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| The writer believes that a beautiful camaraderie makes life a wonderful journey. |
Every year, students
are made busy not only with their studies, but also with activities
held at school, district, state and national levels. This is the time when
teachers select candidates to represent the
school in competitions. With co-curricular activities being as important
as academic performance, active students may be viewed
positively, as it encourages healthy competition and goal setting. But there lies
an unhealthy trend beneath this annual phenomenon.
Based
on the old criteria - strong academic results, clean disciplinary record
and impressive co-curricular achievements - the same group of students are
selected to join various competitions, and they are usually the
ones who hold leadership positions. The fact that some teachers focus only on extrovert
students and leave the introverts behind is disappointing, as the latter misses the chance to develop leadership skills.
Every student should be given an opportunity to shine.
Unfortunately, many schools set their goals wrong when they focus on winning, resulting in students with obvious potential being chosen.
This practice may
lead to a number of implications.
When schools fail to identify students’ abilities and
talent, it is unfair to both students and parents. Students who are left out will be
denied equal opportunities to prove their undiscovered skills and talent, while
parents, who believe that the school will help their children become
individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically
balanced, may question the
school’s ability to achieve this goal.
When
teachers focus on a limited number of students to participate in all competitions,
it may give these students a chance to stand out and make their school
proud, but not all students can balance between studies and co-curricular
activities.
It is also feared that when other students are paid less
attention, they will start feeling unimportant and useless, with some of them
developing an inferiority complex, while others cause disciplinary problems as they begin to understand that to receive attention is to show
something others are not capable of doing.
It is the school’s responsibility to produce good quality students, but this objective will not be fully achieved if only a small
percentage is allowed to be involved in activities and
competitions.
To
ensure that every student receives equal treatment and opportunity, I suggest
teachers start recognising new talent who may even shine brighter than the
sought-after students.
Courtesy of New Straits Times
18 March 2015
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