The Answer to Non-achievement in Schools

Some children find it difficult to read and understand their textbooks, yet they only need to hear a Mavado song once and they know every word by heart. They do poorly in mathematics lessons, yet they can read a domino game and give a six love. We would marvel if we see the things that some children create at home that are both functional and attractive, yet they are disruptive and poor at their school work. Our education system is failing most of our potentially able students because it is showing up their weaknesses instead of building on their strengths. It is not meeting them where they are, which is what we need to do, and then we can take them where we want them to be.

Children underachieve at school for different reasons. Some from truancy, some from being kept at home from lack of funds and others to help finance their family by going to the field, etc. A large number of children attend school regularly and still underachieve. They do not learn because our education system does not cater for the way that they learn.

In a classroom of children, it is said that there are four types of learners: Logical learners, Practical learners, Imaginative learners and Enthusiastic learners. The aim of education is to make every child an Enthusiastic learner. Enthusiastic learners are motivated; they take control of their learning, ask questions, initiate their own activities and learn from trial and error. The top achievers in our education system are Logical learners. These are the small number of students who are able to sit in a classroom, week after week, with a teacher in front reading from a textbook, giving notes and explaining the work verbally, and then go on to achieve their potential. Most students (particularly boys) do not learn best in this way. Because our system is geared towards Logical learners, they gain early success and quickly become Enthusiastic learners and high achievers.

Practical learners love to do things. They learn by practicing skills, making, pulling apart and fixing things. They do not relate well to straight lectures and become unmotivated in our present education system. Imaginative learners are creative thinkers. They also do not want to sit down and write every lesson. A long lecture bore them and is a big turn off. They want to come up with their own solutions and find new ways of doing things. Practical learners and to a greater extent Imaginative learners need a facilitator rather than an instructor. After a demonstration, they need someone who will guide them, tease out their creativity and give them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. With the satisfaction and success that experiential learning brings, Practical and Imaginative learners will develop the confidence and understanding that is evident in logical learners and lead them to become Enthusiastic learners.

The answer to non-achievement in schools, therefore, is finding a way to use the things that young people are fired up by; use popular youth culture to ignite young people’s interest in education. Find a way to use rapping, cartoon, graffiti, football and so on, to introduce and get students’ participation. Domino, for instance, can be used in mathematics to give students an understanding of numbers, teach analytical and deduction skills, problem-solving and teamwork skills. Drawing a cartoon strip or acting out a scene to tell the story of the Morant Bay rebellion could ignite a student’s interest in History. Along with reading textbooks and sitting through lectures, students should be allowed to explore their practical and imaginative abilities in every subject area, and it would also be more fun for the teacher.