Life in itself is a battleground, and that's why we see almost everyone striving to have a better life than their neighbors, not just in finances, but in every other aspect of life, be it possessions, wealth, or the like. So seeing the same fierce competition play out in our school system isn't actually much of a surprise because we've tailored everything to seem like a competition or a race to the point where everyone wants to stand out, and that has found its way into our education system, and just like we see people do ridiculous things in the outside world for a better life, the same is now playing out in our schools by students who want to better their colleagues. Is this the way to go, or do we need to initiate a change for a better approach to education?
It's worth knowing that any form of competition can become unhealthy, especially when it's not properly guided, and academic competitions are no exception. To start with, we've set up a system that analyzes students' positions based on their academic performance from first to last, and one thing that's certain is that every parent wants their child to come first, and these expectations can take a toll on their child's mental health, especially when they come close to that position but still realize their parents aren't pleased. Another is how teachers tend to mostly only recognize the best students, and others are made to feel like they've not done enough. All of these are why we must reinstate some changes in our school.
Even though every competition has the potential of becoming unhealthy, we must be the ones to find a way to make it healthy, and the actions we take are what will make the difference. For instance, I personally, as a teacher, often organize competitions amongst my students, but each time I do, I try as much as possible to let everyone feel included; everyone, even someone who only got one mark, would be clapped for because they actually made an attempt, so they won't feel discouraged or depressed. I also try to talk to parents about not being too demanding of their child.
I remember a student in my class, JSS1C, once came fifth from a class of 80 students, and the mother was mad. It was evident in her words and actions towards the girl that I had to let her know that although I understand those who came first don't have two heads, still her daughter did well. I mean, if we were to base the results on average, I helped her understand that her daughter would have come first had she been a member of JSS1B, D, E, or F. And to prove that point, I showed her her daughter's average performance compared to those who came first in those other classes, showing that coming below first doesn't mean she's not good, but that she's surrounded by many academically sound students.
I help many of these parents and my students to understand that although it's good to get good grades in school so you can progress to the next class, everything isn't all about coming first. I help them realize that education isn't all about coming first but all about learning, understanding, and personal development. And that's what I feel like we should focus more on in our schools, rather than glorifying the best students. After all, the real world has helped us understand that being the first doesn't mean you'll make it in life. I mean, the best students might just be good at cramming anything they read and not really have a deep understanding of what they've read and can recite when asked a question.
As an educational institution, I'm not saying we shouldn't encourage students to strive for excellence, because it's actually necessary. What we should do, though, is to make sure we guide the ways we encourage these students, which should be given to students with care and moderation in mind. Education is supposed to nurture curiosity, discipline, and confidence; it should never be a place that brings about fear of failure and anxiety. So as parents and teachers, we must make sure we create a learning environment that promotes reasonable ambition and personal improvement while we still have the mindset of protecting the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of students.
All photos are mine.
