STAR PUPILS

Profile of an ‘ideal pupil’

BY Goolbai Gunasekara

The press and media recently finished a week of discussing the abused child and it occurred to me that teachers occasionally have a pupil who’s not easily categorised – the perfect student or the opposite type – the dreamy one. Such rarities are never discussed except in the staffroom or else at staff meetings.

No one writes articles about them. And no one wonders how this phenomenon comes about. A near child genius or the alternate nonachiever doesn’t command the same media attention as cases of child abuse these days. This month, I will deal with the first category – the ideal pupil.

Teachers gladly award prizes and write glowing remarks about such children in report cards. They greatly enjoy the pleasure of having such talent in their care. So I’m going to discuss two cases of children who were outstanding from baby class to university entrance class and managed the near impossible task of being a constant delight.

My first example is Saki (not her real name). Saki was brought to my special attention when she was in grade two, and had constructed a lovely little cardboard and paper Christmas crèche for the class display.

“Are you sure she was not helped at home?” I asked in an undertone, knowing parental aid was common.

“Everything was done in class,” I was assured.

Saki herself was a curly-haired cute child who loved to swim. A full-time mother saw to it that she enjoyed this sport without being pushed. She was taking the lead in little playlets given at school assembly; and without trying, she seemed to be getting known by everyone.

At school, tests are not held until the child is past grade three and it was no surprise that by grade four, Saki was winning the form prizes along with too many others.

“Surely, there must be someone else who can compete?” I would ask her teachers.

“Not really,” they would answer desperately, hunting for some competition.

On principle, I like to spread out prizes among the juniors. One star means other talent is overlooked or doesn’t have a chance. As the principal, I did not like that situation.

Saki took dance classes. She shone at ballet. And she took elocution classes. She also had natural talent as an actress. As she proceeded up the school, Saki began debating. She could argue the hind legs off a donkey. Academically, she maintained a 90 percent average and began assuming school offices as a matter of course: house captaincy, club presidencies and – without missing a beat – head girl of the school. She had no serious rival.


All this makes for arrogance, would you not agree? Yet, Saki was singularly free of pride in herself. She was confident but modest. And added to all of this, she was extremely attractive.

You see what I mean about a childhood rarity?

A few years later, along came her male counterpart. And yes, among a plethora of talents, he could even dance, which is a useful skill in an international school. His particular sport was basketball; and he wound up with several national awards. Naturally, he was head boy with little or no competition.

How do such children get to where they are? Is there some magical incantation that their parents recite over their cots that make them school achievers from birth?

After considerable study of such children I’ve encountered following 50-odd years as a teacher, I have reached these conclusions.

Firstly, there is always a harmonious and friendly home atmosphere. Siblings are encouraged to get on well. Good parenting is a basic necessity. The child must feel totally secure in parental affection.

The families producing such children almost always had dinner together. I have found that these clever children gleaned much current information and general knowledge facts from chit chat over meals in a relaxed setting with parents.

Sometimes an only child can shine because he or she is the focus of parental attention and they respond to  semi-adult conversational and behavioural patterns at home.

Strangely, I also found that there was often a strong religious base in the homes of these outstanding children. For instance, one of these rarities always came to school with holy ash on his forehead. He told me he could not start a day without morning devotions.

Parents generally trusted the school. They took teachers’ and the principal’s advice. Both children I mention naturally had excellent university careers. One is a doctor and the other the CEO of her own company.

I have to say that the great trailblazers of the world didn’t shine at school. Einstein was an average student and so was Newton apparently. There is a new paradigm in the world today: SQ (Spiritual Quotient) is considered far more important than IQ.

So while your children may be delighting you and their schools with brilliant attainments right now, spare some time to ensure spiritual preparedness as being of equally high importance in the coming world.