Balancing Education

By goolbai gunasekara

There are many alternatives in education these days. Government Schools, Private Schools, Government Schools which teach the local syllabus in English (and wrongfully dub themselves International Schools,) and International Schools offfering British exams. These options begins from grade one itself and this variegated system is accepted in our country.

In all of them the extra-curricular alternatives these days are many and varied……far too many and too varied in my opinion. In fact the many choices facing students these days, in the non- academic areas, are bewildering in extreme. For one thing, parental expectations begin to focus on their offspring from the moment of birth. No parent waits for talent to manifest itself before enrolling toddlers in Ballet, Art, Speech classes, Singing lessons, Sport etc, when they have barely passed the toddler stage.

Protesting children are dragged from one teacher to another as soon as school is over. Parental ambition knows no bounds. Distinctions have to be gained in those London based Ballet, Dancing and Speech exams if all the expense is to be justified. (And believe me those classes do not come cheap.) Places on School Teams have to be achieved in Sport. House Captainships, Prefectships, Games Captainships and of course hopefully Head Prefectships have to be attained.

I must mention here that all the extra curricular achievements in the world are not going to make up for poor grades. Good, solid academic achievement will always be the top priority of any well known University..

What was the modus operandi in my time? We marched to a totally slower and less measured drum beat. Of course there were Ballet , Art and Speech classes but they were used more as methods to occupy our free time rather than to aim at high achievement. After all there was precious little for us to do outside school. There was no Television, no Video Games, no Mobile phones, no IPads - and even the ordinary, humble telephone was usually kept locked. Extra curriculars deserved their name. They filled in the EXTRA time which prevented dastardly teen- age doings in other (usually romantic) directions!

There was Sport of course. Again competition was far less intense. Girls played Netball and Tennis. Boys played Cricket, Tennis and Rugger. I do not recall that Badminton was played between schools or even Table Tennis. It was played for fun. And while inclusion in the school teams was considered desirable – even prestigious – it did not cause the heartburning, cut-throat competition it does today. Parents might like to impress their near and dear but no one thought of a long term impression on future Universities and hoped for scholarships to those foreign Colleges. There was time for all these ‘pastimes’.

Things could not be more different today. Extra curriculars have to be wedged in-between school work, homework and TUITION – that egregious occupation that is a national tragedy at the moment. The following paragraph recounts the Time Table of an average child at most city Schools these days. I am not conversant with what goes on elsewhere.

Take a child who is a good student and whose mother already sees him completing a Degree at some UK , USA or Australian University. She is hell bent on making his CV a glittering record of achievement.

He gets up a 5 in the morning. He is at Basket Ball practice at 6.00 am. Bath and school by 7.30 am. Snack around 11 am or so. Is often in school till 2.30 pm or so depending on school affairs. Lunch in the car. Tuition at 3.30 pm. After tuition ends he has a short break after which has a bath to be fresh for homework and dinner afterwards.

Parental ambition should not outstrip children’s capabilities. Let us try to study our offspring objectively and then choose the path which best suits them. There is a proposed change in the educational system these days...

He is exhausted and one must wonder how long he is going to be able to keep up this killer schedule. Children in the Upper School are faced with Clubs like the Interact Club, the English Literary Association, the Media Club, the Science Association. The Computer Club and the myriad other alternatives a good school offers. A prestigious University abroad does not want ALL these extra attainments in addition to their good academics. I must mention here that all the extra curricular achievements in the world are not going to make up for poor grades. Good, solid academic achievement will always be the top priority of any well known University.

Universities today – specially those in the West – have the students of the world hammering at their gates. The USA used to offer tremendous financial aid packages which was a lifeline to students who could not otherwise afford it. Under the false impression that these Colleges require many extra curricular achievements parents burden youngsters with far too much. My own advice to them is to begin choosing one Sport and one skill from Grade 8 onwards. If the student has an over-full record of achievement, University Admissions Officers may regard him as being a Jack of all trades.

Universities like well rounded and well qualified applicants but they do not want EVERYTHING in one package. They do not expect it. An offbeat skill may be much appreciated like that of the child who was an expert Puppeteer or another who was Sri Lanka’s Air Rifle National Champion. Such unusual hobbies will interest the Admissions offices of any good College.

Playing a Sport is helpful but there are those disinterested in competitive Sport. No matter. There are alternatives. For instance the only boy who got into MIT one year when I was still running Asian International School was a young man who was a National player in Chess and the winner of many, many tournaments both here and abroad. This was his strong suit along with Interact Club work. He was a school prefect to boot. The letter to him from the Acceptance Counselor at MIT said, “You were one of the best applicants this year.” He had no Sport but his grades were excellent. As I have said before, academics must take precedence over all else and too many extracurricular activities are burdensome for children and unnecessary on an overall survey of attainment.

Unusual hobbies will interest the Admissions offices of any good College..

The danger of pushing children too hard along paths not of their choosing is that they can have an early burn out. I have noticed that it is not the child who stands first in class who eventually ends up with the best Degrees and the best jobs. It is he who has solid academic achievement backed by ONE strong extracurricular interest and/or one Sports success that has the best chance in the world outside.

There are many foreign University Degrees available in Sri Lanka at the moment. Many are of an acceptable world standard but not all. I notice that top world Universities are not among the plethora of those available locally. Universities like Harvard, Oxford, Yale, Cambridge, Princeton, etc, have not been set up in Sri Lanka as yet. A solid Univ. of London Degree is available through The Royal Institute locally and it is tied up with outstanding Universities like Imperial College UK and other first class Colleges. Exam Papers are sent out from England to the students of the Royal Institute and are sent back to the UK for correction. Other good degrees accept the first years to be done in Sri Lanka and the final year to be finished abroad.

Parents should consult those in the know before making decisions for their children’s future educational opportunities. Of course a sound knowledge of ENGLISH is mandatory. I will not even mention our local Universities. Sri Lanka lags woefully behind most of the world. The poor quality of our undergraduates is appallingly apparent to educators like me who used to constantly interview such graduates for teaching jobs.

Some years ago a graduate of Sabaragamuwa University applied for the post of English teacher and told me at the interview that the last books she had read were the Enid Blyton’s Malory Tower Series. (They are for children by the way!)

Parental ambition should not outstrip children’s capabilities. Let us try to study our offspring objectively and then choose the path which best suits them. There is a proposed change in the educational system these days. It is much needed in Sri Lanka. Obviously there will be mistakes made by the Miinistry of Education but the task has to be undertaken. It would be praiseworthy indeed were ALL those involved in education cooperated to produce an inspiring method of education for the future.