Letter of the Day | We need to reframe what success in education looks like

THE EDITOR, Madam:

With the recent release of PEP results, a familiar wave of anxiety has rippled across households in Jamaica. I was scrolling through social media when I saw a video where a young lady clearly expressed that she wouldn’t tell her child that she is proud of them if they are placed at an “idiot school”. Sadly, this is the belief of many people in the culture. The school to which a student is placed is often indicative of their worth and/or intelligence.

We must ask ourselves: how did we get here?

From early childhood, we’ve socialised our students to measure success by grades and rankings. In doing so, we may have inadvertently created a generation that fears “failure” more than they value growth. We’ve conditioned them to see education not as a journey of discovery and self-mastery, but as a race to an elite finish line where only those assigned to certain schools or who score the highest are deemed capable, smart, or worthy.

This is not just a student problem; it’s a systemic issue. While our education system has made strides in promoting critical thinking and problem-solving, we are still too reliant on standardised assessments and narrow definitions of intelligence. In an article published in the Jamaica Observer on June 23, titled “Towards eliminating widespread academic failure” Oneil Madden, provides future context to this issue by highlighting that very often students with learning difficulties never benefit from the necessary resources such as specialist interventions and psycho-educational assessments to help with developing a comprehensive learner profile and plan,

We need to reframe what success looks like in education. Being placed at a lesser-known school doesn’t mean your child is less bright or less capable. It may simply mean they have a different path to walk; a path where the right support, mindset, and opportunities can lead to excellence. Similarly, those at “traditional” high schools aren’t guaranteed success unless they are willing to engage meaningfully with their education.

It’s time we push for a system that affirms multiple intelligences, fosters self-awareness, and values progress over perfection. Parents, instead of mourning a placement, let’s be more concerned about how we support our children emotionally, socially, and academically. And to our students: your potential isn’t defined by the school you attend, but by your willingness to grow, to learn, and to rise above society’s limited expectations.

JAEMAR JOHNSON

Behaviour Analyst