Sometimes the goal gets in the way

The standard small talk among parents of teenagers revolves around two questions: How are you doing with the smartphone? And: Will the child make it to grammar school? The first question is a matter of concern, the second is existential: they discuss learning strategies, exam questions and the inability of the maths teacher; they trade phone numbers of tutors and preparation courses. According to a survey of friends, all children receive private tutoring - in other words, all those who can afford it. Of course, the question of transferring to grammar school is always a question of social background. Having a child at grammar school is a mark of distinction in the increasingly elitist society of Zurich's educated citizens. It is not uncommon for parents to spend thousands of francs on preparation or even take legal action against schools. Entire families are breaking apart because of parents' greed for grammar school. Honestly, it's madness.
In the canton of Zurich, the transfer is linked to an exam. It's a so-called high-stakes test. These are exams where everything is at stake because the result has immediate consequences. Driving licence tests, theatre auditions or military service are just some of them. Or the Gymi exam. Over 80 per cent fail there. And those who pass don't arrive at grammar school with their heads held high, but rather exhausted and frightened.
Of course, nobody wants to deny that reading, writing and maths are more of a help than a hindrance in life. And nobody wants a world in which every pupil has to attend a grammar school. And yet something has got out of hand: Lessons from fifth to seventh grade are less about preparing for life and more about preparing for the transition. «Teaching to the test» is the term used in the USA when teaching is geared towards the exam. The driving force behind such a system is the fear of failure - and not the desire for content. It is a mirror of our society: people in the bank, in the factory, in the editorial office are worried about their jobs - and students in secondary school are worried about their promotion. Fear of failure can of course be used to force children to sit still, learn the rule of three or cram grammar. But fear will never get people to think long and hard, to love books, to be passionate about subjects.

Parents tell us that their children, who were so happy in the sixth or seventh grade, suddenly become disinterested and «cancelled out». Many believe that this is a harbinger of puberty. I think so: That's rubbish. After two years of secondary school, you shouldn't be surprised if the last shred of interest, enthusiasm or critical thinking has been erased from a 13-year-old's mind and all that matters is the grade point average.
The problem ultimately lies in the fact that the Gymi exam does not measure the skills needed to become a great person, but rather the skills - and only the skills - needed to pass the Gymi exam. Sometimes the goal just gets in the way.

Mikael Krogerus
is an author and journalist. The Finn, father of a daughter and a son, now lives in Biel and writes regularly for the Swiss parenting magazine Fritz+Fränzi and other Swiss media.