverty of one's way of thinking. Perhaps defining one's life according to popular preferences and lifestyles is a hopeless choice. However, the good or bad situation does not completely determine the quality of life. To a large extent, human happiness index is negatively correlated with desire. The stronger the desire, the easier it is to fall into the predicament of disappointment. It will also make life gloomy because of this dissatisfaction. Poverty has no qualifications, great joy and great sorrow , and may not be a bad thing. Because a calm mind is supposed to be the key to make yourself happy.
As a mother, I want to do my best to give my child the best education possible. But I would like to teach her that there is no need to be happy or sad, whether she is poor or rich, in good times or bad. Because life is a long road, and although everyone has a different starting line, there's no need to fight to win or lose so early. The finish line is always there, in a long marathon, do not have to rush to finish. Whether it is fast or slow, it is the process of moving forward step by step. Don't fight yourself when you're tired, adjust your breathing, slow down, and take a look at the scenery around you. Enjoy the time alone with yourself while running. Cherish your fellow runners who are beside you. Congratulate those who run faster than you and thank them for leading the way. Bless those who are behind you and cheer them on! Every step in this process, if you can run well in a practical manner, then this life should be without regret. There is no great sadness or joy, but it will certainly be subdued and beautiful!