I have more potential than you!!

     A 'google' result defines potential as something '  existing in possibility : capable of development into actuality'. So I wonder, if potential is something that exists in possibility,  then how is it that some child would have greater potential than the other.

   During my parent-teacher meetings, my chemistry teacher would always say ‘she has the potential to do much better’ and I would always think to myself ‘then why is it that I never do well?’ I answered the question for myself. Yes, I did have the potential of doing much better in chemistry, but what I didn’t have was the interest. Chemical reactions to me meant nothing more than visual imagery and so that was the reason I would hardly open my chemistry book to study. On the other hand, while I didn’t open my chemistry book,I did open my math book. Numbers fascinated me, solving a question and getting the correct answer gave me a high. So yes, I did have the potential in me to do well. What differed was my ‘agency’!

    Each child possesses the same potential and I actually believe that each one of us possess infinite potential. What differs is his or her inclination. So while you can have a poverty stricken man from a village in Bihar answer questions about world history, or a small town belle waltz her way to success or people from the tiniest districts exhibiting extraordinary musical talents or a small town boy captain the Indian Cricket team, you can also have people from  the richest backgrounds not being able to come up despite all the facilities given to them. In fact two children from the same house, having the same facilities might be completely different from each other. One could be exceptional in Physics, the other could be a great sarod player.

   Having said that, there are no two ways about the fact that the environment given to a child hugely determines his or her proficiency at a skill,but that is because those skills have been honed and polished because of the resources available. Each child starts off with the same potential, obviously with different interests, but how well his or her potential is tapped is the question.