Dear Editor,
There is an ongoing debate about the necessity, or not, of requiring all teens in school to achieve a minimum standard grade for all subjects taken, to which I wish to add my two cents.
I grew up thinking that one went to school to lay a basis for learning a skill or for further studies; you played sports when you had time.
But that was yesterday. Sports is today a huge business, and there is no doubt that boys and girls who have never studied a geometry theorem or learned to use a slide rule, or draw plans for a building, can become US dollar multimillionaires if they are one of the top Jamaican talents in some sport with widespread appeal.
Nevertheless, schools are there for a reason. Not every aspiring, even talented, athlete/sportsman will be able to support a family by means of his first love. And, while in school, everyone should be required to have some minimum scholastic background. This reminds me of a story I once heard where a coach was incensed when told that his star player could not be used in a game due to his failing all his subjects, including English. He insisted that a test be done in his presence as his boy was "bright".
Coach objected when the boy was asked to spell "consciousness", as that was too hard. They eventually settled on "coffee". Coach objected, and it was agreed that if the boy got ONE LETTER right, he could play. Smiling, the boy confidently spelled, K-A-U-P-H-Y.
Cathy Brown
cathy291181@yahoo.com
What of a minimum standard?
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There is an ongoing debate about the necessity, or not, of requiring all teens in school to achieve a minimum standard grade for all subjects taken, to which I wish to add my two cents.
I grew up thinking that one went to school to lay a basis for learning a skill or for further studies; you played sports when you had time.
But that was yesterday. Sports is today a huge business, and there is no doubt that boys and girls who have never studied a geometry theorem or learned to use a slide rule, or draw plans for a building, can become US dollar multimillionaires if they are one of the top Jamaican talents in some sport with widespread appeal.
Nevertheless, schools are there for a reason. Not every aspiring, even talented, athlete/sportsman will be able to support a family by means of his first love. And, while in school, everyone should be required to have some minimum scholastic background. This reminds me of a story I once heard where a coach was incensed when told that his star player could not be used in a game due to his failing all his subjects, including English. He insisted that a test be done in his presence as his boy was "bright".
Coach objected when the boy was asked to spell "consciousness", as that was too hard. They eventually settled on "coffee". Coach objected, and it was agreed that if the boy got ONE LETTER right, he could play. Smiling, the boy confidently spelled, K-A-U-P-H-Y.
Cathy Brown
cathy291181@yahoo.com
What of a minimum standard?
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