MIDDLE GROUND

Being number one in class may not lead to future success –Goolbai Gunasekara

Nothing can be worse for a child than coming last in class; and nothing can be worse than a teacher handing out the reports and reading out positions while doing so. “As usual, Babsie has come first in class. Well done, Babsie!” Babsie preens.

“And as usual, Sima and Rima have vied for the bottom place.” Sima shrugs. She has got used to it – or so she pretends.

Rima bursts into tears, envisaging her father’s temper tantrum at home and her mother’s vain efforts to defend her.

This used to be a common practice 50-60 years ago in Colombo schools. At one of the many schools I attended, the principal would read out the positions of the entire school at assembly. Schools were small so it was possible to highlight success and failure. It was an appalling system and what it did psychologically to youngsters can’t be evaluated.

Fortunately, child psychologists – both at home and abroad  – got involved and began researching the effects of these regular humiliations; and it was discovered, to many educationists’ happy surprise, that early failure often presaged future success.

Albert Einstein was an indifferent student. Sir Winston Churchill remained in the same class for three years. His father thought he was retarded in some way and sent him off to military school. After becoming the Prime Minister of Great Britain, he was invited to speak at Harrow School where he had studied.

“Never, never, never give up!” he told the school, thumping his cane on the floor for emphasis. Fortunately for him, he was able to work on the talent that he possessed, which was the use of the English language. He became a master of the language and this brings me to my next point.


Education systems that depend on all-round attainment neglect the talents a child may have in only one direction. A form prize can only be won by a child good at math as well as every other subject. So unfair, don’t you think?

With this in mind, I have followed up on the successes of several of the former pupils of my school and found that those earning the highest salaries were not the brilliant form prize winners, but girls and boys who were exceptional in IT, English, art and sport.

Here are their careers…

The IT student has a job in the US at a well-known IT company. And the child who was so good in English is one of the highest paid advertisers in Colombo. The artist completed a degree in fine arts in the United States and has an enviably well-paid job in Australia. And the sportsman used his swimming skill to win a scholarship to an American university; he now runs an outstanding swimming academy in his home country (he is a foreigner). His income is higher than that of a doctor.

So giving positions to children in class doesn’t take into account the different talents of each child. I know this is a difficult thing to do when faced with 25 or 30 children of varying talents. Obviously, they have to be taught the basics; but to give positions based on high grades in all the subjects does most students a grave injustice.

Better systems are now being devised all over the world. Technology is fast becoming the most important skill a child can master after the basics. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who holds a Master’s Degree in IT, understands this. And he is making effective and badly needed changes in the educational methods of this country.

Most principals of international schools agree that many of the success stories of their alumni haven’t been by those who won form prizes. Most successes have been achieved by those who are somewhere in the middle. They often use creative talents, which should have been honed in schools.

My mother Clara Motwani believed completely in fostering talent wherever she found it. As the Principal of Musaeus College, she sometimes went round the school hostel after the ‘lights-out bell’ had rung to ensure that all was well. One night, she came across a 15-year-old student busily writing in the dressing room with the aid of a candle.

“What are you doing here, Somalatha?” she asked with surprise.

Somalatha scrambled to her feet. “So sorry Mrs. Motwani, but Matron won’t let me do any writing or painting after lights-out and I do a lot of my personal work after the study periods.”

Mother, who recognised genuine talent, arranged for Somalatha to be granted special permission to work at a desk for an hour later than usual. “You see my dear, you can’t risk setting the dressing rooms on fire should the candle topple,” she told Somalatha, who later told me the whole story.

Somalatha Subasinghe went on to become a household name in drama in Sri Lanka.

Positions in class have become obsolete. A simple ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ could suffice while genuine talent can be rewarded in other ways without humiliating anyone – a fact that our educationists need to ponder.