WHY 45 PER CENT GRADE NEEDS TO BE RAISED AND ENFORCED

Several weeks ago there was a debate raging about whether it was fair that the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association impose a minimum 45 percent pass grade for student athletes, who want to represent their schools at sports. Many claimed the academic requirement is unfair, especially when you consider there is no similar requirement for students who represent their schools at other disciplines be it music, drama or whatever other artistic pursuits there are.

For a time I was among those who believed the requirement was unfair. Like the others I reasoned that sports are probably the only thing these struggling students could depend on to help them break the cycle of poverty because their sport could help them earn millions of dollars. I reasoned along these lines because I, like many others, only saw those students as athletes and not as people.

I have had conversations with some popular journalists, who help sway public opinion, some of whom often appear in electronic media and who are all in favour of disbanding that rule that requires student athletes to meet a minimum academic standard, dubbing it unfair. They say the standard is robbing these student athletes of their chance of earning a living from the one thing they are good at. My response is simply this; the mark needs to be higher.

The simple truth is this. Less than one percent of any student athlete goes on to have a successful career in sports. That means 99 per cent will fall short of expectations. The student athlete who reads this cannot possibly be as bad at math to see what I am saying here.

Since Usain Bolt became a global star back in 2008, he has been an inspiration for many kids here in Jamaica, who see themselves as one day living the life he is living now. You know, driving the flashy cars, traveling the world, spending time in the company of beautiful women and having tons of cash to spend.

Here however, is a startling fact. There is only one Usain Bolt. Bolt makes tens of millions of US dollars each year because he is the fastest man on the planet and has a personality that makes him not only fast but also very interesting. He is not perfect but his imperfections have served him well. His is a life of drama, mystery, rumour and of course, and unparalleled accomplishment in his chosen sport. Bolt has about a dozen global sponsors who pay him tons of money just because of who he is.

Similarly, there are thousands of track athletes who make a decent living, thousands of football players, basketball players, cricketers, tennis players and professionals from other sports who can play their respective sports at the highest level and retire at 30 and spend the rest of their lives sipping pina coladas on some of the most exclusive beaches around the globe. Note, I said thousands, not millions of athletes. So, what happens to the millions who tried and didn’t make it, or those who could have made it but suffered cruel injuries that robbed their sport of their amazing talents?

They still have their entire lives ahead of them and if they follow some of the talk show hosts and others, they will spend the rest of their lives trying to eke out an existence because having been convinced they were going to make it so they didn’t need to get an education or a skill. When that happens the same people saying now that the rule is unfair won’t care about them. These same people will be calling them ‘has beens’ while raving about the latest most exciting talent.

And that’s why the pass grade needs to be higher and it needs to be enforced. The solution for having them do better is simple. Student athletes need to be given all the help they need to excel at school. Because they represent the school, the very least that school can do is ensure that that student achieves what he/she went to school to do – to learn.

The advocates of removing the passing grade requirement also use the argument that athletes are not necessarily great students. That’s rubbish. Student athletes are like any other student; some are smart, some not so smart but they all have the potential to learn. What some lack is the ability to balance their lives, and some just need someone to sit with them and help them catch up with classes they may have missed or too tired to attend or learn anything.

If schools put as much effort into ensuring that student athletes become good students as they do ensuring they become good athletes, we would be surprised to see how many of them excel at academics as well. Dr. Arthur Wint was a student athlete, so was Herb McKenley, Merlene Ottey, Bert Cameron, Chris Dehring, Don Wehby, Dr Gywn Jones, and there are many, many others.

If given a chance to excel at school, 90 per cent of today’s student athletes can go on and get a good education and have a solid career after their sporting careers are over. All it requires is that they are given a chance to build a strong academic foundation.

What happens now is exploitation. Too many schools make the students high school stars full well knowing that without a proper foundation, they stand little chance of having a successful life afterwards. They tell the kids, don’t worry about school, just focus on running fast, jumping high or far or be able to dribble a ball, pass it and score and they are set for life. They just forget to tell them that sporting careers are short and they have their entire lives still before them long after their sporting careers are over.

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11 Responses to “WHY 45 PER CENT GRADE NEEDS TO BE RAISED AND ENFORCED”

Andy says:

April 22, 2014 at 8:16 pm

I am so happy that someone see what I have been saying for as long as I was teaching in Jamaica. I coached students in different disciplines and one thing I always say to them is: It does not matter how fast you can run, or how well you can play the football when all is said and done your education is the most important thing, so your main focus is going to be on your education.
Karlene says:

April 25, 2014 at 6:09 am

Well said. Those who think the requirement is onerous forget that learning is also about discipline and one affects the other. If you cannot be disciplined enough to do something academic you don’t like or because it is “hard”, what will you do when your “sports” gets difficult? Quit too?
Let’s help our young people develop a can do enduring mindset don’t teach them it us okay to quit at the first hurdle.
coachnello says:

April 27, 2014 at 11:43 am

Andy. it does matter how fast you can run and how well you can play! Ask Usain Bolt and Messi.
Many millionaire dont have a college degree and are richer and more intelligent than you.
Jamtrack says:

April 28, 2014 at 10:05 am

“They tell the kids, don’t worry about school, just focus on running fast, jumping high or far or be able to dribble a ball, pass it and score and they are set for life.’

1. I am almost certain that you have no proof that any coach in Jamaica has given such advise to any athlete. You dont have to exagerate or twist facts to make your point.

2. Your list of Dr. Arthur Wint was a student athlete, so was Herb McKenley, Merlene Ottey, Bert Cameron, Chris Dehring, Don Wehby, Dr Gywn Jones as student athletes does not mean that all of them excelled in acadaemics. Dont put up examples of people unless you are certain that they excelled in academics.

3. “If schools put as much effort into ensuring that student athletes become good students as they do ensuring they become good athletes, we would be surprised to see how many of them excel at academics as well.’

Again you generalise because you are not in the system to know that schools do not put a lot of efforts into making these talented athletes meet high school academic standards. You obviously are not even aware that there are cases of athletes entering the system unable to read well. Some students do not excel in academics for teh same reason some students do not excel in sports.

Leran about the system before you start to condemn the schools. Track and Field programmes in the schools have created a lot of oportunities for many students who the education system have casted aside. I have seen many cases of students being recruited from teh all age school system and have moved on to 6th form.
levyl says:

April 29, 2014 at 10:40 am

So who is condemning the system? Someone sounding very defensive here. If the kids cant read or write, what are they doing in high school. That is what I am referring to. If the kids come in unable to read or write they should be helped. That is all I am saying. However, your comments suggest that many others in this country you choose to hide your head in the sand rather than face the realities. Btw, had the athletes i mentioned, Wint etc, not met academic standards how then would they have achieved their degrees? Even if they barely passed, they still managed to pass. Chris Dehring is one of the brightest business minds, Wint was a medical doctor and pilot, Dr Gwynn Jones I went to school with so I know what he achieved in school, nine O level passes if my memory serves me, Don Wehby heads up Grace Kennedy. I think I made my point.
levyl says:

April 29, 2014 at 10:41 am

The problem is my friend, how many Bolts and Messis are there?
coachnello says:

May 2, 2014 at 5:37 pm

I see your point. Plus i love how you deal with Jamtrack; with facts.
Due to many factors which include our history, Jamaica is not an academic country. Jamaica can not consistently compete with any first world nor developing country in maths, science or technology. However we have been and are world beaters in track and field. Even though we don’t have a competitive educational system, relevant technology in the classroom; we have the perfect genetics, environmental and climatic conditions to produce elite athletes. I thought someone would have came out and started blasting people and asking them why aren’t we not producing more elite athletes?American athletes whether dunce or bright are not subjected to any 4 subjects over 45% rule.
We are talking foolishness, most a the gunmen and boys who a sit-down on the road side are there, not because we didnt try to educate them but, they are there because we didnt recruit them and train them in the right sport!
How educated could pele have been when he scored his first world cup goal for Brazil at 17 years old, or Kobe Bryant when he enter the NBA at 18, or Mike Tyson when he was heavy weight champion of the world at 19 years old. I wonder how much brighter is Raheem Sterling than our best baller who didnt play this year because of academics?
Stewart Spencer says:

May 13, 2014 at 3:41 am

“If schools put as much effort into ensuring that student athletes become good students as they do ensuring they become good athletes, we would be surprised to see how many of them excel at academics as well. ” I think there is some truth to this.
But I am pretty sure that there is no truth to the following, “They tell the kids, don’t worry about school, just focus on running fast, jumping high or far or be able to dribble a ball, pass it and score and they are set for life.” No Coach, Principal or Teacher would ever tell a student athlete this.

Also not sure what was the point in mentioning Chris Dehring, Don Wehby and Dr. Jones who never went on to achieve sporting success at the international level after high school. And simply obtaining a 1st degree is hardly a measure in and of itself, of academic excellence. Let me help you; in addition to Dr. Wint you could have mentioned Dr. George Rhoden, Dr. Lennox Billy Miller, Dr.Una Morris and Dr. Cynthia Thompson to name a few; but who is to know whether these were struggling students. They may have been getting good grades all along. The issue is why deprive the struggling student of the chance to represent their school when they are really trying to do their best and what about the many failures who neither did well in sports or in academics. The real problem is the underinvestment of successive governments in education which has resulted in many students reaching high school without an adequate foundation. And remember that the life of an athlete is finite but you can go to school at any age.
D.P. says:

May 14, 2014 at 2:31 pm

Sacrifice the lives of many to unearth the next Usain Bolt or Messi?That is the focus? You go to school to learn and get an education. If you cannot attain 45% in four subjects(half of the subjects most students do) then extra curricular activities must be put on hold. Marvin Morgan scored one of the best goals I have seen from a school boy at the National stadium to lead St.George’s College to the title. He was on cloud 9 and went on a subsequent trial at Birmingham City in the UK that didn’t work out.He didn’t do any CXC exams that year.He is now out of school and plays for Boys Town in our National Premier and has no subjects. What does the future have in stored for him?
coachnello says:

May 20, 2014 at 10:23 pm

D.P. only in Jamaica the pursuit of excellence is sacrificing life. Listen to your statement; “If you cannot attain 45% in four subjects(half of the subjects most students do) then extra curricular activities must be put on hold”.I say to you if you can’t attain the 4 subjects then sports is definitely for you. And the reason is self explanatory. I am very happy you saw Marvin Morgan’s beautiful goal, however i am sad that Jamaica doesn’t have the kind of structure here to support that sort of talent. Please note he is still scoring goals, he is now playing at the highest level in Jamaica plus I could be mistaken he plays for Waterhouse FC not Boys Town. Let me ask you what does the future holds for my friend who has left UWI with a degree and a large students’ loan debt who has been searching for a job for the past two years?
coachnello says:

May 20, 2014 at 11:10 pm

Stewart Spencer omg.
You seriously believe that schools do not put as much effort into ensuring that student athletes become good students as they do in ensuring that they become good athletes?
From birth mothers, fathers and teachers are educating our children. When many students are in classes for 6-7 hours per day, evening classes, summer school and even Sunday school the student-athletes only practice for 1 or 2 hours after school (fact!). teachers are more qualified to do their jobs than most coaches, teachers are paid better in many schools than do coaches and teachers and principals are more revered than many coaches so I would love the hear your premise on which you believe that school give more effort to sports than academics.