Academic selection at 11 means nothing
Julian's View • Published 16 Feb 2012 09:30
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For parents and children in P6 and P7 these are worrying times. The controversy surrounding the dreaded eleven plus is still going on, with no real end in sight. I have to say that I am no fan of the eleven plus, I was delighted when it was abolished in 2008. My only wish was that it didn't happen sooner, like in the mid nineties, when I had to sit it.
With all that said, I am not at all happy with the current situation. Nobody actually knows what is going on; many schools have introduced entrance exams, which mean that some children are now sitting several tests. The current situation is unfair on parents and children, and I would call upon those in power to sort out this mess once and for all.
However I believe that the situation was just as unfair during the reign of the eleven plus. I can remember clearly in primary school being told about how important this exam was, how it would affect the rest of your education and how a good grade was essential for later life. This was a grade that labelled you, and depending on what grade you receive, it could impact very negatively on the rest of your academic career.
The eleven plus pretty much sums you up as a success or a failure at the age of 10 or 11. It is worth noting that half the children who take the eleven plus are only 10 years old, not 11 like everyone automatically thinks. One must sit down and seriously consider, should a child really be tested in this manner at the age of 10? In my opinion it is much too young. With saying this, a child is never too young to forget the hurt associated with failing, especially when the majority of their friends have passed. When labelled a failure at this age, it is extremely difficult for children to get rid of this markedly depressed self-perception that is associated with failing. A lot of support is needed to turn this around, and for some it is a life-long scar.
I remember a few incidents when I was in P7, some parents would literally bribe their kids, if they passed the eleven plus they would get a new games console, or a new bike, and in one instance a girl told me her mother was going to buy her a pony if she passed. Of course these parents wanted their kids to do well, yet I cannot believe that this was their sole motivation for buying their child a gift if they passed, in my opinion it is more to do with social etiquette, being able to boast that your child is going to Grammar school.
With saying this I must state that this is not a reflection of all parents. Many parents are like mine, they supported me through everything, whether I passed or failed, it didn't matter to them, as long as I did my best. So what is the solution to this problem? I am afraid I do not have the answers, yet I do know that examinations at the age of 10 or 11 are not fair.
I remember sitting my eleven plus. There were two classrooms set aside for us, about 15 children in each room. The teachers had covered the walls with brown paper so as no one could be distracted by anything. The blinds on the windows were closed and all other classrooms in the immediate area also had to sit in complete silence. This was the atmosphere that I, as a ten year old child, had to sit my exam in. I remember clearly going into the classroom and taking my seat, for two years my classmates and I had sat countless practice papers, but here it was the real thing, the oh so very important eleven plus. I remember a girl sitting across from me who had brought in some of her lucky charm stones for good luck, I remember another boy in the room was so worried he got sick before the exam started and had to leave. The pressure was on, and I was noticeably nervous. I genuinely believed at the time that this was it, the most important exam of my life, I was only 10 years old but I was convinced that the duration of my life would evolve around my result in this test.
I remember finding the English and Science parts of the test reasonably easy; however I can't say the same for the maths. I just simply hadn't got a mathematical brain, and I still don't. I was sure that if anything would let me down in this test it would be the maths. When it was over I was relieved, however this was November and the results of the test would not be out until February meaning I had to worry about this for the next three months.
When the results finally did arrive, as I had predicted I had failed, I was upset yet I was just so relieved to put all this pressure behind me. Indeed it was extremely difficult having to listen to some of your friends boast about how smart they were and stupid you were, but this was something that you just had to live with. They had got into Grammar school and I had not, I was a failure and they were a success. This was the attitude I took with me into secondary school, and this was the attitude I had for years after my eleven plus. However as I grew older I started to realise that the eleven plus meant nothing. It was a grade the labelled you at 10 or 11, however it was pointless in later life.
Some will say that it is just a case of sour grapes with me, and I agree they are probably right; however I always find that those who are in favour of academic selection at the age of 10 and 11, are people who have passed the eleven plus. They are people who sailed through it all, gaining top marks and went off to Grammar school; they are people who have no idea of what it was like to feel a failure at 10 years of age, a hurt that still remains with many people to this very day.
So now in my mid twenties, I look back upon the eleven plus and stick two fingers up at it. I rejoice in the fact that if I have kids in the future, they won't have to go through that hell. Yes the eleven plus left a bad taste in my mouth, and I'm glad today that I am able to chew it up and spit it out.
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