The role of sports and other extra-curricular activities in an educational context is of particular importance to Jamaica at this time, particularly with the crime and violence monster threatening to consume us. We tend to place the burden of crime reduction and prevention on the police, but is that reasonable? Whereas crime and violence are complex phenomena, with inputs from many variables, the police essentially come in after the process has been completed and the social system has already developed the criminal and antisocial minds. Aren’t the police just dealing with outcomes, ie after the fact, and are in essence only trying to keep a lid on an already bad situation?

One of the characteristics of countries with a low crime rate and a high clear-up rate is that they have a highly educated populace (Singapore, Finland, Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, Japan, etc.) Also, unlike Jamaica, where the “informa fi ded” approach is strong, they are socialised to tell the authorities all they know. Pro-social values and attitudes are highly prized. Education and pro-social behaviours seem to show in a positive light in just about every sphere of life. Jamaica should be much more serious about giving our people a quality education/socialisation and stop contaminating and corrupting the mission of our specialised educational institutions (up to the high school level) with pursuits of limited and questionable short-term benefits, which can be achieved elsewhere. As the Bible says, you cannot serve two masters. One always suffers.

In an article in the Jamaica Observer, July 3, 2017, titled ‘USAID provides US$3m for safety and security in schools project’, it was indicated that during the 2012/2013 academic year, 3,671 students were cited for antisocial behaviours of varying degrees. Too often we hear of children being violent and even committing murder. The article disclosed that the Ministry of Education will utilise schools, community, parents, and public and private partnerships in an effort to ensure a safe environment that will facilitate a quality education system and raise the bar to benefit all learners, both male and female. It also stated it will continue the promotion of uniformed groups and clubs, which will promote positive values and attitudes at both school and community levels. Uniformed groups and clubs are extra-curricular activities in our schools, as is sports.

The above confirm that our schools are critical agents of socialisation and that extra-curricular activities (sports, etc) have a vital role to play in the performance of this function. Extra-curricular activities, especially sports, can be very powerful agents of transformation and should be more focused on transmitting the pro-social values, attitudes and life skills that our society craves. Sports can be a most potent change agent since it is a microcosm of life that presents many teachable moments, so that one gets the chance to repeat the same lesson over and over again, as well as to demonstrate proper approaches. This is how life skills, values and attitudes are taught and learnt. Sports in school is like a practical for life and should be focused on long-term life outcomes. This is of even greater importance at this time since, because of extreme stress on many Jamaican families, they are often overwhelmed and unable to provide the required social guidance to their children.

School has a major socialisation role to play because it acts as a surrogate parent and because this is where peer group influence grows. High school is also where youngsters start questioning the norms handed down by elders and become more susceptible to new ideas. This offers an opportunity, an opening to inculcate other values, attitudes, mindsets and philosophies (ways of looking at the world). This, along with equipping our youngsters with non-cognitive life skills (eg conflict resolution, getting along with people, delaying gratification, perseverance, confidence, academic behaviours, academic mindsets, transferring skills from one area to another, etc), should be the major thrust of sports and other extra-curricular activities in our schools. If this were so, then process, not outcome of extra-curricular activities, would be of critical importance and the ordinary student would be encouraged to do sports and a coach’s performance would not be judged simply by the numbers in the win/loss columns.

Public school is the only place that the overwhelming majority of our young citizens will be able to get the type of education/socialisation – the base that is vital to their survival in this modern, innovative, knowledge-based, globalised, world economy. We must not trivialise it, particularly in our situation where quality education is in short supply. The concept of recruiting for sports purposes by our specialised educational institutions, up to high school level, is a symptom of the win-at-all-costs approach to sports in some high schools and is flawed, warped in principle.

This is so since, in that scenario, sports, instead of playing a secondary and supportive role as an educational resource and as an educational/socialisation tool open to and aimed at developing all the young citizens — who legitimately qualify for the particular school and choose to participate — into good, pro-social, adult citizens, now becomes an end in itself, with the school, obsessed with winning, focused on another objective, that of developing sports icons — the mission of sports academies or clubs. If education/socialisation is paramount, as it should be in the 21st century, then this, the mission of our specialised educational institutions, should not be tampered with and corrupted.

In an article published in the Gleaner, July 12, 2017, Laurie Foster, a sports guru of Jamaica College vintage, exposed and lamented some of the inevitable excesses and corruption associated with the win-at-all-costs approach to sports in schools and its symptoms — recruiting for sports purposes by schools. The article was titled ‘The ball is in your court, ISSA’. Of course, the ball has always been in ISSA’s (Inter-secondary Schools’ Sports Association) court, and that is why the game is at a standstill — ISSA refuses to touch it!

ISSA, it appears, sees no evil, hears no evil, and speaks no evil. It seems, for so long, to have dealt with the improprieties, the ills — the negative consequences that perforce accompany recruiting for sports purposes by schools — by turning a blind eye. ISSA, with respect to the practice of recruiting for sports purposes, impresses as supporting the principle of ‘see and blind, hear and deaf’. This is particularly sad since ISSA is comprised of our premier educators.

The research on sports in schools is clear: It is important to think of high school sports not as an automatically positive educational force, but rather as “an empty form” (John MacAloon). A tool whose social meaning, use, and impact is dependent on the ways in which it is employed (Hartmann). If not properly utilised, sports can be detrimental to educational performance and outcomes.

While the Government works on the long-term plan to rehabilitate and strengthen our families, the short- to medium-term plans must involve our schools taking up more of the slack and being more focused and relentless in the attempt to educate and socialise our youngsters by helping to inculcate the pro-social values, attitudes and life skills that will at least reduce the production of citizens with antisocial mindsets. This means that all the activities of the school must be utilised more efficiently and effectively to help the school achieve its real mission.

Sports and other extra-curricular activities should be geared towards helping our schools accomplish this mission and should be inclusive, encouraging the participation of all students (future adult citizens) who legitimately qualify to be at a school. It should not be win at all costs and exclusive, encouraging only icons, even if this means going outside of the school to bring them in. This is the function of sports academies and clubs, not schools. It is much more important to develop a citizenry with pro-social values and attitudes. Just look at the criminality in our land and its effect if you need convincing.

Dr Lascelve “Muggy” Graham is a former Jamaica football captain. Send comments to the Observer or long.78@hotmail.com.