Stephen VasciannieLAST WEEK witnessed the funeral of the Honourable Hector Wynter, and many of the tributes to this former Gleaner Editor, Minister of Government, and Rhodes Scholar, have correctly highlighted Mr Wynter's role as a public intellectual.
Mr Wynter read for the degree of Modern Languages (Spanish) while at Oxford, and was associated, for many years, with the University of the West Indies in various capacities. As Secretary to the Rhodes Scholarship Committee and to the Bustamante Scholarship Committee for several years, he also played an important part in the selection of others whom we expect to be among the leaders in academia and public life.
And, it should be said, one of the striking features of Mr Wynter's career is that he remained engaged with students throughout his career. It would no doubt have been easy -- and perhaps tempting -- for Hector Wynter to say that, having been involved with UNESCO at the highest levels, and having held significant positions of State for Jamaica, there really was no need to spend his twilight years with students. Yet, this is precisely what he did: not only did he remain involved in teaching at Campion College, he was always keen to debate points of interest in education with persons still active in the field.
In a way, this distinguished Wynter from some of his peers. In the course of their daily lives, persons in senior positions will almost certainly find it difficult to make the time for interaction with university students, Sixth Formers and so on; this is understandable, and yet, students are probably most keen to learn at the feet of the experienced, and most responsive to new ideas and prospects. Walk good, Mr Wynter, and thanks for a well-played innings.
THE QUIZ
Last week also saw the launch of this year's season of the Schools' Challenge Quiz Competition. With four matches per week, and with a considerable degree of publicity (on both TVJ and in The Star), it is gratifying to note that TVJ is giving the competition the emphasis it fully deserves. From time to time, persons argue that the Schools' Challenge process is of limited value because, while it requires students to show knowledge of diverse bits of information, it does not require them to demonstrate serious capacity for thought and analysis.
In response to this viewpoint, I am inclined to whisper "horses for courses:" assuming, for the moment, that the Schools' Challenge Quiz does in fact require only limited analytical ability, we should nonetheless value the process of accumulating the type of information used in the quiz. By requiring students to read well beyond the narrow confines of the school syllabus, the quiz helps to broaden the horizons of young people, and prompts them to a critical understanding of the view that knowledge is not only that which falls from the teacher's lips.
Now, abandon the shallow assumption that independent thought and analysis are not required for success in the quiz. Serious involvement in the competition prompts students to a meaningful understanding of how ideas are connected with each other, reminds students of the link between hard work and performance, and stimulates an independent spirit in the consideration of questions. Also, because speed is of the essence in quiz matters, the process encourages self-confidence and a sharpness of mind that can only work to the advantage of individual participants.
If, in future years, the Schools' Challenge Quiz season can be brought to an end by about February, so that students can have more time to concentrate on final examinations in June, then it would be even easier to sing praises to the competition.
This point, incidentally, is also true for the Grace Shield cricket competition, for, in today's highly competitive environment, it is not reasonable to expect students to be pursuing final studies and excelling in sports in the same month.
The quiz may also be improved if TVJ indicates clearly that this is a competition for, say, Fourth or Fifth Formers and above: even the brightest Third Former is not likely to have the range of knowledge required for the competition, and participation by weakish students from the junior school may remove some of the lustre associated with the competition.
ADMISSIONS
At around this time of the year as well, academics and administrators will be turning their minds to the question of admissions at the tertiary level. For the receiving institution, this calls upon the judgement of selectors, and raises the question of what type of product the institution wishes to put forward later on as one of its representatives. This raises practical questions in almost all fields of intellectual endeavour.
In medicine, for instance, what type of medical doctor is more desirable: the surgeon who can think rapidly under the most extreme pressure, where decisions literally have life and death consequences, or the researcher who, with patience, insight, and sharp understanding can press forward his or her discipline in the interest of the wider society? Or, for law, is greater value to be attributed to skills of advocacy than to a sophisticated writing style or coherent thought patterns? Surely, all factors must be considered, but where there are limited places for admission, choices have to be made with subtlety.
And, still on the matter of choices, to what extent should our institutions try to shape the options made by applicants for admission? Owing to social circumstances from the past (and prevailing economic conditions), some courses remain more prestigious than others: at what stage should, say, a secondary school teacher intervene to suggest to Student X that a career in actuarial sciences does not really work for persons far removed from mathematical inclinations? An interventionist teacher may well be accused of being biased against the student, and this could create ill-feeling for life, even if the advice offered is reasonable and fair.
Finally, I wonder how much progress is being made to overcome problems of language and numeracy at the pre-tertiary stages of our educational system. The Grade Six Achievement Test is not an easy examination, and that is a good thing; but, I have the strong feeling that the students who do well in this test are also the ones who excel at the CSEC (CXC), and at the Advanced Level. This, again, is not entirely surprising, but it suggests that there is a need to strengthen the opportunities for late developers to blossom in our system.
Stephen Vasciannie is Professor of International Law at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
