Levelling the playing field?

Esther Tyson, Gleaner Writer

The Government and people of Jamaica are indebted to the Inter-Secondary Schools' Sports Association (ISSA) for the service it has provided Jamaica in creating the cradle to foster the development of the sporting talent of our youth at the secondary-school level. Without the vision and organisation of ISSA, our nation would not have developed the talent now being displayed in track and field globally. It is the staging of Champs that has provided the opportunity for our stars such as Usain Bolt to be discovered.

But how did Usain reach Champs? He entered Champs as a student athlete from William Knibb Memorial High School. Now, some persons might have asked, "Where is William Knibb High?" or "Which school is that?" before Usain Bolt became the most well-known athlete in the world. Because of Bolt's success on the national and international scene, this question is now moot. Usain's success has helped to put William Knibb High on the map of sought-after high schools in Jamaica. Another such school is Charlemont High, where Asafa Powell attended.

Talented students wooed away

These institutions have had the chance to showcase to the nation and the world the students they have nurtured for their five years of high school. There are other schools that have had students with latent talent in the sporting field that have had these students wooed away from them by schools with larger budgets, well-endowed alumni, and ambitious coaches who are determined to maintain top billing in track and field and football.

Anecdotal evidence points to ambitious coaches who want to make a name for themselves and their schools, backed by wealthy alumni who scout talent from other schools. They zero in on the parents and guardians of such students and design hefty and attractive financial packages to lure students and parents to leave the schools in which they have been placed through the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) or the Grade Nine Achievement Test. There are stories which abound of students, some of whom have not attained the grades at GSAT required for entry to some schools, being transferred into such institutions simply because of their sporting talent. They are unable to maintain the average deemed satisfactory by the school, and yet are made to go through the system without passing even one subject. On the other hand, there are others who are allowed to repeat grade levels to keep them in the school, not so much to strengthen their academic performance, but more to strengthen the track or football team.

The question is: Is this practice helping to level the playing field, or is it tilting the field further in the direction of schools that are prestigious and well-established, with strong backing from wealthy parents and alumni? Should such practices be allowed by ISSA, the cradle of the sporting talent of Jamaica? Should ISSA put in place guidelines that govern the wholesale buying of students from one secondary school or schools by others in an attempt to win a competition by gaining an unnatural advantage for themselves at the expense of other schools? Another question is: Are we about winning at the cost of weakening and undermining other schools? And, what message are we sending to our students when we bring them into our schools simply because of their sporting talent without emphasising the development of their academic capacity?

When our students realise that they are being transferred from one school to another because their parents or guardians have been offered attractive financial packages by the school, what moral authority do school administrators have to help that student develop his or her character? How does the school speak to such students about hard work and integrity and commitment when they are allowed to skip classes and no consequences are meted out because they are the star athlete or footballer?

Mr Lascelves Graham, writing in The Gleaner on January 5, 2011, on this same issue, made the following astute comments:

The practice of recruiting youngsters into our high schools for the purpose of influencing the outcome of sporting events is symptomatic of a larger problem which seems to be running amok in the society - the erosion, the slow, silent, imperceptible but apparently inexorable eating away of the integrity of our people and our systems.

He continues:

Jamaican, like English high schools, believe that sports is one of the develop-'mental' tools (others include religion, music, drama, etc) that can help youngsters develop character, mental toughness, and discipline … .

We believe sports can play a key role in helping to teach values, attitudes, and life skills to youngsters who have satisfied the academic admission criteria and who deserve, as shown by their demonstrated academic potential, to be in the school.

Time to re-examine role of sports

I concur with Mr Graham's assessment of the situation. As educators, we need to look again at the purpose of sports in high school and not seek to ape the politics of the intercollegiate sports in the USA. Even in the USA, this practice of luring high-school students from one school to another is frowned on. In an article published in High School Today on January 11, 2011, titled 'Standards for Measuring Success not Based on Number of Victories', the following observations were made:

The measuring stick for success at the high-school level must remain different from the NCAA Division I model. While winning as many games as possible is a goal for all high-school coaches, the final outcome of a contest - in the long run - is not the all-determining factor for judging success. Success at the high-school level has more to do with preparing students for their lives after sports than the number of victories or state championships.

Let us ensure that we model to our young people the importance of positive character development and the need for acquiring morals and values not based on winning at all cost; but rather, values that reflect hard work and commitment to working with the raw material that you are given.

Esther Tyson is the principal of Ardenne High School. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and esther.tyson@gmail.com.