EDUCATION IS TIMELESS

Sep 22, 2017 Editorial

The term “hard ears” was commonly used in Guyana mostly by parents and teachers to describe children who were determined to have their way and who stubbornly refused to heed the warnings, advice and instructions of elders.
It was meant to let children know that their behaviour was not in keeping with the norms of society. Today, the term is hardly used because many parents seem to have lost control of their children or tend to act as if they do not care.
In fact, society has changed and so too has the language. Many words and phrases have disappeared and new ones have appeared. Today we hear about child abuse.
Amid growing concerns about deviancy, indiscipline and bullying, schools are increasingly becoming hotbeds of violence. This may be due to a series of factors, not least among them the impact of social media. The very social media perpetrates the most intimate problems in schools and broadcasts them.
This distraction leads children away from their academic pursuits. There was the case of children videoing their peers in sex acts despite the best advice of the parents.
However, the purpose of schools is to educate children, prepare them for work and to make meaningful contributions to the development of the country by equipping them with the necessary skills and attitude to be productive, successful and decent citizens.
A good education is the key to a prosperous and bright future although some of the apparently successful people seem to challenge this contention. Indeed, with a proper education, many Guyanese were able to obtain a good education, including those who were not born into great wealth.
Today, this is hardly the case as many of our students, regardless of their status are distracted by the lure of the illegal drug trade, gangs and criminality. Materialism and money, whether obtained legally or not, seem to be the opium of youths.
The wisest choice for the children today is for them to continue to do their best in the pursuit of a good education. But this can only be achieved by a change in our culture which places more emphasis on a glamorous lifestyle and less on the importance of education, which is a timeless vocation.
Ironically, this generation of youth has displayed little interest in education. The members are associated with deviant behavior. As in the past, those who are imprisoned today have shown signs of being on this path from their school days.
Because of the distractions and the poor quality of teaching many children are functionally illiterate. Do not bother to ask why they fell through the cracks and why the education system failed them. Indiscipline and a casual approach by educators helped this situation. It was not solely the result of bad choices on the part of the students.
For decades, Governments have tried to reform the education system so that our youths can become educated like the many scholars and experts before them.
As a country, if we are truly serious about becoming the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business, then we need to revamp the education system. One of my major concerns with the education system is that there are too many Band-Aid solutions to the deep-rooted problems in the education system.
The government cannot continue to patch up a shabby education system. Education is timeless.
There have been attempts to modify the teacher training programme but the education system from which these trainees come is also flawed. We cannot do the impossible and modify the entire process at one go because we do not have the resources. Yet the solution must rest somewhere. There have been attempts to rehire the retired who would have had a better schooling.