Searchlight Logo
special_image

    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
Millennial Musing
July 25, 2017

Grades, self-esteem in the West Indian school system

Let me start off by giving some background information about myself. I am a level two Economics student at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus and I am what you might call “bright”.

My entire life I’ve been known as “smart” and “nerdy” and quite frankly, it’s true. I am also aware of how fortunate I am in my ability to master the schooling system. However, that’s all there is to it; I am good at the system. I am in no shape or form superior to my peers. My brain is simply suited to the rigorous teaching methods employed on our students.

Did you know I was poor in athletics, art and computer science? Luckily for me these things aren’t as heavily graded as math, science and English. You might be thinking “why is she even telling us this?”

You see when you’re good at something, you tend to attach it to your self-worth. My entire life has revolved around how well I did in school. This might not seem like such a bad thing…until you get a bad grade, of course. As a teenager, a bad grade meant I wasn’t good enough. It meant I was a failure. I might as well just ‘chuck’ myself into the river and I cannot swim. I was conditioned to believe that failure in school meant failure in life.

Skip forward a few years later: I’m a student at UWI. My aunt messages to tell me my cousin (her son) is crying. He’s having a meltdown because he realized he has made a mistake on his exam. My cousin is six years old. At six years old, he has already attached his self-worth to his academic performance. My heart is heavy, because I know that feeling all too well. In my opinion, there is too much pressure placed on students’ academic performance. However, I do not blame the parents.

I look around me and I can’t help but notice 90 per cent of the Vincentian students here attended the top female and male secondary schools. That is not a coincidence. Your placement in secondary school almost sets your educational path in stone. The parents know this, so they push their children to excel.

This HAS TO STOP. We must not segregate students so early based on academic performance. I know CXC and the governments are making strides in fixing these issues, I see their efforts. However, too many students are marginalized because of this system. The same way I learnt to attach my self-worth to my grades, who’s to say other students don’t do the same?

How many students would have given up before the journey even began? We think of school as a race, but a race is a competition and school should never be a competition. Education should not only encompass science, English and math. It should be designed to nurture artistic minds, as well as mathematical minds.

There are so many people with amazing talent and skill; I am in complete awe of them. Yet, according to the world, I am the success and they are the failure, because I happened to grasp Pythagoras’ theorem better than they could. It should not be so…it should never be so.

Please, I beg you, let your children know they have worth, even if they don’t place first in class. Give them room to hone other skills besides what is taught in the classroom. Remember a carpenter or mechanic is no less important than a banker or a lawyer.

Shafel McDowall is an aspiring economist and social change advocate

  • FacebookComments
  • ALSO IN THE NEWS
    Domestic worker killed at Long Wall
    Front Page
    Domestic worker killed at Long Wall
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    FAMILY MEMBERS of a woman who was killed at Long Wall say they suspect their relative was hacked by a person they all know very well. On Tuesday, Sept...
    Front Page
    NDP never built a single house in SVG – Finance Minister
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    THE IDEA THAT HOUSING is a right, that every Vincentian has a right to safe and secure housing, and that the government has a role to play in ensuring...
    No bail for Police officer charged with attempted murder
    Front Page
    No bail for Police officer charged with attempted murder
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    A POLICE OFFICER, who allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend 26 times about her body was remanded even as his lawyer argued that the Royal St Vincent and...
    Front Page
    New ULP Administration will roll out AI policy
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    A NEW UNITY LABOUR PARTY ADMINISTRATION will be rolling out an Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy to embrace its positives and guard against the nega...
    Sandy Bay Secondary School marks 20th Anniversery
    Front Page
    Sandy Bay Secondary School marks 20th Anniversery
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER, 9,2025 was a memorable day for the staff and students of the Sandy Bay Secondary School, which was marking its 20th anniversary wi...
    Foundation implements community driven project in SVG
    News
    Foundation implements community driven project in SVG
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    THE ASHLEY LASHLEY Foundation, with support from the United States Government, is implementing a local-level project entitled “Community-Driven Strate...
    News
    Foundation implements community driven project in SVG
    News
    Foundation implements community driven project in SVG
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    THE ASHLEY LASHLEY Foundation, with support from the United States Government, is implementing a local-level project entitled “Community-Driven Strate...
    Skills not available locally, non-nationals have to be hired says Finance Minister
    News
    Skills not available locally, non-nationals have to be hired says Finance Minister
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    NON- NATIONALS ARE being hired to fill several jobs in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) simply because locals did not have the required skill sets....
    Montgomery Daniel squashes rumours that he’s sick
    News
    Montgomery Daniel squashes rumours that he’s sick
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER Montgomery Daniel has sought to clear around rumours that have been circulating relating to his health. Speaking on NBC radio on...
    News
    $1.3 billion in Tourism investment to yield 2,000 jobs – Camillo
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    The GOVERNMENT of St Vincent and the Grenadines is set to sign agreements for tourism investment of $1.3 billion on mainland St.Vincent. On Monday, Se...
    Bagga’ man pleads guilty to illegal gun, ammo possession
    From the Courts, News
    Bagga’ man pleads guilty to illegal gun, ammo possession
    Webmaster 
    September 12, 2025
    A BARROUALLIE MAN will be sentenced next week after pleading guilty to being in illegal possession of a firearm and eight rounds of ammunition. Demron...

    E-EDITION
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Subscribe Now
    • Interactive Media Ltd. • P.O. Box 152 • Kingstown • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Phone: 784-456-1558 © Copyright Interactive Media Ltd.. All rights reserved.
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok