I can still recall my days at Saint Richard’s Primary and the anxiety faced by many of my schoolmates around the time of sitting the dreaded Common Entrance Examination (CEE). This was the hurdle between another year in primary school and a stroll into the hallowed halls of high school. The drills in class, after school extra lessons, a sacrificed summer, all played a part in making us potential candidates for hypertension and a stroke. In looking back I realise most of us were quite prepared academically and intellectually, but a few had exam performance anxiety issues. I firmly believe that every teacher I had was gifted and knew how to make the bright students perform consistently, while being able to raise the levels of under performers to be on par with the rest. Let me hasten to add that the student population was quite a mixed bag from the elite to the underprivileged, with many scholarships being gained by those from any address. The major apprehension was not social background, test aptitude or even the day of the test. The real day of jubilation or judgement was reserved for the arrival of the early morning printed results in the pages of The Daily Gleaner.
Searching in Suspense
It is always amazing that around the world children don’t usually wake up early on their own to get ready for school. However, once these results were printed, nothing compared to a Jamaican child waking up at 4am, barely taking a breath or washing a face, waiting for the newspaper vendors at 5:30am to readily supply a document containing the greatest news on earth…or revealing doom or gloom. The rush for papers was also major with each household seeking to purchase two or three in the name of posterity and pride. Having made the two-minute trip to get the newspaper every morning for years, did very little to slow my anticipation on that cool morning. I had the usual small chatter with Mrs Gordon the vendor, flashed open the paper, and looked for my name. There it was not far from the top of the third column of alphabetically listed names. I remember smiling and planning to trick my now deceased mother into thinking I had not passed, but alas she had already gone to get a ‘fresh off the press’ copy from the Gleaner head office, and already knew the results. Well, at least for the first few minutes she played along and allowed me the joy of spinning my surprise. The spirit at school was upbeat for possibly 98% of those who sat the CEE, with the remaining unsuccessful 2% being assured of a place in a school that was on their list of choices.
The Process Then/Now
Things were quite different then, and I like to believe much more was achieved in giving each student a fair chance. The process was very simple based on the understanding of parents and students. There were a set of exams which matched all you had been taught, mixed with a dose of reasoning ability and common sense. A paper was given to each student prior to exams, which you would take home to consult with your parents about which high schools you would like to attend in order of preference…I think 3 or 4 were allowed. The ability to be placed at the school of first choice was dependent on how well you did on your exams. So, if you smashed it you’d be on the way to first, well enough gave you second or third, and if you failed completely you could apply for a space in an available high school….or repeat the form and resit the exam the following year. That was the basic understanding then, pretty much how it is today if you wanted to attend Yale, Harvard or Howard universities. The issue of a school having the space based on it’s popularity in choice was really an afterthought in the minds of many, but one thing was certain. It didn’t matter what address or socio-economic background…if you did well in those exams you felt certain of a placing at the school of your choice.
G-Sat and the Garrison
Unfortunately, the advent of the Grade Six Achievement Test (G-Sat) has changed that belief and reality. At inception, many teachers and administrators in the education system advised all who would hear that there need to be a shift and change in how parents selected schools. This was not about their need to change choices in schools, but change the address of the student. It was common knowledge, and has been for years, that if your child is taking G-Sat and you expect a placement in a school of your choice, then find an address that is close enough or at least appears to be in keeping with the geographical location. HOW in this day and age in Jamaica with the history we have could this even be remotely possible or be allowed? HOW can the idea of zoning in THIS country even be acceptable? Why should a child from Denham Town Primary who has passed his exams with good scores, and wants to attend Immaculate or Campion, be sent to Denham Town High simply because she/he lives in that community? Why should any suggestion be made that it saves time, money and other expenses to keep a child “close to home” if that child aspires to attend a school of her/his choice? The housekeeper who works in Norbrook keeps asking her employer if she can use her address on the form for her child who is sitting exams…why? because she wants her child to stand a chance of getting into that school and not relegated to ghetto status exposure and socialized deprivation.
Classist Culture
We have had a long history of classist culture in Jamaica and it doesn’t only flow from the rivers of the rich. Many persons from deprived communities have schooled their children in the thought that they can’t proudly declare their ghetto connections until they’ve made it in life and at a level. There was a time some of us wanted our children in certain schools because we figured the infiltration of the lower class was minimal and wouldn’t compromise the quality of the stock. There was also a time when poor people wanted their children in certain schools to refine them and create a new social order and class recognition. Many of these schools we now refer to as “traditional” were founded and existed on the premise of being strictly for the upper class, monied and ‘brown/white’ people. We all know that many of them had NO room for the children of the poor. However, we remain steadfast in our present day thoughts that many of those same schools are still seen as elite and premium and wish to select them for our children to attend. But why not? Why not choose what is perceived to be our ‘Ivy League’ schools? Why should a Jamaican child be denied access to ANY school because of address and not achievements?
New And Rising Stars
There are many schools in Jamaica that were seen years ago as next to nothing. Many of them used sports as a foundation for us to realise and recognize their scholastic achievements. I can list some of them in recent memory that have surpassed expectations and have gone on to do well consistently, but still fail to gain national acceptance and overall commendation. I wonder if some people remember that not so long ago NO ONE was fighting tooth and nail to have their child attend Ardenne High School? Yet, since the coming of a Scripps Howard Spelling Bee champion the tables have turned and the long-standing successes of Ardenne has been accepted. Some others are:
Haile Selassie High
Bridgeport High
Dunoon Technical
Charlie Smith
Tivoli Gardens High
These and many more have achieved successes, even though they’re not on the front burner for the average Jamaican parent or child. Most of them will be filled with children from surrounding and adjoining communities, along with those deemed ‘unable’ to get into the school of their choice. What we should be doing as a country is opening the gateway to high quality education to all, raising the standards of teaching AND the social platforms for these communities, instead of making them believe that their address is a curse and not coincidence. Do we recall that for decades the address of a person could be the difference in who gets a job and doesn’t? Or what position you can attain or not? Do we forget that many people who are today gainfully employed had to lie about where they live just to get a job? Yet we want to start the lives and minds of young, potentially great Jamaicans with the deck stacked against them. It is bad enough that we perpetrate this by the very prep schools we want them to attend, but the reality is this must be corrected and stopped NOW…or we will forever deem and doom our future generations to fail.
Rodney S. O. Campbell ©
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