Enough is as good as a feast

Lascelve Graham, Contributor

When I read the piece by Orville Higgins, 'Anti-sports bias', in The Gleaner (31/1/14), the proverb, "Enough is as good as a feast," i.e., just the right amount is as good as more than enough - 'there is no value in excess' came to mind.

He conjures up the usual straw men to easily hit down, like, many say, "Sports in high schools is one of the primary reasons why students don't do well." Suffice it to say that excessive focus on sports is one of the contributory factors to a number of youngsters not doing well in school. Many of these come to recognise, feel the effects of, and regret their folly too late.

Mr Higgins states, "In this day and age, schools cannot merely be about academic subjects. Education has a far broader focus. As long as sports is one of the skills the society holds dear - and that is the case in Jamaica - high schools have a duty to ensure that this be paramount in our high-school curricula."

I wonder if societies in Brazil, Kenya, Ethiopia, England, South Korea, China, Germany, Italy, Spain, Chile, and the great majority of countries all over the world hold sports dear or understand the broader focus of education.

Brazil, Germany and Italy have won many football World Cups; Kenya and Ethiopia rule the world in long-distance running; South Korea wins archery repeatedly at the Olympics; and China excels at gymnastics, diving, and other sports. Sports is not paramount at all in their high-school curricula.

no sport in their schools

In fact, research has shown that, in countries rated as having the best education systems in the world, there is almost no sport in their schools. Although all of these countries have a tremendous passion for sports and excel at some, sports is separate from school. If we don't organise sports differently, move away from this win-at-all-costs, intensely competitive approach in schools, we will ensure that we remain a storehouse of cheap, unskilled labour for the globalised world.

Mr Higgins opines, "Stopping students with special sporting abilities from moving to schools that will enhance their talent is completely unfair." What if they are keeping out others with special academic ability?

Bearing in mind that we have a differentiation of schools based on competitive academic criteria, one cannot justify recruiting a poorly academically equipped youngster based on sports, especially remembering that there are other highly qualified young, poor, struggling Jamaican citizens from the ghetto, with other outstanding talents, who have worked hard to qualify for and need that scarce space.

Remember, we told them that there is a system based on their academic performance for them to get into their preferred schools. Who is being unfairly treated? Any student can transfer to any school, given space and the credentials that meet the declared criteria to enter. We must be very careful to avoid double standards.

Mr Higgins obviously feels that some of our high schools should operate as sports academies - and maybe he is right. However, until this is declared, our schools operate as technical, vocational and academic institutions, and entry requirements do not specify sports talent.

academic performance is key

Wanting to move your child from one school to another is of no relevance. It is like wanting to have a Benz rather than another car. The question is, can you afford the Benz? The currency in our high schools, as in the majority throughout the world, is academic performance.

Only an extremely small number can sustain themselves as professional athletes. Many times, the recruiting school unjustifiably claims ownership for the success of the athlete when the athlete would have succeeded anyway. If Usain Bolt had been successfully inveigled away from William Knibb, one would have heard how the pirating school moved him to a higher level, etc.

It is a myth that if our high schools stop recruiting for sports purposes, it would "retard our sports legacy" or "stop future champions". If we organise sports differently, it would enhance education and - we would still produce our world-beaters as we did before the advent of this heavy recruiting for sports.

The positive outcomes from these countries which organise sports differently are clear.

Dr Lascelve 'Muggy' Graham is a chemist and former Jamaica football captain. Email feedback to columnsgleanerjm.com and long1flowja.com.

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