There are obvious flaws in the education system

Nov 20, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The education system in Guyana has undergone changes over the years, some of which are of a positive nature, while others have deleteriously affected the entire process. I would endeavour to highlight two of these problems.
Fundamental to education is the idea of discipline. It is the starting point of all learning, because a disciplined mind is an embodiment of knowledge, wisdom and understanding where our intellect develops to its full capacity. Sadly, there has been an erosion of this concept in the present education system and this has been a sore point in the whole scheme of things.
It all began when mainstream educators and politicians thought it best to demonise and outlaw corporal punishment, wherein it is virtually off the books as a form of correction for the errant child. So the adolescent who has a consistent habit of wrongdoing; not willing to confirm to normal acceptable modes, would see this as an incentive to his disruptive mannerisms, as opposed to maximizing that time in positive thinking.
This has been a troubling factor for high school principals and teachers alike, who spend too much time and energy on the misfits instead of directing that attention on those who want to learn. We have adopted the American system in our Caribbean schools, which stipulates no flogging of a child when he or she steps out of line.
So the question is what must you do with that child who habitually flouts the rules and stubbornly refuses to confirm?  Being an educator myself I’ve had a few run-ins with such deviants, who I must say if not dealt with quickly have the capacity to control the entire class.
I do not subscribe to that school of thought that says that a student should be allowed to hijack my class and I stand there impotently unable to deal with the lad. Wouldn’t that child been better served, swift and condign, in the administration of a few lashes and have him return to class to make use of his time wisely?
As the scripture says it will drive the foolishness far from him. But modern thinkers disagree with this age old tried and proven strategy, they consider this to be inhumane, slave mentality or teaching that child violence.
Speaking of violence, I have never seen so much violence as I see today from the so-called kids, who were brought up in a no flogging system; just take a look at the wanton violence in American schools and you would be forced to agree with me. This trend is fast replicating itself here in the Caribbean with some of the most brazen attacks recorded and it gets bleaker and bleaker as we see no redress coming anytime soon.
Another option is to send that child for counseling. This is a strategy I most strongly resist because it is counterproductive to the whole process of discipline, hardly producing any tangible results.  My view of this is once you are not physically or psychologically handicapped and just playing the ‘fool’, counseling will not work.
Given the attitude of the modern day misfit, counseling is then viewed as a pause in their foolhardiness with a prompt resurgence at the termination of those sessions.
So what we have left is the administering of suspensions once he/she is under age 16 and the last option available expulsion when the student is above that age limit. We are now experiencing the dark side of that “modern system” as more and more students have to be put out of school only to be integrated into the criminal gangs and the lot, when you analyse the crime wave and its juvenile adherents. My point is corporal punishment especially to a Caribbean child, is corrective guidance that should not be removed from the code of ethics in high schools.
This brings me to my next point, which is the rising number of students leaving secondary schools with little or no qualification whatsoever; the situation at Ann’s Grove Secondary readily comes to mind. In this case the head-teacher gave a qualifying or mock exam as a precursor to them signing up for the CSEC. This is a normal exercise conducted at this time of year. However, more and more students are being eliminated by this process as their scores fall way below the acceptable level; Ann’s Grove and more recently Cummings Lodge Secondary are harsh examples. These students are asked to leave the system and the hue and cry begins, but one should not fail to recognise the big picture, which tells of students who could not measure up to the bare minimum of standards required for the external exam.
So the question remains: what would you do with such students? I would have been a bit more diplomatic in my approach. Principal Cooper saw it differently; she was practical and realistic in her approach to the problem by advising them to withdraw from school.
When you do an in-depth analysis of high school dropouts you will find that it is not their fault at all, but one that lies in the realm of top education officials in Central government, who inadvertently lump all students into one big academic stream. Placing these students in a purely academic educational system when for the most part they are of a technical/vocational orientation is bound for certain failure.
This comes from a grand plan of the predecessor of the present Education Minister who thought it best to convert all community High Schools into mainstream high schools therefore those teenagers who are of a vocational aptitude immediately found themselves ostracized and devoid of real education; there should be a rethink of the present system.
A call goes out to the powers that be to conduct a general overhaul of the entire learning process as it pertains to secondary education. Either you reintroduce the community high schools or reassess the curricula for the multilateral schools making them more vocational in nature.
Such a revised course of study should include practical hands on subjects like motor mechanics, cosmetology, electrical installation among others. In this way we will be catering for the needs of the average achiever at the secondary level.
Neil Adams

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