Dream Academy

I had a dream.

It was – I daresay – an awesome dream.

(big borrow from Lionel Richie’s mega-hit “Say You, Say Me.”)

I saw that West Indian Sporting History and General Knowledge had been made examinable at SEA, CSEC and CAPE levels, and that the powers-that-be had made School-Based Assessments integral to the structure of these subjects.

Dreams most times zip into weird directions. This one didn’t; rather, it zeroed in on cricket.

I was seeing respective West Indian governments combining with private interests and other willing stakeholders to invest in the provision of crowd support at cricket matches, especially test cricket. They had arranged with the West Indies Cricket Board to have test matches begin on Wednesdays. Schools were rostered to attend the first three days, and attendance at these matches was not all fun-and-games; they were, rather, part of the SBA structure.

Students were being tasked with individual and group work, and every single aspect of match day was covered in the course work: from strategy on the field of play to the media commentary; from television coverage to the food outlets; from the administrative operation on the day to interviews with players, coaches, ground staff. Nothing was left untouched.

Half-an-hour per session was devoted to the coursework, to ensure that the day was not entirely drowned out by schoolwork.  And the SBA submissions formed part of the resource bank shaping the framework for the future administration of the game.

And – as if I were in an alternate universe – I was seeing West Indian Media Houses determining that scrapping for broadcast rights was inimical to the progress and success of the sport – and their own business interests! - and had shifted their focus to combining their resources and efforts to provide wide coverage on free-to-air, cable and online outlets to schools as the curriculum allowed.

Then I awoke. Rubbed my eyes. Surveyed a bit of the world around us on those techno-cyclopes now necessary for day-to-day living.

Then I slunk back to sleep …