Dear Editor,
In order to achieve the quality of education that requires our students to be successful, it behoves the Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs, to take a bird’s eye view of the current educational system. This means that the minister needs to put her vision on pause, and deal with the issues that are affecting the progress of students, teachers and administrators.
Right now, the minister is fighting a humongous battle, but until she really takes the time to dissect the problem, the quality of education will remain unchanged. In essence, when Minister Jacobs eliminates these obstacles that are causing this constant upheaval, then, the process to implement her vision will become much easier.
The Minister of Education has been out of the classroom for roughly 7 years. This time-span may seem very short, but there is a vast difference between now and then, with regard to the various degrees of behavioural challenges. Perhaps the minister should undertake the challenge of spending a week in the classroom as a teacher, to fully understand the reality of the situation. There are too many factors that are contributing to this negative change.
That is why there must be immediate action to identify these elements and purge the system. Teachers, who are the educators of the nation, cannot be overwhelmed with frustration every single day. The learning environment must be conducive to both students and teachers, in order for learning to take place.
Minister Jacobs is fully aware that the first step to learning is listening. If children can’t listen, how can they learn? Likewise, if children cannot behave, how can teachers teach as effective as they are required to? Therefore, I strongly believe that a lot more emphasis should have been placed on curbing behavioural problems at a much earlier stage. Sporadic workshops for teachers are totally inadequate; this should be an ongoing initiative. It is for this reason, why it demands an immediate input of the minister, to devise a plan to reduce this influx of students.
The budget that is being debated is such a perfect example of revealing to us, the consequences of failing to tackle the issues that have escalated to uncontrollable proportions. Just to further illustrate my point, look at the challenges that the country is faced with for being negligent in paying its debts. The saga of the government building, lack of early intervention to remedy the situation at the landfill and failure to treat all crimes as a priority, etc. These are just some of the problems that have come back to haunt us in a significant way.
What are the lessons of this failure? The messages are quite clear: They indicate that, “A stitch in time saves nine; if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail. If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” Just like how government is paying heavily for taking a backseat on issues that could have been nipped in the bud from early, so shall it be with education. The minister is not envisioning the total effect of this negligence, but believe me, it will come back to haunt her real bad.
In the end, which does the minister prefer: that our teachers spend most of their time disciplining students, or imparting the knowledge that would enable them to compete in this evolving economy?
In closing, there is no doubt that the minister‘s portfolio, which includes Education, Youth Affairs, Culture and Sports, are extremely challenging. And, there is no denying that all four are intertwined. But, in order to counterbalance the remaining three segments of her portfolio, education must be on track, as it is the fountain that keeps the entire ministry in tack.
So, Minister Silveria Jacobs needs to be mindful that the success of her achieving the quality of education that she envisions, lies within this failure – the failure that gives her the opportunity to redesign and deliver an educational system that is superior in content, partnership and a stimulating environment.
Joslyn Morton
