The futile pursuit of numbers

Have you ever wondered why we have thrown ourselves so passionately into the quest for numbers and rankings? Wondered why everything has become quantifiable and why this is the ultimate measure of success?

At universities – not to mention schools and every other type of educational institution or body – you will not find a pupil or student that cannot cite one or more such numbers: their grades on their school exams, how many points they amassed in the nationwide university entrance exams, their grades at university, how many years they’ll need to graduate and so on. The academic community (among others) expends an enormous amount of time, effort and energy writing reports on the measurable indicators related to students’ progress and these reports go on to become the ultimate tool that determines decision-making.

But what of all those things that cannot be measured by indicators or for which indicators have not been devised? What is actually going on with the school and university students, with our children more generally, with these members of our society, members who represent the future not just of this country but of the world? How can we continue to have demands of these youngsters without first making the effort to approach them as human beings and not as the sum of different numbers?

I come across youngsters dealing with myriad problems every day at the university where I work. Kids who can’t afford to continue studying; kids who don’t have the psychological support they need; kids who are victims of abuse in various forms; and kids who have to work long hours to make ends meet…. Kids, kids, kids…

Simply caring can act as a catalyst to awaken youngsters’ latent sense of purpose and drive

I do not use the term to suggest that they are young and irresponsible, nor to suggest that they are acting as such. I call them kids because I see them as being full of prospects and dreams, unsullied. I also use the term because our role as educators demands that we deal with them as people who are still in the formative process, knowing that our contribution to this process is much more definitive than we often – skittish of the responsibility – want to believe.

As instances of violence disrupt even the early grades of high school, with domestic violence on the rise, the estrangement of young individuals through social media and the digital era in general, the isolation facilitated by video game entertainment solutions, and the enormous financial pressures compelling most parents to engage in two or three different jobs just to make ends meet, the role of the educator is more essential and significant now perhaps more than ever before.

Now is the moment to reach out to these kids, to support and embrace them. Now is the moment to become something more than a resume and to reveal those facets of our roles and offices that may not be measurable or may not interest anyone enough to measure, but which have a major impact on the future of every pupil and student; and by doing so, making a small contribution to the future. Let us treat each kid as a person rather than a number. Having worked in many parts of the world – from the United States to the United Arab Emirates and India – I have ascertained, firsthand, that simply caring can act as a catalyst to awaken youngsters’ latent sense of purpose and drive.

I also know that if we activate or intensify our expression of care and support toward Greece’s boys and girls, its young men and women, we will be the first to benefit and to learn. Our responsibilities as educators are not limited to what’s in the job descriptions. Just as our true role in society is not defined by the narrow letter of the law, but, rather, by cultivating all those things that cannot be measured by indicators.

Marina-Selini Katsaiti is an associate professor and chair at the Agricultural University of Athens’ Department of Regional and Economic Development.