Preparation for the race of life

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

A couple (literally) Saturdays ago I attended the final day of the Swizzle Primary Champs. I am not, I must confess, as crazy about sports as many a man seems to be; but I am crazy about anything our daughters do that excites them and helps them develop. And one of them loves track and field (and football and cricket and marbles - and The Wimpy Kid Diaries).

So I was in the stands doing the proud Papa thing, but still enjoying the races other than the one I specifically came to see. The cracker races were the boys' class one 100m and 200m, which proved to be battle royal as the real big (and I mean big) gun fell to a determined challenger twice. However, something the commentator said really, really upset me.

He said that the rivalry between the two boys will continue, as one is going to Red Hills Road (that would be Calabar) and the other is going to North Street (and that isn't George's, I'm sure, but KC). So, I ask, since as far as I know the 2010 GSAT results are not out, how can it be a given that the two boys will be attending particular high schools? The announcer did not say one might be going to Calabar and the other might be going to KC. He said they will meet again.

So is this recruiting? It smells like that to me. And if something looks like a turd and smells like a turd, there is no need to touch and taste it to determine 'turdity'. It is a turd.

high-school placement

However, I thought the sole determinant of children's placement in a high school in this country, when they access secondary level education through the required examination, is their GSAT score. I did not realise that children can trot into a high school based on their pet event times. Call me naive if you will, but I simply did not know.

Now, if this is really so, it is a hell of a way for a parent or guardian to consent to their child being prepared for the race of life. Of course, Jamaica has a heck of a track record and one way to fame, fortune and a degree is through track. Great. But of the many prep, primary and high school athletes who run their hearts out in a particular decade, how many manage to make a single cent or earn a place in a school based on their sporting exploits? (The same applies to football as well.)

We like to be awed over the money Bolt is making, but he is a once in many, many lifetimes phenomenon. I always like to point out that there are five spots on a relay team, including one reserve. The opportunities for employment at various companies, as well as the possibilities for self-employment, are virtually limitless for those who are properly trained and educated.

And that is my fear - that those boys who already seem to know which high school they will be attending and others like them - will be prepared simply to race, not for the race of life. And that would be a tragedy, a travesty.

People will argue that it is a route to a good high school for some children. Rubbish. It is a route to vicarious self-fulfilment for some old boys who are not willing to let go of what they think are their glory days.

Balancing the classroom and extra-curricular activities is crucial. I believe in the consistent one-two finish of student-athlete. Athlete-student, which I suspect many an institution permits, if not baldly encourages, means the classroom comes dead last every time.