CORE AND POLISH

Recently, in a guest lecture session the students asked me about “core and polish”. They wanted to know what is more important, the core or the polish. What matters in the beginning of the career? They also had a bit of confusion about on what they should concentrate. They also told me that they have seen enough examples of successes and failures in each of the above case. 

I was pleasantly surprised at the intensity of the feelings and I answered the question as per my experience. 

The core:

The core is the main part around which a person can develop his character. In human anatomy, core is referred to as ‘body without the arms and legs. However, the functional movements are heavily dependent on the strength of the core. The limbs or the core in isolation cannot produce any worthwhile results. The coordination has to be achieved, sustained and furthered for any success in the life. In sports it is called “hand eye” coordination.

In the context of the students the core is what they have actually have learnt during their education. Their core is made up of subject knowledge combined with acceptable expression. The comprehension of the subject is the prime factor of the core. If the student claims that he is a graduate, he would have to live up to certain expectations. When we talk of core, we sadly have to restrict ourselves to the basic needs. The gap between the good and bad students is huge and there are no plausible solutions to look forward to. The core should be ideally developed from very early days of schooling. If we see around us, we do see some effort in the schools. The students are well behaved and dressed. Generally, believe in their teachers, study and seem to look forward to go to the school. The implicit faith (in Sanskrit called Nishtha) However, when we progress towards the higher education the scene is not so tidy. In almost all education institutions, the attendance of the students is a huge issue. Please remember that we are considering only physical presence. The PPMA variety (physically present mentally absent) is not even mentioned. 

For sustainable core development in a student following aspects need immediate attention. The dismissive attitude of most teachers towards their students leads to a sad teaching exercise. One thing the teachers very conveniently forget is that they are as bad as their students, when they feel that their delivery level is to be decided by the quality of the students. Year after year, if the students are not improving, even after the certified curriculum completion, the only common factor is the teachers. If the teachers feel inadequate to deliver and rigorous introspection is suggested. Whatever quality is presented by the students, certain basics must be maintained. Conversely if the quality of the students is elevated even in a hypothetical case are the teachers equipped to raise their teaching quality? Can a teacher from a city college cope up with students say from IITs or NITs?  If the answer is in the negative the teachers should again seriously introspect. Teachers are compared to god and god does not differentiate when He gives all His things. The sunlight or the rains are same for all. If the performance of the teachers is to be rated by the response of the students we are heading for a big trouble. The students have no choice once they are admitted.

There is no thought on the core development, but most of the institutions and their decision makers like to talk about it. The effort is costly, time consuming, most times results are pathetic. Sadly, in most cases both stake holders are not interested. The belief levels are very low. “That if I do something good, I may get good results” is not an ‘in’ thing. Because there is no belief, the start itself does not take place and if at all it does start, it falls down flat at the first possible hurdle. To accompany there is usual blah-blah of positive talking, by most negative human variety. All these result in a slow and painful death of the project, person and in some cases even an organization.

Core development is slow process, but it is a must for any future possibilities for students.

The core may be is a combination of: 

1. The basic knowledge of the subject.

2. Interaction of the subject with other subjects in the course.

3. Correct usage and application of the terms in practical conditions. Minimum they should know the definition, scope, limitations and of course, the application of the concepts.

4. Requisite expertise in the presentation of the subject.

5. Physical attributes.

Most students feel that they have all of the above and proceed to get a job. All their confidence evaporates extremely fast and what is left subsequently is not even worth mentioning. When they are most shattered, they are most vulnerable. In comes the gang of Personality Development, English Speaking and Finishing classes and they literally haunt the poor students who are devoid of sufficient skills, support and space. Barring a few institutions majority of the above classes are certain to exploit and may even cheat the students. Very few have any definite plan for training or in worse cases they start for looking for the trainers after some admissions. What would be the fate of such students should be a foregone conclusion. 

Polish: 

The polishing is a surface phenomenon. Even to get a good surface, treatment the surface has to be meticulously prepared. Ask any painter. He would vouch for this. It is also painful, but somehow the results are more apparent. It is more visible, sometimes can create favorable impressions but by itself the polishing is certainly incomplete. One cannot polish in isolation. The polishing is a temporary process, and has to be repeated at regular intervals. The frequency of the process depends upon the quality of surface, polish and process itself. There is nothing like permanently polished human material. This is forgotten and the students are literally dragged into the whirlpool. Once inside there is very little control either by way of the students or the teachers. It is somehow imbibed on the minds of the students that polishing is easy, automatic and long lasting. The students realize at a later stage that on all three accounts the polishing in isolation miserably fails.

The value of polishing as a process is visible in the initial part of the interaction with the interviewers or the superiors, which may be in the form of a viva, presentation, GD or a PI. The polished person can create suitable initial impression and may get a chance for a further detailed discussion resulting in the success of the interaction. But if the polish is not supported by a solid core of knowledge the process heads for an irreversible failure. 

Concept of Polished Core

To get a good response in the placement process or appraisals, a concept of polished core is extremely important. It is represented by a person having correct posture, behavioral patterns, acceptable levels of communication, etiquettes, and presentation skills and most importantly a pleasant disposition. The combined effect of all the above creates a favorable ground, where he can sow the seeds of his core contents. The people with a polished core can literally rule the world of business, education, corporate world. How many times we have seen the ridicule showered on those occupying very high places that lack either of the above, namely core or polish?

To conclude it is suggested that the students right from their school days must be made aware about the importance of the polishing skills but they must be taught that they have to ensure that they have very strong core built up and competency. 

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