It’s been quite sometime since my last article, mainly due to the fact that I have been preoccupied with my own CXC examinations. It is seems suitable then, that I should mark my return with yet another piece (hopefully the last one) on examinations. While I am aware that this proposal has not come quietly (there has been great debate on both social media and print media), it is something I feel strongly about, and as such I am compelled to share my thoughts. Since I have already done a column about “extra-curricular activities versus extra subjects”, I’m going try my best not to repeat what I have already written.
That being said, I feel like this subject cap is flawed on multiple levels. It is proposed as a solution to the problem of students writing “too many” subjects. However, is this phenomenon a problem? What are the reasons that we can give to justify it being a problem? Is it that those students who write more than 10 subjects are performing unsatisfactorily? To me, the major concern is that those students who write more than 10 subjects do not have the time to pursue much else than studies. However, is there any research to actually back up this belief? Because personally, the students that I know who have written more than 10 subjects are far more than just academically inclined. They are volunteers, youth leaders, athletes, models, musicians, artists, writers, photographers, and dancers (and these are just the ones that I know from Queen’s College). However, let us assume that this belief is true; that each student, or at least the vast majority of students who write more than 10 subjects do nothing else but study. Is it of our concern? Is it truly a problem? It seems to me how one chooses to spend one’s time (provided it does not cause harm to ourselves and others), is a personal choice. And yes, it can be said that choosing to write a lot of subjects can cause stress which is harmful to one’s self, however, that individual has the ability to control that stress, by opting to write fewer subjects, or by reducing other stress inducing activities in their life. At the end of the day the number of subjects one chooses to write is a personal decision.
Is it fair to take away that personal choice based on the assumptions that students are not rounded? And will taking away that choice result in students becoming more rounded? Are there facilities in place, which encourage students to take up sports or join clubs? Are students interested in developing other areas of their lives? This is the issue. In my experience, many of my colleagues do not see the value in volunteering or in pursuing an extracurricular activity, such as a sport or an art form. Perhaps we need to give students reasons for why they should pursue extracurricular activities. It seems to me that people believe that children aren’t pursuing any activities because they simply do not have the time, whereas, to me, it is because they do not see why they should. They do not see the benefits for doing so, and perhaps we need to place more emphasis on explaining these benefits to children and encouraging them to take up these activities. People should not be rounded because they are mandated to be, but because they are genuinely interested in the things that they are doing.
Finally, is it fair to say that 10 subjects it the cap for senior high schools, but six is the cap for junior high schools? This assumes that since a student is in a junior school their abilities are far lower than that of a student in a senior school, and that they cannot possibly manage to do more than six subjects. There is already tension amongst schools, where some students look down upon those in “lower” schools. This decision will only add to the strife. Additionally, it will increase the pressure placed on students sitting examinations in Grade Six, as the difference of a few marks could result in them being able to write six CSEC subjects or 10.
There is so much more that can be said about this topic, for example the reasons for which students have been opting to write many subjects, or whether these multiple subjects are really preparing students for the world of work or higher education, but I feel no matter which way you look at it, a subject cap is not the answer to the problem of students being one dimensional.
