THE SUCCESS in the past week of 14-year-old Trudy McLeary who emerged in the top ranks, placing third in the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. last Thursday, is an occasion for national rejoicing.
It was instructive to see the deep interest which persons took in the event and how our young champion's every step towards the winner's circle brought joy to many who had never met her but to whom she became a member of family, the great Jamaican family.
Her victory was more than a schoolgirl triumph in a daunting field of competitors. It sent a much-needed signal, not only to ourselves but also to the outer world, not the least of which the country wherein the competition was held, that Jamaicans must not be judged by the aberrant and the dysfunctional whose misdeeds make the news and facilitate unflattering opinions about us.
Exultation at the victory of a Trudy McLeary, serves to counter-balance the pain we feel for a Lee Malvo, another of our nation's children, now awaiting trial for murder as a sniper, incarcerated in an area of the States not too far from where Trudy brought us honour.
It is the two sides of the coin, the light and the dark, in which our young people live which offers room for contemplation. It calls us as a nation to take a holistic look at our children.
It has become commonplace to bemoan the decline in academic performance and socially unacceptable behaviour on the part of far too many of school age. Quite rightly, we are concerned and alarmed at the statistics which record an increase in youth involvement in criminal acts and disorder in the school environment. However, we should recognise also that for the many who have gone astray, there are many more who are being a credit to themselves, their families and schools, by dint of hard work leading to academic success and the gateway to a positive future.
We must have strategies to deal with both groups. Who knows how many Trudy McLearys there are among the group which we would discard because we have not recognised their potential? Or, how many truly gifted and exceptionally talented youths are languishing in frustration because their true potential has not been actualised?
Trudy McLeary's sparkling performance in Washington D.C. challenges us to give a thought to these things.
