The discrimination between brilliant and dull students is rampant in Junior High and Senior high schools.
This article hence seeks to elaborate more on how teachers treat brilliant and non-brilliant students at the junior and secondary level of education and suggestions to curb this issue at hand.
Ghana’s Education system and curriculum have been arranged in a way that students’ performance is essentially based on how or who can better learn, understand, express him or herself, memorize content and write examinations on the subject or courses offered.
Those who can get excellent grades are called brilliant students and those who get low marks are classified as dull students.
Academic performance is the rating of students’ achievement in various academic subjects or courses. The academic subject is based on one’s level or class.
Students’ performance is measured using grade point average, graduation rate, annual standardized test, class test, homework, end of term examination, some colleges deals with entrance examination and what have you.
All these are conducted in the nursery, basic, junior high, senior high, and tertiary to determine students’ proficiency in the subject or course studied.
According to Mr Martin Atali, a government teacher at Medina Islamic Basic School said teachers over the years treat students differently based on their academic performances.
The less brilliant student is said to be unserious with their academics without thinking that they also go through a lot of things that one way or the other hinders them from focusing on their books and also getting good grades.
Providing them superior guidance when facing a challenge in academics can be the best solution.
Some teachers spare brilliant students from punishment, and school tasks. This mostly happens at the junior high school level where students are expected to clean the compound and classroom before class.
When the brilliant student does not participate in these things, he or she will not be punished but when the dull student refuses to perform this task she will be punished severely.
A similar incident happened in my senior high school days, some students were late to class and a friend of mine was part and the teacher did not flog her because she was a brilliant student in the class but others were punished because they were dull.
The teacher told them in their faces that neither do they like learning nor come to school early too. So they should find something to do with their lives than wasting resources on education.
Most often school positions are given to the brilliant student even when the less brilliant or blockhead students can take in charge.
Teachers normally send the outstanding students to workshops and inter-school quizzes abandoning the weak students. This makes the brilliant students feel superior.
A dialogue I had with Mr Shadrack Frempong, who is also a teacher, made me understand that he mostly pays heed or attention to the non- brilliant students than the brilliant students.
He further explains that as a teacher it is his duty or responsibility to impact knowledge on the learner whether the student is weak or good.
He has time for the weak students. He has done it in the sense that even some of the brilliant students assist the weaker ones in class when a task is given.
During reading and calculation for instance the brilliant ones in the class make sure their colleagues will be able to read.
He also makes sure he pairs the brilliant student with the weak student so they learn together and socialize.
He sometimes organizes extra classes. He always makes teaching and learning lively and simple for his students to understand.
He further said when teachers distinguish the weak and brilliant students, it affects their psychomental health.
Those who see themselves as brilliant tease the dull ones, give them names, refuse to play with them and disrespect them.
This also makes the dull students feel inferior and discouraged and some drop out of school. This should not be the case, they are all human and should be loved and cared for.
But in my point of view, I think all students must be treated equally without showing more attention to one group or the other.
This would help them improve their self-confidence, enhance their self-esteem, prevent inferiority complex and also help them grasp things faster and easier when they are taught. More room for improvement should be given to the weak students so they can participate in every activity that happens in school to help boost their academic performances.
