Improving best practices of the Jamaican teacher

We keep hearing people talk about the well-used term "best practice," but do we know what it really means and how it applies to the Jamaican teacher?

According to education.com, best practice is a teaching or instructional method that has been demonstrated by research to be an effective learning tool. How does this apply to the Jamaican situation? This question I will attempt to answer and I hope at the end people will begin to understand the plight of teachers in Jamaica or, to put it in another way, the perils of teaching in many of the classrooms across the country.

The typical classroom in Jamaica, especially in the primary schools, is that of a standard four walls, or large class with chalkboard partitions, well-used desks, chairs, worn cupboards and tables. Unfortunately these are usually defaced by the very same students who use them. To add to that, the lovely 45:1 student-teacher ratio certainly makes the one-to-one interaction with a mixed-ability class virtually impossible, and limits the ability of a teacher to utilise teaching styles that can make a positive difference with students.

With such a ratio, in many of our Jamaican primary schools with limited class space, is it possible for the Ministry of Education's Building Officer to be creative by adding two or more classrooms to each overcrowded school? While he is at it, have the MOE employ two trained teachers who have never been employed for each overcrowded school, giving ease to the high student-teacher ratio, and give equal opportunity for teachers to utilise their best practices in ensuring that students learn in a more conducive and productive learning environment. This way, more students would have a chance to get quality individual attention.

I am not trying to create excuses for teachers, but how can a grade one teacher design intervention strategies for students when many of the very same parents object to it because it may cause personal embarrassment because their child cannot read well? How can a teacher create miracles when government keeps saying that there is not enough money available to assist, and when they dare to ask for help outside, that in itself opens a can of worms?

I do not think that many of the consultants of the Minister or Ministry of Education are truly aware of this because if they had informed the minister, then I think that the approach to remedy the education deficiencies would be effectively different. The minister must also note that many of the primary and high school graduates who do not perform well have serious learning disabilities and that has nothing to do with the competency skills of the teacher.

The teaching style of a Jamaican teacher cannot only be taught in colleges and universities. It is also developed, and many of our teachers have done miracles in stimulating the minds of students in many of the well-worn classrooms. Teachers, let us force the Education Ministry and the Jamaica Teachers' Association to create an easily accessible Best Jamaican Teaching Practices Data Base. This will allow teachers to use other strategies relevant to their unique situation so as to better arm themselves with how to encourage students to be better learners and be more effective in the classrooms. Let us show the non-educators what true best practices are all about.

A GSAT matter for urgent attention

Several parent friends of mine were complaining about the recently held GSAT. There was an issue with the mathematics paper, in that there should have been 80 test items, but at one particular school the questions came up 24 short!

The presiding officer had made the discovery and quickly informed the education ministry's regional office of the shortage. It was reported that a request was made for an education officer to intervene by supervising the reproduction of the missing questions on a copying machine, but the response was negative. The students proceeded to do the exams without the missing items.

Parents of the children who were affected made calls to investigate if other schools had similar problems. Several were identified. It was alleged in those instances that permission was granted to print or write on a board, the missing sections from one sheet that had the correct amount of items.

This had angered many parents because they were thinking of the fairness of the exams. This led me to ask the following questions:

a) Will the answers of the affected students be marked out of the original total (80) of the affected paper?

b) Will there be a resit of the mathematics paper for those schools or for the region that was affected by the question shortage?

c) Will there be a report and a question-and-answer session with the parents of the affected schools?

My suggestion to the Ministry of Education is to quickly address the matter so as not to create problems for themselves in the future. Questions of integrity, equity and professionalism can be raised and may force the powers that be to make hasty changes to the examinations or change the entire system to our detriment.

That matter of the missing questions must be properly addressed. This cannot happen again, for it has now left a bitter taste in parents' mouths.

Our children need to be psychologically settled on the matter. They are nervous and truly concerned about the fairness of the exams and wondering if their chances to transition to high school will be severely affected.

I cannot repeat the words used by both parents and children on this issue, but the picture has been painted and the image is dark and depressing. This matter needs to be addressed to dispel their fears or else they will find parents protesting against the GSAT.

Let's be true innovators improving students' performance

(THIS WAS LAST YEAR, I WONDER WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE THIS YEAR AUGUST?)

I wish to congratulate the Caribbean Examinations Council for moving in the right direction utilising technology and encouraging students to use the internet to access their CXC/CSEC results.

I know that there are households that may not have computers, but this is a cost-reduction method that I thought was brilliant. Also, years ago, many students were not given their results due to outstanding school fees, and students' chances to enter college immediately were denied.

After the release of the results, my music students started calling me after midnight, so from the early hours of Saturday, August 11, until about 9 am I was happily denied regular sleep. The results were very good. All had passed and not only for my subject, but also for the other subjects they had taken.

On investigation, the success rate for the school where I work was extremely high, as usual. So, the question is: why the prime-time broadcast recently by one of our ministers that might have implied that all high schools have received poor exam results? It is never good to generalise where results are concerned. Yes, the percentage trends in the performance of the CXC/CSEC results have wavered, but I think those schools that have maintained consistent results should be publicly commended. Let the successful schools be contracted by the education ministry to write papers showing the best practices used to guarantee excellent performance.

Why have those politicians who have not done well at public service escaped assessment? Are they really held accountable for underachievement? Does the government put a performance checklist in the over 60 constituencies for us to use to measure MPs' performance?

But we find that all teachers are placed under a huge public microscope and the public checklist is never clearly seen, but all teachers seem to be checked off for underperformance when unfavourable results are found. Pre-set labels have been clearly made, posted, and broadcast against teachers.

Yes, there are teachers that should be plucked from the classrooms and the Jamaica Teachers' Association needs to revamp its stance on "bad teachers" and get rid of them, but seriously, no one can deny that teachers are the ones who truly hold up a nation in providing a literate and numerate population. There are factors that prevent 100 per cent literacy and numeracy of our people such as bad parenting, poor health, and domestic abuse, but let us recognise the schools that have tried and worked hard, made strategic and pedagogical improvements. They have done well in ensuring that students are armed with the tools and skills needed to move to the next stage of their lives after high school. Let us not be myopic in our grandstanding but be true innovators with our journey to improve students' performance in general.

The music teacher's nightmare

MUSIC teachers are in great demand in Jamaican primary schools, and music education can greatly benefit our naturally musical students. The benefits of music education in primary education are: (a) developing concentration on a task, (b) organising thought processes, (c) following instructions, and (d) developing positive social skills.

Over the last two years, the Ministry of Education has been on a campaign to have our young children exposed to music as an active subject with the help of music specialists with various levels of training. This is where the nightmare begins, because those trained and skilled professionals have encountered some serious obstacles on leaving college. Firstly, the schools lack basic resources such as musical instruments and other materials. Secondly, there is no proper music room. Thirdly, there are negative attitudes and perceptions of many co-workers and even administration on the importance of music in schools, and lastly, most of the teaching styles acquired cannot be utilised because students have no formal exposure to music.

First-time teachers of music have encountered the "culture shock" in the first week of teaching. They have to beg, borrow, and spend their own money to create and equip the music department. When enthusiastic students see the hard work of their teachers, they contribute and participate greatly in co-curricular activities such as devotions, festivals and civic functions. This kind of participation helps students to feel connected with the school community and feel a sense of accomplishment, belonging and ownership. However, this progress doesn't come without additional "nightmares". Some teachers begin to express concerns about students spending "too much time playing music". Others declare that grade four and six students should spend all their time preparing for exams instead of performing before audiences. Here are two common complaints from others: "It's too much noise"; and "Music is not a subject for children to pursue." Slowly some of the well-rounded students withdraw from musical activities, some teachers of other classes start giving extra assignments in lunch intervals when it is time for rehearsals, and administration starts sending messages that rehearsals must be done at more remote locations. These are indeed demotivating factors.

However, "music shall forever live." The music teacher must struggle to make time and find locations to have classes and rehearsals. Through the innovative music teacher, the schools benefit from medals, trophies and recognition in the eyes of the public, and with that the reputation of the school is greatly publicised, and the music teacher prevails. It is sad, however, that the musical items we see performed by our primary and secondary students have to go through such a nightmare!

Our stakeholders need to view the benefits carefully, for it is a well known fact that music enhances the holistic development of a child.

Teachers must embrace technology

For the last 10 years, the Ministry of Education has been on a mission to have our teachers become computer literate. The truth is that the students who are in today's classrooms are technologically inclined and exposed, therefore the challenge is placed on teachers to embrace technology and include more use of it in their classes.

The truth is that many of our mature teachers (and some young ones too) are very much intimidated by the new gadgets called i-pod, i-pad, i-phone, tablet, laptops etc. To be honest, the demand is on teachers to invest and utilise the technology available in order to bring an exciting learning experience in the classrooms.

The schools and teachers who decide to adapt to technological changes are the ones who have captivated the interests of the students. Their classes are memorable and automatically those teachers are called "best teachers" in the schools for students see their "facilitators" identifying with the new age trends. As for the teachers who still hold on to the old traditional teaching styles, they are viewed as boring and dead and as a result, many students become disinterested in school and learning and fall prey to boredom and hyperactivity.

Currently, many of our graduating teachers are not taught how to integrate trending technology in the classroom and even if they do, their schools are not equipped to utilise them. However, I have some suggestions for those teachers.

They should:

(a) Read up on the gadgets that the students use daily so that they can be informed when they speak with the students.

(b) Invest their money into purchasing gadgets for themselves and learn how to use them, and

(c) Ask or pay someone to teach them how to use and integrate its usage in the classroom. Teachers who are perceived by their students to be technologically savvy will earn their respect.

Let us face it, the learning environment of students extends outside of the classroom and the 21st century teacher must be prepared to become a "techi" and be up to date with the times. According to Farrant (1980), "In the teaching process, the teacher has an important role to play because he/she acts as catalyst, actively stimulating learning."

Our teachers should recognise the trends and interests of the students and become "catalysts" in the minds of the children. When that happens the learning environment becomes very productive and fun and in the end the students will be motivated to do assignments beyond what was given.

THE REAL COST OF TEACHER TRANSFER

Many of the developed countries have policies that work well in their social situations. However, in the case of Jamaica, certain policies may not be feasible. One such policy change is the transfer of teachers from one region to another.
Majority of our teachers are settled in their jobs and have permanent homes with families. Many of the teachers have established programmes within their schools, churches and communities and dislocating them would be harmful to the beneficiaries. 

It has been said that the over staffed schools will have the extra teachers transferred to understaffed schools that are in need of specially trained teachers. Therefore there are some questions that need to be answered; a) is the Ministry of Education (MOE) going to provide accommodations for these transferred professionals? b) will affordable or alternative transportation be provided for those teachers who will have to travel longer distances? c) will there be a change in remuneration for the proposed transferred teachers, and d) where is the empirical data that supports the idea that the transfer of teachers will improve instruction and learning outcomes? And there are still more questions!

However, there are some cost effective suggestions that the MOE can employ: a) strategically increasing the amount of students to improve the student teacher ratio, b) direct the teachers’ colleges to reconstruct their programmes according to the needs of the schools in the different regions so that the schools that are in need of subject specialist will be supplied as soon as there is a vacancy, and c) the MOE needs to install an online student-teacher census management system that is updated each term by each school administrator in order to provide the ministry with updated information. This can facilitate easy access to updated information on each school. This way, the MOE will have better management of teacher deployment in the various regions when new teachers apply for a teaching position.

There are better ways in dealing with the issues of teacher transfer. Some policies that are good for some countries are not ideal for Jamaica therefore care must be given before implementing changes that may end up being “penny wise and pound foolish.”

We really need to save our boys

AFTER listening to the findings of CaPRI on our education system a few days ago, many teachers went into a reflective mood. As a teacher myself, I looked at the strategies used in the past and had to ask myself: "Did I contribute to this failure?" But from the report, I heard a bigger looming question: "Has Jamaica failed our boys?'

Over the years, many boys have not done well at sitting the external exams. However, there are others who have achieved mastery in the subjects of their choice and have continued to achieve greatly in their occupations. In comparative terms, females have done much better than our males at varying levels of education, but have there been local publications to identify what are the causes of this disparity?

Yes, there are! Graduate students of various universities have done their research on the matter and also many publications have been printed in journals. There have been discussions at various workshops and seminars. However, where are the innovative officers from the Ministry of Education? An innovative principal in region III has made the move to facilitate a gender separation at a junior grade. This resulted in the boys making good strides in academic achievement. This move was as a result of an action research done by a member of staff and upon seeing the benefits, the innovation is continuing.

The MOE is not only to be reactive but proactive to educational issues and constructively anticipate problems before they occur. It is my hope that after hearing the CaPRI report, especially on the poor academic performances of our boys, that the Ministry will seek to:

(1) Improve on the attitudes of teachers who marginalise boys by the way they are treated

(2) Separate the boys from the girls and alter the curriculum for the troubled boys if they are woefully underperforming. That way the boys will have a chance to motivate themselves with the aid of the "special teacher" who will positively challenge them to perform.

(3) Provide incentives for the boys throughout infant, primary, high school and college. Too many times the males in our society have been marginalised and labelled as worthless. Scholarships and awards are good tools to stimulate and maintain interest in becoming achievers and individuals of worth.

(4) Provide reputable church leaders and counsellors at schools to manage and maintain a mentorship and stewardship programme. Raising a nation of males without the spiritual development is a huge mistake in such a country as ours. Also, a nation without the spiritual and ethical components will get lost in emotional darkness.

The Education Ministry needs to constructively look at CaPRI's findings and act on the recommendations relevant to the situation at hand. I am sure after hearing of the award of a low grade given to our education system that those responsible must be asking some serious questions about the effectiveness of their stewardship in a developing nation.

We need to help our males become better leaders, role models and better managers of their family lives, and the best place to mould them after the home is school. We do have the affordable resources and the manpower to rescue our boys.

Mental ability and its place in schools

As a child growing up, I remember using a paperback green book in primary school simply called Mental Ability in Schools. This book had both questions and answers and helped me to study on my own in class and on holidays. This was bought and given to me in grade four, and I believe it was the same book that carried me to grade six, even though it was no longer the official text. This was 35 years ago.

Mental ability was a session in my class that gave the teacher the opportunity to help us students to reason. My teacher always said that we ought to use common sense to get through life. She would use practical situations to reason. My mother, who was also a teacher in the same school I attended, was the queen of mental ability, because not only did she conduct classes on the subject with her grade-one students, but our home became a classroom all season.

The mental ability sessions she and my grade-four teacher created have carried me through school, where I applied that skill to all my subjects and had to utilise it when I studied part-time over the last few years.

no reasoning ability

As a teacher myself, I find that annually 75 per cent of the students I teach in first form are unable to reason. As soon as I give problem solving in any subject matter, the first thing that they would utter is, "Lord God, maths!" or "Me head a go buss!" (May I tell you that I do not teach maths.) Each time when I make each task simple, they would say, "Was it that easy?"

I took it upon myself to check with some primary-school teachers to investigate how many still use mental-ability books in school. First, some grade-four classes use it unofficially; second, it is not on the book list in many of the schools and at the grade-six level, as many of the teachers do not see the need to use it, because of the stress of preparing for GSAT and getting students passing that national examination (what a stress!).

Today, with mathematics results being consistently dismal annually, why can't the Ministry of Education allow the formulation of a mental-ability assessment programme in first form? Standardise this assessment according to a formula (levels of questions which are research-based) that can determine what level of reasoning students are utilising and provide an intervention programme to help students to think, rationalise, reason problems and write their own problem-solving questions and answers.

do an assessment

Develop a mental-ability question-and-answer bank (Q & A) so that teachers and students can use questions that can help others with such a skill deficiency. Appoint a teacher in each school who can be given such a programme one hour twice weekly and do follow-up assessments to track their mental development in reasoning skills. The teacher should present her findings - either written or oral - but they should be documented and published so as to provide best possible approaches to others who are in need.

If this approach is developed both in the primary and high schools, it can assist in reducing the problem of non-thinking students. I also believe this approach not only can improve mathematics and reasoning in grades 11-13, but also enhance life skills in general.

Let us bring back the mental-ability books for the grades four to six in schools and create better-thinking students. How about it? Let us reason!

Give the good teachers a break!

I can recall last year when the CSEC results in the region were considered better than those of the previous years. Various doctoral spokespersons stood on their soap boxes in the public media and responded by saying that CXC's standards had lowered, hence the reason for the "success".  Hardly anyone commended our nation's teachers for applying good teaching strategies and best practices to bring out the best from students.

Now, one month after the release of this year's results that showed a decline of the average performance in English and mathematics, the discussion is not centred on the academic quality of the students who took the exams, nor the number of independent candidates who sat the various papers. Instead, the talk is about teachers of mathematics being "under qualified or untrained". Mark you, these, for the most part, would have been the same teachers who reaped success the previous year. These are the teachers who have not received adequate funding over the years and now, all of a sudden, they have failed our students.

The subjects that go unmentioned this year have received 100 per cent pass rates. No one will be accepted into recognised institutions with just English and mathematics passes alone. And what about those students who have done well at the schools which had not usually done well? What about the schools whose CXC averages have gone above 90 per cent? Where is the praise? Where is the reward? Where is the incentive? To all the professional town criers, please, give the good teachers a break!

Professor Errol Miller, at the most recent Jamaica Teachers Association annual conference, mentioned the dilemma in assessing students based on only one year's data and it dawned on me to ask: Is this a conspiracy against our teaching professionals and administrators who have had little resources and who have had to be innovative and do their best with the students placed before them? What about the teachers who have reaped successes over the years? Where is the recognition, the acknowledgements, the congratulations? If these same teachers were to be recruited by the United States, without a doubt they would reap success within the various school districts.

Where are the commendations for those students who have truly done well under the guidance of their "undertrained" teachers? Good Lord, give me a break! Stop killing our nation's professionals who have sacrificed much, even their own bank accounts, to ensure success is achieved! The pre-Colonial "hangmen" who are trying to tie a noose of perfectionism around the necks of teachers hardly have the experience or the competence to function in the classroom daily. Let us remember that teachers, who are accused of poor performance today, are the very ones on whom the nation's parents depend to produce the workforce of tomorrow.

The teacher who steps into the classroom is the one who has been given the tools — sometimes none at all — to create future politicians, public and private sector workers, and education ministers. Have dialogue with the real practitioners in the field, those who are currently digging the trenches, engaged in research, publishing textbooks, developing strategies, structures and techniques in the transfer of information, and you will realise.

Mention has been made of selecting teachers from Kingston to act as resource teachers for the rest of the island. So, only Kingston teachers have sense? Can't the powers that be utilise teachers from across the island who have had 90 per cent average passes?

I do agree to have teachers who are non-performing and ineffective in the classroom removed and replaced with skilled, qualified and trained persons who can not only deliver content, but develop students who can process, synthesise and apply knowledge and become useful to society in the long run.

However, there is more to the story than the qualification of teachers; the lack of resources and support material from the Ministry of Education plays a major role. I suggest that teachers be given the opportunity to conduct research to investigate current and long-standing issues, publish their findings and make recommendations with the hope that the ministry can address the shortcomings.

The-proposed Licensing of the Jamaican Teacher

JAMAICAN teachers now have an added stress to their list of stresses; this is the proposed licensing of teachers. The Jamaica Teaching Council which has been created by the Education Minister is on a drive to have all Jamaican teachers licensed. Some consultants, contracted by the Ministry of Education, believe that licensing of teachers will achieve levels of performance that we all desire our children to achieve more. At a recent teachers' meeting it was announced that the proposed Bill is being discussed and may soon become an Act that will have all our nation's teachers to be licensed every five years; that may come at a cost to the teacher. Currently, most of our teaches are certified.

However, while I agree that teachers must be held accountable, I also believe that certain educational interventions must first be made. Here are some such as, (a) better selection process of prospective educators at the teachers' colleges, (b) regular and relevant workshops for teachers who seem not to function well with the students selected to be taught, (c) workshops and updates with parents on their children's performance, (d) improving the working conditions and facilities of teachers, (e) sensible remuneration of teachers, and (f) intervention by way of the administration and education Officers to assist teachers who are experiencing pedagogical difficulties.

Now teachers who are truly strapped for cash after upgrading themselves, educating their own families, having various loan repayments, may have to pay for licensing themselves.

The Ministries of Education of our Caribbean neighbours use teacher certification, not licensing, and injected funds into educational innovations and allowed teachers to put their best practices to print so that other educators could glean and utilise approaches and information relevant to their content area and emphasis. They also improved on the resources available for students' advancement.

Yes, we know that locally several educators at the primary levels have written good text books on integration and discrete subjects, but has the ministry been seriously assisting more of our secondary teachers to write? Will there be scope for mobility if the licensed qualified primary school teacher wants to teach at the secondary level? Can you imagine, after 30 years of teaching, being the bread winner of the family, a teacher can be sent home?

It would be sad if the powers that be begin to act like the Wild West, building the gallows for any "Pre-Colonial Hangman" to pull the lever on the teachers to fall through trap doors, after his JTC Sheriff places the noose over the teachers' necks without a fair trial.

All this to be performed before the jeering crowd of public opinions while the consulting morticians await the removal of the carcasses and bury them in the cemetery called Dedication. I hope this is not where MOE and JTC are heading! Which prospective licensed teacher would want to have this fate?

What a stress!