What is happening to the police force?

The security force is supposed to keep a nation safe.  These people are specially chosen to protect and serve the  nation making it a safe place to work, go to school, and live freely.  But in the last few months our nation went into shock when some of the most publicized arrest of robbers were in fact policemen.

It must be embarrassing to the police constabulary to realize that some of their colleagues and for some coworkers were implicated with the incidents of robberies that happened.  The question that I have for this is why?  Why person who swore to protect our nation decided to rob it?  Is it a case that they are so broke that they are compelled to steal?  Is it that there is too much stress on the job and they experience a meltdown thus turning to part time crime as a coping mechanism?  Whatever it is, it shows that the Jamaica Constabulary Force now has to review their recruitment exercises and conduct sporadic psychological tests to proper evaluate the mental well being of the members of the force.

Our nation is experiencing serious economic stresses but if everyone of us were to crumble and turn to crime, then the nation would be under siege.  Our Ministry of Health needs to deal with the issue of mental health of our overly stressed workers who are grossly underpaid.  This may seem to be a joke to some but there are many persons who are borderline insane and are at breaking point at our work places and homes! More and more individuals have taken drastic and negative actions due to feelings of  desperation and hopelessness and with that thinking, some individuals crack under pressure and do stupid things.

I end by asking the question, are our police thieves?  I say no!  It would be appropriate that the powers that be, instead of focusing on one type of remedy, should focus on the emotional stability and family life stability of members of the security force.  It may not be a cure for all things  but in the end it would become a preventative measure to reduce the incidents of not only police crimes but other crimes in our country.  The Jamaica Constabulary Force should take note!

Are there Lego Beasts in the Classroom?

About two weeks ago,  education minister spoke at the most recently Jamaica Teachers Association Annual General Meeting held in Montego Bay.  I believe that Honourable Ronald Thwaites was truly feeling what our educators have been feeling over the years and with the passion that he felt for the overhauling  of our education system he just simply expressed himself.

It is understood that the term "lego beast" seemed belittling of people's children but the reality for many of our under performing schools is that there are children who are released to the schools that seem to posses "lego beast mentality!"  One must remember the context in which this descriptive statement was used.  The minister was simply stating that our nation's teachers were spending too much time disciplining students before they had a chance to teach and by the time the class is settled, most of the teaching time is reduced, much to the disadvantage of the other students who want to learn. This is the frustration good teachers and students have to deal with on a daily basis and to be honest, it is a huge turn off for many educators who are now dealing with higher levels of over active students in the classrooms.  I guess parents think that teachers can deal with the problems that they cannot fix at home.  Teachers are supposed to teach or guide a child and not become referee and security officers!

Yes, Mr. Thwaites gave a charge to the parents to stop sending their "lego beasts" into the education system.  Was it a poor choice of colourful words?  Was he emotionally charged  due to the fact that maximum learning and contact time are not achieved in the schools?  I leave that for you to answer.  But what I do know is that many of our "Ivy League" schools that have received good parental support have lesser behavioural issues to deal with, thus producing successful grade averages in final examinations.

My take on this is that if parents know that they have troubled children at home, they shohuld find methods of interventions, When this is addressed, they should send them to school and inform the guidance department and administration of the emotional/behavioural issues so that teachers can develop strategies to deal with them.  Do  not "let go" the" troubled children" on the schools, it can become a crazy Zoo in there!

Please, Honour Our Athletes!

After witnessing history unfolding before our eyes on the global screen, I think that our country should before the staging of the 2016 Olympics, should do something tangible to recognize not just two but all the athletes who represented  our country over the decades. 

An athletic museum should be set up in Trelawny or Ocho Rios, on a one acre property with different buildings erected to represent the different stages of our track and field history and development.  

This is my vision:

1.      The first building should have the images of the pioneers of Jamaica’s track and field representatives and their coaches.  This section should have life sized pictures and biographies of each person involved in the process. 

2.      The second building should have the development of the track and field programme and the government’s drive to improve the quality of the coaches and the role the Primary and All Age School annual athletic meet.  Pictures and biographies of those young athletes who became part of the dream team in the 90’s and 2000.

3.      The third building should have the athletes of the decade featuring Walker, Bolt, Pryce, Powell, etc.  These should also have life sized pictures of those athletes strategically placed throughout the building.

4.      The fourth building should be a National Sports Library filled with relevant information for CSEC Physical Education students, research students and members of the local and international cable companies to gain special access.  An online library should be developed and registered as credible referenced sources. 

5.      The fifth building should be a Jamaican home style cook shop where roast yams, roast salt fish, boiled green bananas, dumplings, mackerel run-down, ackee and salt fish with roast or fried breadfruit, etc.  Also a Jamaican juice counter and water fountain should be in that building.

6.      The sixth building should have a souvenir store.  This should have autographed memorabilia for persons to purchase.  These should be in dual currencies that will facilitate local and overseas visitors to the attraction.

7.      Outside should have life sized waxed or bronze statues of Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, Deon Hemmings, Merline Ottey, etc.  This should be at a place strategically placed outside but protected for persons to take pictures beside the images. 

The buildings should be in Jamaican colours, with the walls having draped colours of the flag along with white.  Also, special effects lighting should be there.  Outside should have several fountains with a make shift waterfall and a mini botanical garden for persons to either picnic or take pictures. 

I know that it seems as if I am a dreamer but I think my country can benefit from this.  After all, our athletes are a great reservoir of resource and a multi-million dollar investment should be made to make this possible.  I am almost sure that companies such as Puma, Nike, and other sporting companies will topple over themselves to invest in such a concept.  It is time to truly honour our athletes, what do you think?

Back to School Again!

"Ring-a-ling-a-ling, school bell ring and its back to school again."  This was a line from one of Bunny Wailer's song several decades ago.  At that time, there was more optimism in the air about teaching and learning and there was a better spirit of enthusiasm.  Now, the jury is out.


For some, students are looking to get themselves together to invade the classrooms and recall all the fun and not so fun things they did this summer.  Others, teachers coming back to work to face another year of service to the country with very little money to take care of things both at work and at home.  Yes, and there are others who are in better positions for one reason or another but what is clear is that education has become more challenging annually.

I am for one embracing the new academic year, with fresh students coming out of primary school who I am sure will be feeling excited that they have arrived.  I will see proud parents,  ones with bouts of anxiety and high expectations, the others, with pious faces transmitting an inflated sense of entitlement.  Whatever the situation, this well paid teacher is prepared with my etched  professional smile ready to receive them all.  After all, I am a teacher!

I do hope that this batch this year will be packaged with better socialization and oral skills because in the previous year, there were many students who were lacking in both.  I hope that the parents are fair to my colleagues (who am I kidding!).  I cannot help myself being completely optimistic about the new school year.  I hope I get a good chair, new registers and mark books, resources for the various subjects that I teach and a freshly painted structure.  Those things, though simple make a difference to one's quality of life (peace of mind).  It helps one to mentally compensate in order to be happy at the workplace.  I, would like to be happy again!

So, as the bell rings for the resumption of school, let all of us be optimistic about the classroom/working/social/environmental conditions.  Education is a must.  Teachers must be prepared and be contented, students must be respectful, administration must be considerate and supportive and most of all, parents must be cooperative.  Off I go.  "Ring-a-ling-a-ling!

Was the tablet an expensive pill to swallow?

Two years ago I wrote an article about the introduction of the computer tablet into schools.  It was called, "The tablet, an expensive pill to swallow."  I questioned such an introduction due to the lack of certain infrastructure which was unavailable at the time.  I made suggestions for the powers that be to look into the innovation so as to make sure that the tablet introduction was a wise move.  The promotion of this innovation was on a wide scale, media houses made all of us aware of the wonderful possibilities that may help to change the classroom from the literal to the virtual.

After its world wind introduction the following was noted:

1.      The many of the pilot schools chosen were the schools that were the “work in progress” institutions.

2.      The selection of teachers who were trained in the usage of the tablets was limited to a small number amount.

3.      Students who were not truly accustomed to the academic application of the use of the tablet were given the device to use. 

4.      Students were allowed to carry this device to their homes.

There are some questions that I am now asking:

a.       What are the benefits from this electronic/computerized innovation?

b.      Will there be more introductions of the tablets into the traditional schools?

c.       Will the teachers who received the introductory training be given an opportunity to train other teachers in the other high schools how to utilize the tablets in their best practices?

d.      Were sufficient and relevant e-books were purchased and uploaded to the tablets to provide content to specific subject areas taught in schools?

I do believe that the introduction came with good intentions, however I believe that if these tablets were given to schools that have students who were actually introduced to the students who were exposed to its usage, they in turn would utilize and demonstrate how much the use of the device can be maximized in the classroom.   When this is achieved, then these students would be asked by the MOE to place into the “work in progress schools,” to demonstrate how to appropriately use the device in the acquisition of content in the learning environment (home and school).

What could have been done was to register each child who was given the electronic device to log in and upload assignments for teachers to track each child’s progress with actual work.  Yes, there is an School Management System (SMS) where many schools in Jamaica has signed on but using a similar platform that is controlled and analysed by both teacher and the e-learning unit that is currently in place.

Contract and pay the good practicing subject teachers to create supporting content to be placed on the tablets.  This would encourage teachers to support the use of tablets once they see that their work is used to facilitate learning.  In other words, teachers will be motivated and continue by giving literary and technical support to maintain the innovation.

The complaints from many parents  expressed from one of the pilot schools were that of disappointment and dissatisfaction with their children’s academic performance.  The comment was either, “De tablets dem a distract the pickney dem!” or “Dem a pre de tablets dem dan dem school book!”   This is indeed sad.  Many of the schools who had purchased their own devices or allowed their students to bring their own tablets in school had their students monitored in their usage when it was appropriate.  Those students and teachers reaped the benefits of such a device.

The tablet, a wonderful prescription for the transfer of information in the 21^st century classroom.   But if this innovation is to benefit the majority, then a serious review of its introduction and continued usage is needed to be done.  So much money has been spent on medicine to treat the problem diagnosed in education.  The cure needs to be had, thus the true practitioners must be allowed to analyse the new symptoms so that the healing can begin.  

Problems with Several of Jamaica's Part Time Educational Institutions.

When a government worker chooses part time education as a means of upgrading himself, he does it with various reasons in mind:

1.  not permanently employed but still saw the need to upgrade his education.
2. too many family obligations and cannot leave home for extended periods.
3. not enough full time study leave can be offered at one time to workers in the same work place.
4. more economical in option over a little longer period of time to qualify himself, and there is more.

However, with the economic problems our country is having, these part time accredited institutions seem to have been feeling the pinch.  Many of the lecturers or facilitators have not been paid recently.  To be honest some have not been paid for over three years and now, due to the refusal of the management time to explain what the situation is, it is feared that most of the lecturers will sign on to other educational institutions in the upcoming semester or just simply withdraw their services all together.


                                                               

When human resource is not being communicated with about domestic matters, especially non-payment for services rendered, this is a recipe for disaster.   Once confidence is reduced in an institution of learning then it means that both students and instructors may start transfer to other institutions.

All that is asked here, is for those institutions to tell the truth about their financial situation.  They should never make the instructors work for free!  How can it be that these institutions refuse to pay workers over five (5) semesters and refuse to talk to them when they make their queries about their pay.


My appeal to these institutions is to stop using the "carrot on a stick" approach to get qualified workers to work for nothing.  If there is no money, let them know so that they can decide to work for the institutions!  It is so unfair when teachers who work expecting to be paid,  are given the run around for months (and years!).

                                                                   

I am wishing all the best for the part-students in the upcoming semester.  They may find full classes without lecturers or the institution's doors nailed shut.  The part time institutions need to do better than this.  They need to treat their workers with more respect and stop taking students' hard earned tuition money and not pay the teachers who worked so hard to help build an educational brand!  It is clear that there is indeed a problem!

The Eminent Closure of Primary Schools in Jamaica

There are quite a few schools in Jamaica that have a population of under one hundred students.  These schools are found in various areas throughout the island; the journey to some of the locations is nothing short of an adventure ride, where the road network and mode of transportation may be described as interesting!  The ministry of education has said that it is very costly for them to finance such schools and therefore it would be best to them closed.   After much query, the reasons for the dwindling population varies as follows:

1. leadership style of the school's administration

2.  inadequate toilet facilities

3. poor classroom fixtures

4.  lack of confidence in a teaching staff.

5.  the want of parents for children to attend a name-brand school, and etc.

One must understand that all schools have equally trained teachers, leaders and curriculum programme.  What is very different is the perception of parents and students of a school.  Perception of a place of learning can either make or break a school and it just takes a simple bad bout of publicity and the exodus begins.



Now, how the ministry of education is dealing with small schools get mixed reaction from various stake holders.  It is said the closing of schools will create savings on the ministry's budget.  At first, the aging principals were replaced with what was viewed with energetic innovative leaders who in some instances, helped to improve the academic performances and image of the school which in turn encourage parents to send their children to the improving schools.  However, there are some schools, no matter how one repackage, re-brand or replace leaders, they just seem that the parents refuse to send their children to their district schools.  This has left the ministry with the tough decision to close the under performing schools that cannot show credible improvement of one form or another.

Closure of schools come with costs:
1. relocation of teachers and Principal.
2. student placement done by the education ministry.
3. transportation of students to new location
4. parents finding additional for food (lunch), etc.

Then there is the repercussion to the community:

1. ancillary workers out of a job.
2. school boarder vendors out of an income from the sale of their goods.
3.  small transport operators loosing seat fares.
4. slow death of a community (community members relocating to ensure better access to education).

And there are still more!  It is hoped that when the closure comes, that the savings calculated from this action will in fact save the ministry some money.  Here is the question I have at this point,

seeing that the teachers will be relocated, what will become of the principals of these schools? Will they be without jobs?  Will the students be given fares to attend the far distant over crowded popular schools? Most of all, what will become of the building space?  How will this be protected from vandalism and thefts?

There are more questions than answers with this eminent closure of at least 20 of our primary/all age schools.  From this closure,it is hope that the savings that were calculated will be realized and that both students and teachers in the end will both reap the benefits.

The recorder, an excellent musical instrument!

Good teachers of music over the years, have come to realize how great the simple wind instrument the recorder can be.  As most true recorder players know, the recorder belongs to a consort of various sized recorder family, which had a medieval history involved.  The most popular one from the consort is the soprano recorder.

Playing of this simple instrument has its benefits:

1.      Development of finger muscles

2.      Increase the use of eye-hand coordination

3.      Developing skills of sound discrimination

4.      Sight reading skills become improved

5.      Sequencing and logic are developed

6.      Increase concentration

Additional benefits are:

i.                    Identifying pitch

ii.                  Analyzing sounds

iii.                Creating and composing melody

iv.                Arrangement skills are developed

v.                  Improved confidence in performances

One of the main things about the recorder is that for students who are very musically inclined, they are able to transition to other instruments such as piano, flute, saxophone, steel pans and other wind instruments.  There are those however, who have gone on to do voice whether it be choral, solo or with an ensemble of one sort or another.  Another main benefit is the positive academic consistency.

Research has shown from Japan that children who were exposed to music early in one form or another develop  self-confidence or develop a stronger sense of self  thus transferring  positively into academic performance.  As for me, I have seen similar results with my students over the years where good academic performance achieved by those who seriously engage in the learning of music. 

Therefore, parents are encouraged to make the sacrifice in getting their child involved in music.  Research cannot be wrong about the benefits and results good music has on children.  The recorder was the starter instrument of a very famous musician from the Third World Band.  He has transitioned to his now chosen instrument, which is the guitar although had become a cello player.

As stated earlier, the recorder is a good starter instrument in music. The benefits are clear.  Most of all, it is very affordable too!  Let us encourage all primary students to use it and let us hope that the powers that be put better infrastructure to improve the current primary education music programme.

Let the recorder play! 

The relationship between teaching and learning style

Many teachers forget that students learn differently.  At times students get frustrated because of this neglect and suffer while learning various subjects.  Here is a reminder of the way students learn by looking at the diagram below.

As one can see, students choose at least one style of learning that will allow them to form concepts from content given.  The learning style of students for one subject may not be the same for the learning of another subject.  The same would be for the teaching style of the teacher who adjust his teaching style based on the subject that is needed to be taught.

It is important that teachers should try to use a model to assist them in understanding how to teach students with diverse learning styles.  Marzano, R., et.-al, (1997) spoke of the Dimensions of Learning that our teachers should be acquainted with.  The diagram below suggests that our students start with the perception of learning; attitudes and perceptions, and end with habits of mind.  Combining Marzano, the various teaching and learning styles, good teaching and learning environment can be established.

Many of our teachers need to remember that they were once students and should recall the fun and challenges they had in learning from their teachers.   Therefore, with that in mind, I am asking our teachers to be mindful of the students they teach.  Not all students can adopt the exact style their teachers had learnt and thus teachers should remember that each student has his own unique way of learning.

A simple style of writing an essay

Essay writing has always be an activity that is constantly viewed as a burden by many high school and college students.  Sometimes, the best of students suffer with poor grades due to poor technique in putting their words together.  I had learnt a simple technique that I believe can help persons in writing good essays using a basic principle.

 

 An essay is usually in three sections.   The first section is called the Introduction. This consists of introductory sentences that have several important points. Here is an example of  points about a  car; The has one steering wheel, four tires and two headlamps (these points will be used later).  The second section is called the Body. This section is used to give additional information on each point.  By using the points in the introduction, each point becomes a paragraph within the body.  It means that the point on the steering wheel can become a paragraph; the point on the tires can also be another paragraph, which means that the final point will be on the headlamps.  In other words, the body can have several paragraphs. The more information you have for each point, the longer the paragraph.

The final section called the Conclusion summarizes the essay. This forms a nice ending to your work, making it complete (summary about the car would be nice here). It is useful for one to have a good grasp of the language before writing any paper.  Also, it is good to have knowledge of the topics that you write about!  When the essay is complete, please read over the work to ensure transitions, good content development/presentation of information and good use of vocabulary. It is good to use language to match the audience you are targeting thus keeping them interested while they read. 

Happy writing!

Smart Phones in Schools

The twenty first century has come with a whirl wind of improved technology which has made its way in the classroom.  The cellphone now has become an interesting teaching tool more than the actual instructor.  Already it is hard for the traditional teacher to hold students' attention.  Now, with the electronic rival, the traditional teacher's position has become less prominent though still important.

What is clear to me is that the educational administrators in some countries need to find ways to incorporate the use of smartphones in class.  This is where the water gets murky,  Many of the students who are great consumers of the cell phones have found creative ways in using them that is not truly educational.

Many of the students do:
1. snap shots of students doing not so good things and post them.
2. pornography shoots.
3. graffiti shots.
4. cyber bullying
5. texting or making calls in class
6. Facebook posts that are unbecoming of a studious person.
and many more!




But the positives of the smartphone out weighs the bad and if a good teacher is honest, when the device is incorporated in the lesson, the combination makes good learning environment that can be exciting to both teacher and the learner.

It is important that teachers do their best to be current.  Where I am, many of  the older teachers shy away from the use of the smart phones and label students as being distracted by the gadgets.  I guess when one is accustomed to having "chalk and talk" and not updating their  teaching styles, they will become intimidated by anything that removes them from the sole  instructor.  The thought of sharing  instructional role in the classroom seem to reduce them to a lesser role is too much and as a result, they resist changes. This gives room to the younger "hip" teachers to take charge of the classroom integrating the smarter cellular phones along with the face-to-face interaction.

Even though the phones are smarter, no none cannot take away the direct effect a good teacher has on an interested student.  More teachers need to update their teaching skills and make use of the technology available.  There is a need to understand the technology trends and how much they impact on students learning.  It is important to do so or else teachers will find themselves obsolete!

Teaching, An Interesting Job!

Teaching is one of the most interesting jobs one is blessed with.  It is so awesome because the responsibility of teaching lies in the hands of the instructor.  What a task!  Teachers are responsible for:

1.  preparing the classroom to be a productive and safe learning environment.
2.  using the set goals and objectives that are achievable for the students.
3.  using and presenting content in a manner that is memorable for the students.
4.  creatively integrating the use to structures, strategies and techniques that can facilitate the sharing of content to student
5. ensuring that students enjoy their lessons so that the recollection of what was taught is accurate.
6.  giving students opportunities to share their knowledge and skills to their peers.

I know that there are persons out there who may not agree with some of my points, but these are some of the methods used that are found to be very effective.

The best part of teaching is to see the eyes of the students flicker with responses that indicate their level of comprehension of what was learnt.  That flicker for me is absolutely priceless!

 Make teaching fun, even with the most challenging set of students and you might learn to enjoy your job much more that before!

Happy Teaching!

Briefing on Setting the Right Classroom Environment!

As teachers prepare to return to the classrooms, students will return with the memories of Christmas immediate past! The reality of school is closing in like a runaway train and sometimes for some students, this elevates their stress levels.  Others are dying to return to get back to reality and that is earning good grades to further get closer to the personal academic goals they have made for themselves.

Teachers should try their best to ensure that the environment of learning must be good, conducive, accommodating and most of all stimulating.  The students would like to feel a sense of purpose in their classrooms, therefore, our teachers should already made changes to give the students the feeling of belonging amongst their peers.  Below I have a list of suggestions that came through peer conversations of teachers who experience after Christmas Blues of their learners:

     1. change or improve the decor of the classroom (painting, curtains, false windows if there are  
          none).
     2. upgrade, change or buy new visual aids in the classroom.
     3. change the classroom seating bi-monthly creating an element of surprise.
     4. include new structures, strategies and techniques in teaching styles to facilitate more student
         participation during classes.
     5.  improve on assessment to make it more student friendly without dropping standards.
     6. play musical interludes (electronic device) of a classical nature at certain times of the day (after
         lunch or PE class).
     7.  bring in a resource persons on certain subject matter to help generate continued interest in a
          subject or content within a subject.
     8.  DRESS NICELY TO HOLD THE STUDENTS ATTENTION!  Students really do love when
          their teachers look nice!
     9. finally, at the end of a term give them an "apprentice" style activity that will always leave a
         mark on their minds and having them actually missing school when they are on holidays.


For more on this or clarification, please contact me on lysdave@yahoo.com or lysruds@gmail.com.  I will be more than happy to share my perspective on the matter.