Cardiologists divide us into two types according to how our . Type A individuals are highly competitive, fast acting, rapid talking, and thus more exposed to stress whilst B types drown in the milk of human kindness and are indifferent to the passage of time. It is an uncomfortable fact that A types die twice as frequently from heart disease as B types, even when the risks of cigarettes, alcohol and cream cakes are taken into account. Personality is genetically determined; that is, A-type parents usually get A-type children. But the environment has a more important effect. One place where children soak up A-type behaviour is school, which is, by its very nature, a highly competitive institution. Too many schools adopt the ‘win at all costs’ principle and measure their success by sporting achievements. What I can’t forgive actually is not the current emphasis on making children compete against their friends or against the clock, but the system in which competitive A types are provided with more opportunity to succeed than their B-type fellows. By far, the worst form of competition in schools is the disproportionate emphasis on examination. Rather than concentrating on those things they do well, pupils are forced to compete by exams. For those who will inevitably fail, however, this kind of competition is definitely harmful.
Obviously, it is neither practical nor desirable that all A youngsters change into B’s. The world needs both types, and schools have an important duty to try to fit a child’s personality to his possible future employment. If the preoccupation of schools with academic work was lessened, more time might be spent teaching children better values. Perhaps selection for the caring professions, such as medicine, should be made not only by good grades but also by such considerations as sensitivity, kindness and honesty.