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LETTER OF THE DAY - Are sports and performing arts not legitimate career goals?
Published: Tuesday | February 25, 2014
THE EDITOR, Sir:
There is a very strange thing going on in education. Apparently, there are persons who have got the education minister's ear, who believe that the efforts made by ISSA to prevent the widespread transfer of students from one school to another, simply to enhance the receiving school's chances of winning a sports competition, are not good enough.
It is a fact that, partly because of ISSA's regulations and partly because of the excellent job done by G.C. Foster College in turning out competent coaches in all fields, the incidence of transfers has diminished tremendously. But it has not stopped. Parents, recognising that some schools offer a better programme in the sport in which their child has talent, still agree to move their children.
So, if a boy shows tremendous talent at cricket and is sent to a high school that, for whatever reason, has no cricket programme, his parents try to get him into a school that does, depending on where he lives and his academic prowess. If the child's talent is in swimming or basketball, the same applies. Sometimes, although a school may have a programme in athletics, a parent may still try to get their child into a school where they believe optimum results can be gained.
It seems odd to me that educators can say that a child should be moved easily from school to school for 'academic' reasons only. This suggests that in the 21st century, some educators still believe that 'the 3 Rs' are the be-all of education! They still imagine that sports and the performing arts are simply 'supplements' to the education of our youth and not acceptable career goals!
So, if a youngster with talent in the sciences or the humanities wants to change schools in order to give him or herself a better chance to become a scientist or historian, we must facilitate this. But if a youngster with talent in sport or the performing arts wants to do so because he or she seeks a better chance to become a professional athlete, musician, or performing artiste, not only must we not facilitate this, we must prevent it!
Are we denying that sports and the performing arts are legitimate career goals?
Is it really true what some people say about our leaders in education? That some of them were 'nerds' who never really felt that sports and the arts were important? And that many of them still nurture slight animosity to those of their schoolmates who were very popular in school because of their prowess in these areas?
I really do not believe that this is so. But I am searching for a rationale behind the thinking.
KEITH NOEL
keithanoel@gmail.com
Kingston 8
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/2.../letters1.html
Published: Tuesday | February 25, 2014
THE EDITOR, Sir:
There is a very strange thing going on in education. Apparently, there are persons who have got the education minister's ear, who believe that the efforts made by ISSA to prevent the widespread transfer of students from one school to another, simply to enhance the receiving school's chances of winning a sports competition, are not good enough.
It is a fact that, partly because of ISSA's regulations and partly because of the excellent job done by G.C. Foster College in turning out competent coaches in all fields, the incidence of transfers has diminished tremendously. But it has not stopped. Parents, recognising that some schools offer a better programme in the sport in which their child has talent, still agree to move their children.
So, if a boy shows tremendous talent at cricket and is sent to a high school that, for whatever reason, has no cricket programme, his parents try to get him into a school that does, depending on where he lives and his academic prowess. If the child's talent is in swimming or basketball, the same applies. Sometimes, although a school may have a programme in athletics, a parent may still try to get their child into a school where they believe optimum results can be gained.
It seems odd to me that educators can say that a child should be moved easily from school to school for 'academic' reasons only. This suggests that in the 21st century, some educators still believe that 'the 3 Rs' are the be-all of education! They still imagine that sports and the performing arts are simply 'supplements' to the education of our youth and not acceptable career goals!
So, if a youngster with talent in the sciences or the humanities wants to change schools in order to give him or herself a better chance to become a scientist or historian, we must facilitate this. But if a youngster with talent in sport or the performing arts wants to do so because he or she seeks a better chance to become a professional athlete, musician, or performing artiste, not only must we not facilitate this, we must prevent it!
Are we denying that sports and the performing arts are legitimate career goals?
Is it really true what some people say about our leaders in education? That some of them were 'nerds' who never really felt that sports and the arts were important? And that many of them still nurture slight animosity to those of their schoolmates who were very popular in school because of their prowess in these areas?
I really do not believe that this is so. But I am searching for a rationale behind the thinking.
KEITH NOEL
keithanoel@gmail.com
Kingston 8
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/2.../letters1.html
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
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