Martin Henry
THE 46TH Children's Own National Spelling Bee Finals took place yesterday at the Hilton Kingston. Congratulations to all the finalists and special congratulations to the winner, Stacey-Ann Pearson of Ardenne High School.
We are proud of all of you and the other contestants who didn't make it to the finals. Pardon special pride in the boys, present in nearly equal numbers with the girls, 6:8. Very soon after this equalising moment, boys are going to go on to drop out of the education system more than girls and to perform more badly. And many of the dropouts will become the scourge of society.
THE CHANCE TO EXCEL
Jamaican children are capable of extraordinary performance in many fields. Unfortunately, too many of them do not get the chance to excel at something which their natural talents support.
In the run up to the "nail biting, excitement-filled" finals, The Gleaner, the parent of the Children's Own which is the largest circulation newspaper in the country, ran a series of features on the parish finalists, their schools and families. It would have been hard to miss two key points running through these feature stories. I don't know if these points were deliberately slugged in or they just happened. But right throughout the importance of parenting and school leadership in the success of the champions came across. Most of the parish champions are the children of fairly intact families with a father in the picture, a strong supportive mother and a relatively small number of children. Several of these children and their
parents are in church and are active there.
Alicia Lindsay, the Westmore-land champ, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lindsay. She gets her greatest encouragement and support from her parents. "My parents always encourage me to do my best," she says. And they have been spelling coaches as well. Daddy helps her to study after school.
Mrs. Marcia Johnson has helped two of her daughters through the Manchester championships, one of whom, named Lawre after her father Lawrence, is this year's parish champion. Lawre attends the primary school where her mother teaches.
Sharmeelah Martin's mother encourages her daughter to study hard, do less playing and watch less television and supports her like a real pal throughout. This champ attends Mount Peto Primary School in Hanover, no prep school. Mount Peto isn't even on the map. That's somewhere I can identify with! And Sharmeelah's close-knit family may not even have a telephone. Mom says daughter called someone who lived close by who gave her the good news. The full-time mother abandoned the dishes she was washing to celebrate with the whole village.
And so it is across the parishes for Spelling Bee, for GSAT, for CXC, for getting into university, for the scholarships. The winners are overwhelmingly coming from strong, supportive family with far higher than average father presence and engagement. Some of these people haven't got very much and are not up there, class-wise.
Several of the Spelling Bee champs are from primary schools thickly populated with the children of poorer Jamaicans, not prep schools. A key factor places the schools of the champs in a common league: school leadership. If you are not from St. Elizabeth and surrounding area or a Spelling Bee fan, you may never have heard of the Glen Stuart Primary School.
PRODUCED SEVEN CHAMPS
This little school with 690 students nestled at the foot of the Cockpit Mountains in Maggotty has been led by Wilburne Barton for 19 years. Not only has Glen Stuart produced this year's St. Elizabeth parish champ, it has produced seven champs in 10 years with coach Maxine Barrett. It has produced scholarship winners, several of its graduates are at the top-notch Hampton and Munro. The school is involved in the National Festival and in sports.
Ardenne in St. Andrew is not just a factory for national Spelling Bee champs but a factory for CXC passes. It is the number one choice for many GSAT candidates too many. School leadership and team building have made Ardenne a winner.
These bright spots are overshadowed by the general state of Jamaican homes and schools as places where the young should be nurtured for excellence and responsibility, and of their products. The Spelling Bee is a brief, glorious respite from these harsh realities and a window through which to view how home and school can help children to be their best.
Martin Henry is a
communication specialist.
