By Dennie Quill, ContributorI FEEL compelled to jump into the education debate because like many Jamaicans of my era I understood the link between academic performance and future opportunities. Back then the most often-heard admonishment from parents was "take up your book". Today we see scores of older students streaming into classrooms to continue their education because at some point in their lives they have come to realise that holding some form of qualification will help them to get a better job.
I cannot understand some people's reaction to the recent survey of the island's CXC performance which placed Immaculate and Campion College at the top of the heap. It had been known for years that these schools got the best results. For one, they usually get the cream of the GSAT performers. Then the bulk of their students are from the middle and upper class where parents will pay for extra tutoring, will invest in books, computers and other learning aids. And in these schools learning takes place in a pleasant environment. There usually is a vibrant parent-teacher association in the better schools.
DUNCE BAT SCHOOLS
A recent cartoon in this newspaper which made reference to "dunce bat schools" captures the way in which some schools have been characterised. Every year after the GSAT examinations it is common to see brigades of parents seeking transfers for their children from the schools labelled "dunce bat" to those that have a reputation for better performance. This attitude does not motivate students to learn and will not elicit a deep commitment to the schools because the idea has been firmly planted in the child's head that the school he is attending is no good. This recent survey, while it has started a national soul-searching, may do a lot more to reinforce the "dunce bat" label.
Should schools be blamed for children's poor academic performance? Should the parents take responsibility? I submit that a student's success in education depends on a team effort between parents and teachers. A key factor in a student's probability for success lies in how well he has been prepared. And preparation begins at home. I know a colleague, whose parents could neither read nor write, but they faithfully supervised his homework and "checked" to make sure everything was alright as he made his way through high school. Another friend shared with me the fact that her mother knew precious little about
chemistry, but she would look over her homework even suggesting that some things didn't look right. The parent who buys a book for the child, reads to the child, encourages the child to visit the library is helping in that preparation.
FALSE MEASUREMENT
In order to properly assess the performance of schools, CXC results can only be one measurement. The belief that CXC performance alone equates to successful schooling is false and can breed complacency on one hand and create utter frustration on the other. I submit that one must also examine the input and the output, so that if a school gets an 11-year-old student whose reading and writing skills are below par, and at the end of five years that student is able to read and write well, it would have taken that student much farther along than the road of achievement than one who was able to read and write at 11 but failed to get passing grades in the CXC five years later.
Where in this survey are things like creativity, problem-solving skills, leadership abilities, self-esteem and civic responsibility taken into account? Are these not yardsticks that we use to measure a student's success? Are these not desirable qualities in every society? We run the risk of focusing on the narrow goals of passing exams and this may force teachers to cut back on important activities such as music, art, physical education etc., which all help to round out an individual. It may also lead to teachers cutting back on the number of students who are given the opportunity to sit an exam because their prospects of passing are not good.
To reach an understanding of this national problem and to find solutions is going to require the imagination and help of the entire community. The Minister of Education has started the process and we applaud the effort to get input from a wide cross-section of society via a series of islandwide round table conferences. The schools need the tools to effectively manage, motivate and enhance performance. Addition-ally, I see many ways in which we can all band together to help reverse the negatives.
INCENTIVE TO TEACHERS
Teachers should be given an incentive to teach in lowly graded schools. Bright students at 'A' schools could become part of an instructional team to assist the schools at the bottom. And since we are talking about community solutions, why shouldn't an expert like Dr. Ralph Thompson be asked to be a guest teacher at one of our 'D' schools? Perhaps a successful forward-thinking executive like Douglas Orane would have much to share with students at an 'F' school.
Dennie Quill is a veteran journalist who can be reached at denniequill@hotmail.com.
