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.