St Joseph's College has been very keen on trying to bridge the gap between the good, average and below average students, but is that really working ? Image from Isla-Mauricia, Flickr SC and HSC results for 2011 generations have been less than encouraging and seems to stagnate year after year, probably even decline generation after generation. With hopes from the Mixed Abilities System slowly fading to oblivion, the future seems bleak for the Saints... With the Mixed Abilities System (MAS) catholic schools across Mauritius believe that signs of general progress would soon appear. Yet years have passed, and, sadly, results are yet to be seen on the ever-fading horizon. With 77.27% and 78.91% pass rate percentages at SC and HSC levels respectively, there seems to be some black spot somewhere; specially when we keep in mind that from this same school were ranked 3 students, 2 in the Science side -one which is known for its shear competition - and 1 candidate in the Technical side - one reputed to be dominated by CSE! If we spare a minute to ponder over these facts,we will realize that there is a small yet very good group of students along with a larger less abled candidates who not only bring down the percentage of passes but also contribute to a bad school public image. If the MAS should be applied, because, let's face it, the concept is a nice one, then the quota of below average vs good students should certainly be revised.Should the 50-50 quota be maintained, then results will follow the same discouraging trend... Indeed, this 50 percent below average is likely to hold back and drag half of the good students back as well. Peer pressure is definitely an issue in that story, but there's not much we can do about it! I say, let's imagine a 25% below average (GREEN), with a 15% average (YELLOW) together with a 60% good students (RED) and you get the perfect recipe for a forward-moving classroom! The class momentum is crucial and those doing Physics will agree that the more the good students, the more positive momentum the class will receive! Although this is far from being a learned proven set of figures, the point remains that the MAS needs to be revised ASAP for students in catholic schools to gain both academically and humanely. Humanely because, at the foundation of the MAS, there is the basic principle of helping others -and this is the best education; a holistic one. I believe the MAS should be abolished, but only revised because clearly, the figures are speaking for themselves... P.S. Let me know what you think by leaving comments. Sine Cera
12 Comments
Akr
2/10/2012 04:38:19 pm
Sjc will be better this year,the form 5 has a great potential, am sure it will be very promising
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kaushik
2/11/2012 01:12:03 am
@akr don't think so...
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Rajiv
2/11/2012 04:58:21 am
Well, not enough competition and dedication by the students, they take their studies for granted and almost forget about a good and bright future. It is the students who make a school but it's the school who has the role to guide those students towards progress (although some can do it by themselves). So, I believe that the MAS should be abolished and replaced by something more competitive that would boost the eagerness and willingness of the students to study and to be among the best.
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100% pursem josephian
2/11/2012 09:58:53 am
I agree that the present MAS formula is not working. It is a known fact that that human nature is more likely to give in to facility rather than effort. It should be no surprise that this intrinsic behaviour of human nature coupled with other factors like peer pressure and inexperience make it more likely that the lower 50% is extensively more likely to drag down the whole cohort rather than the upper half dragging it up.
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100 persem josephian
2/12/2012 11:23:26 am
communisme: absence of competition and incentives - everyone is equal: no elite, no class - a doctor gets paid the same as a layman irrespective of effort provided, MIXABILITIES paralleled...but in practice it was for the worst!!!
Stevie G
2/11/2012 11:10:28 am
Teachers' dedication and professionalism are other key factors in the success of the MAS... St Joseph's has been the victim for years, since the introduction of Mixed-ability classes, of those educators who either refused to work as they should with those students, condemning them the very first day they were at school, or simply don't have the authority and the capacity to teach their subjects. (A famous teacher teaching a commercial subject is an example of that situation).. Let us face the truth, the success of the MAS depends on the willingness of all the stakeholders, BEC, the administration, the teachers, the parents and students, to work together to get things right...
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Robin Van Persem ...lol
2/12/2012 04:56:48 am
totally agree with u stevie G...the problem is not only the students but also teachers who give in to facility rather than effort!!
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Stevie G
2/12/2012 05:27:18 am
No... it's not me!! The success of the MAS is simply never to be seen because of modern youth culture. The lower band will always drag the upper one towards average grades. Let's not point fingers at teachers and admit that there is a whole student crisis -we just need to know how to spot it, fix it and get moving!
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100 persem josephian
2/12/2012 11:26:10 am
Kelvin, ask yourself: why CSE and not us?? they have MAS too, but they know how to deal with it. Leave a Reply. |
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