Salute all those students who didn’t make headlines
High achievers are acclaimed in the media as if they were celebrities. Students who attained outstanding results are being hailed as heroes while those less academically endowed are unworthy of recognition.
By all means, let us acclaim gifted students who have earned outstanding results. It’s entirely appropriate that their hard-won success should be recognised and applauded.
But what of those who have worked equally hard, if not harder, and who have gained less spectacular results? Too often, their achievements are ignored on the modern altar of success. It’s not as if students can forget about it and move on. Their misery is nowadays compounded by a bombardment of advice from a wide-ranging mix of experts - career guidance counsellors, points analysts and media specialists, to mention but a few. Such is the avalanche of advice emanating from these quarters, one is left wondering if it serves to increase the pressure on students rather than alleviate it.
How students of previous generations managed to cope without all these support systems is a mystery.
Not so long ago, they accepted their fate without the accompanying fanfare - and, after initial joy or disappointment, moved on, taking the whole experience in their stride, and in the process displaying a degree of common sense which seems lacking today. In fact, if common sense could be taught it would make someone very wealthy. Worth more than many a qualification.
When it comes to commonsense and leadership, Churchill and the Curé d’Ares immediately come to mind. Both were outstanding leaders in their own right with little or no qualifications or points. Qualifications are necessary to get certain jobs but how often do we find that the most qualified do not always make the best leaders.
I have met many such cases in my time and, despite the qualifications, some of them have to consult a junior member of staff. Could we have too many square pegs in round holes? In such situations the question is - does merit mean anything?
May this letter be a source of comfort and encouragement to the many downhearted students, some of whom I have met in recent days, and to reflect thus, that a good education is supposed to be a preparation for life. By that definition, many aspects of the modern system, in my opinion, get a failure grade.
Cllr Noel Collins
‘St Jude’s’
Midleton
Co Cork
