A Message to the Parents Awaiting Their Children’s Final High School Results

Thanaweya Amma – Egypt’s public and national high school system – is expected to release final GPAs on the 20th of July. The process of Thanaweya Amma’s final exams, alongside the results of the students who participated are annual phenomenons, intensely followed by everyone in Egypt.

Indeed, ‘El Tansee2’ – the process used by universities determine the minimum required GPAs required to access certain faculties and majors, in accordance with the general national average of results. For example, if average results are generally low, then competitive faculties like medicine, engineering, and political science will on-average lower the GPA requirements for these faculties.

These are not the only reasons, however, as to per why people follow Thanwayea Amma’s news religiously, there is also the added factor of sheer panic over children’s future. While I completely do understand where parents are coming from, I think the level of panic surrounding this whole affair is far too problematic .

Firstly, and quite honestly, the university major you select in any country – especially in Egypt – does not guarantee anything. It does not guarantee a certain salary nor a certain level of success if the student in question were to pursue a career path related to his/her field of study nor does it even guarantee that the student in question will be happy with his/her chosen field of study for life.

Although reality tells parents that all these lack of guarantees represent are more real than their extreme panic, parents still choose to give them anxiety attacks over one or two percent difference in their child’s final GPA.

Secondly, I think that what parents do unconsciously in such situation is transfer these elevated level of panics to their teenage children. At the end of the day, we ought not forget that these children are still mere kids, and of course they are not as fully cognizant of the future as you are 40 or 50 something year old self is.

Thirdly, and consequently, please stop calling your kids “irresponsible”and “ungrateful”, especially when they have done the best they could do and have given Thanweya Amma their 120%. All this does is make your kids feel bitter, as if they have  already disappointed you, without you even seeing the final results nor the Tansee2.

Finally, stop projecting your dreams and insecurities on to your children. There are successful people in life who are neither engineers nor doctors. There are successful people in life who are not even university graduates. Parents need to remember that what is even more important than their definition of what it means to be successful, is their children’s happiness and mental well – being.

Even when and if your kids chose to be irresponsible, and disregard their Thanaweya Amma grades, this is not the end of the world. Given their age and energy, it is literally just the beginning of life.

WE SAID THIS: Please stop treating 16 year old children, like they are 40 something year old adults who have failed at life.