Should there be elite classes? Write a letter to the editor to EITHER support OR oppose the policy.

Should there be elite classes?  Write a letter to the editor to EITHER support OR oppose the policy.

Dear Editor,

I am writing to discuss whether there should be elite classes. It is a tradition for many local schools to set up elite classes, but recently, more and more schools in Hong Kong have abolished the policy. It seems that more and more schools have finally noticed the disadvantages of elite classes. I really appreciate the decisions of them as the elite class system is really not a good idea in school.

Elite classes actually can be harmful, not because of the original purpose it carries, but the labelling effect it brings about. As the forming of the elite classes depends on students’ academic performances, parents, teachers, and students in elite classes may look down on the students in non-elite classes who perform poorly or not so well in exams. Pupils in non-elite classes may therefore develop low self-esteem and perform even worse because of the lack of confidence. This disadvantage is obvious.

Another disadvantage related to labelling is that, the policy of elite classes will easily make students, teachers and parents highly regard academic results as everything, which is very unfair and not appropriate. Students struggling for good results, teachers pushing students to get good results and parents forcing their children to get good results would be naturally the direct consequence. Some people may say that this can give motivation for students to work hard, yet this is unfair and also causes frustration to the non-elite pupils. Everyone has different talents, so if all people are only focusing on academic performance, the needs of the pupils who have potentials in arts, sports and music will be overlooked. In this way, the elite-class policy has indirectly sent a bad message, which goes against the original purpose of education.

What is more, despite the good studying atmosphere created in elite classes, the great pressure from the competitive environment will be a huge burden to the students, teachers, and parents. Although some people may say that adopting elite classes would be easier for teachers to allocate resources and prepare teaching materials according to the levels of their students, unfairness in distribution of resources will be caused as many teachers tend to give more challenging exercises to the elite ones only. Why should the average classes be deprived of the chance to do challenging exercises? In fact, teachers can also provide additional homework to more elite students in the average classes. Therefore, the elite-class system is not necessary.

All in all, there should not be elite classes as the policy is harmful and unfair to pupils. Instead, mixing elite and non-elite students would be better than separating them solely on academic performance. Doing so the elite ones could teach the less elite ones, and both could enjoy less pressure. Is not this better than labelling all the students causing them unnecessary stress? I hope all schools can provide students with a fairer and more relaxing learning environment. Let’s say NO to elite classes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Yours faithfully,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Esther Lou