Ability vs expectation

Owen Speid, Guest Columnist

Martin Luther King Jr once said, "It's all right to tell a man to lift himself by his own bootstraps, but it is cruel just to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps." We, as responsible adults, should at least try to give our students a chance to improve their God-given talents.

Perennial data have shown that there is a large cohort of our student population in Jamaica who will, for a long time, perform poorly in the academic subjects because of reasons beyond and above their control.

Since I wrote the article 'ISSA's academic bar too high', a large number of persons have responded and have given their critique. Needless to say that some persons were in total agreement with the contents of the article, while others staunchly defended their position that academics should take precedence over sports. I am in full agreement with the latter statement, as I believe that academic achievement should be the main aim of schools and schooling.

In fact, that is why I have spent more than two decades working tirelessly with my staff at formulating and implementing policies that have proven to be successful in moving out a large number of high achievers from the primary level to the high-school system. Indeed, my career record stands tall enough and I am humbled by all my experiences in the field of education. Truth be told, many of my charges are representing, or have represented, their schools and the country in various academic and sporting disciplines.

GLARING FACTS

My concern is not for the brilliant students I just mentioned, but for those students who definitely lack the academic capabilities that will allow them to score significantly on a pencil and paper test. How many of our journalists take time out to explore the glaring facts that confront us in our education sector at this time? How many of them know that there are still existing factors in and around communities across Jamaica that inhibit academic growth in our young children?

It is time that some of us wake up to the reality that more than 20 per cent of the students who move from the Grade Six Achievement Test and the Alternative Secondary Transitional Education Programme and enter into secondary schools do so with an overall average of below 30 per cent. Where then is that sudden ability to come from to allow these students to score above 45 per cent in four subjects? All the technocrats in education circles know that this expectation is ludicrous, to say the least.

UNREALISTIC EXPECTATION

It would be quite instructive to all of us if we spend some quality time examining the trends that rear their ugly heads as children transition from primary schools and by the time they reach ninth grade in high school. It is clear to me that many of us are either unwilling or unable to find quality time. Thus, we speak purely from emotion, with no cover for our statements.

There is enough data to substantiate the point that more than 80 per cent of our students see a reduction in their averages as they move from primary schools and through the middle grades in high schools - sometimes by more than 30 per cent. This holds true for even some of the brightest students around. How then could a principals' association like the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) believe that the very weakest students who leave primary levels, with scores of less than 20 per cent in some cases, could suddenly turn this around and within a few months achieve in excess of 45 per cent - even with the greatest of effort? That kind of expectation would not even fit into a fairy tale.

FACE THE TRUTH

The truth is that many 'bright' and 'affluent' people in society today will say that scoring 45 per cent in four subjects is no big deal. I am prepared to challenge some who wish to be honest today that many of our past great sportsmen - many of whom made a living and secured goodwill from playing sports - may not have represented their schools, and indeed their country, if the present ISSA rule had been in effect in their childhood days.

Please note that I am not advocating that ISSA's bar be lowered, but instead, for the bar to be totally removed, so that God-given talents outside of the academics can be strengthened to the benefit of more young Jamaicans.

I am appealing to the powers that be to allow good behaviour and athletic skills to determine whether our students represent their schools as a springboard to representing their country. Remember that in these times, things have changed significantly, and sports is now big business.

Owen Speid is a school principal. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and speidowen@yahoo.com.