A Better Life Ahead

                    This month we, the third year students of Cavite National Science High School had our National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE). It was an eye dropping test from Grammar to Verbal to 0IISS. Not just that, examinees also undergo time pressure for there is an allotted time in every part of the test. Apart from that, nervousness crept in the examinees worrying about the results of their exam. Getting a move on what is NCAE’s importance in a student’s life?

            The purpose of the NCAE is to help students determine which courses they should study in college and what sort of career they are best suited for. Like many standardized tests, the NCAE measures students' general scholastic knowledge. However, the NCAE also tests vocational aptitude, occupational preferences and entrepreneurial skills. One of the reasons the NCAE was developed was to address the issue of unemployment due to workers getting mismatched with the wrong careers. The hope is that by determining which careers they are ideally suited for, students can plan a course of study that will give them the skills and education they will need for their ideal careers. NCAE test results are only one part of the bigger picture in determining the best career fit for a student. Students shouldn't make major decisions based on NCAE results alone. Their entire school career as well as their own goals and interests should be considered when deciding on a course of study and a career.

            When “dreaming” is applied to our waking lives, though, its meaning changes. Having a guide in your dream comes to refer to an aspiration, a goal, or an aim. Motivational speakers delight in exporting their packaged inspirational messages through catchy sayings like “Dream Big to Succeed”. The problem with using this term is that it also bears connotations to the unattainable--it can be used to describe a wild or vain fantasy. I associate “dreaming” with the imagination. It is not an aspiration I can work to achieve, but rather an ideal with a minute chance of coming true. I dream of winning the lottery one day and leave it up to fate to determine whether or not it will happen.

            Goals, on the other hand, seem to be more concrete. They can be reached through hard work and calculated planning. By carrying out specific actions, it is possible to come to a desired goal. While goals can be accomplished, dreams are often relegated to bedtime and the imagination.