by Shubhanshu Shukla’s Moon Challenge Leaves Children Questioning Career Choices
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s school visit took an unexpected turn this week when his attempt at inspirational speaking devolved into what educational psychologists are calling “aggressive motivation” after he challenged students to literally compete with him in reaching the moon.
“Aim for the moon! Compete with me!” Shukla declared to an auditorium of bewildered 12-year-olds, most of whom were still struggling with algebra and hadn’t yet considered aerospace engineering as a career path, let alone direct competition with trained astronauts.
The speech, intended to inspire the next generation of scientists, instead left many students wondering if they should just give up now. “I was thinking maybe I’d be a doctor,” explained seventh-grader Priya Sharma, “but apparently that’s not good enough. Now I’m supposed to beat an actual astronaut to the moon? I haven’t even gotten my driver’s license.”
Dr. Vikram Patel, Professor of Motivational Overreach at the Delhi School of Reasonable Expectations, noted that while astronaut visits typically inspire students, challenging children to compete with trained professionals in reaching celestial bodies represents “a slight miscalculation in age-appropriate goal-setting.”
According to sources present at the event, Shukla’s speech included detailed descriptions of his rigorous training regimen, including centrifuge tests, zero-gravity simulations, and advanced physics coursesall delivered with the subtext of “catch me if you can, kids.”
One student raised his hand to ask if maybe they could start with something more achievable, like a science fair project, but was told that “the moon doesn’t care about your comfort zone.”
Parents leaving the event were overheard frantically googling “child psychologist” and “realistic career expectations.”
At press time, local tutoring centers reported a 300% increase in inquiries about astrophysics courses for elementary school students, though most parents were also researching “how to gently crush your child’s impossible dreams.”
SOURCE: Bohiney.com (Radhika Vaz)
