by Edward Hutcheson
I am in agreement with Dr. Ruthmae Sears that the national average is an illusion; but not for the reasons that she has stated. With all the information and professional knowledge she has at her disposal she could have spent some time dealing with the topic of illiteracy. How the information is presented, tabulated or made relevant does not change the fact that for almost three decades our education system has been turning out students who cannot read or write; I am happy that most of them can count. These students, like myself have reached the conclusion that something is not adding up; especially with the proliferation of Master and Doctorate Degrees within the teaching profession.
Perhaps it is time for the nation to see the true picture, so that parents, teachers and politicians can have equal opportunity to hang their heads in shame. Separate the private school results from the government school results and then have Dr. Sears and Ms. Wilson, the leader of the Teachers Union attempt to justify why the system is the way it is. Ms.Wilson’s interview on Darold Millers show this week informs us that the focus of her administration, like that of Dr. Sears is more about saving face and keeping the status quo in order.
Release the results and let the public see, how much we are paying to perpetuate this particular illusion. If some teachers are not ashamed to collect a salary for what they are doing, there should not be a problem in letting the public see “all of the results”.
August 15, 2012
We keep re-visiting the issue of education without altering the perspective from which we review it.
Ms. Wilson was also on the Jeff Lloyd Show a few nights ago and (at least to my mind), she implicated the Ministry of Education.
For a fuller examination of the implications of Education Management on educational performance in The Bahamas, please re-visit:
http://www.weblogbahamas.com/blog_bahamas/2012/07/one-little-country-facing-many-giant-evils-education-in-the-spotlight.html
It appears Mr. Hutcheson thoughts are rather broad; hence his comments are a mile wide and an inch deep.
He eluded to the idea that we have been plagued with illiteracy for decades, however according to United Nation Development Program Report 95.8% of Bahamians are literate. Hence his remarks are merely an opinion, and not based on data.
Furthermore, he suggest that everyone can count, however, the national reports for mathematics repeatedly performed worst than that of english. Additionally GLAT scores, and BJC performance illustrated that not all students possess basic numeracy skills. Therefore, once again his statements is not grounded in data or can not be validated.
Furthermore, when he suggested we see “all” the result, I do believe this idea is ludicrous. Individuals have a right to privacy. Such action would further compound data being used maliciously.
I do believe Dr. Sears skillfully spoke to the issue of BGCSE assessment practices , with great depth and wisdom. We need individuals of her caliber to address national concerns, since they can focus their attention to a particular point and adequately provide a rich perspective. Hence, I do agree with Mr. Hutcheson, that perhaps, she collaborate with Mrs. Wilson on the means to move forward.
Sincerely,
Mr. Strachan
Dear Mr. Strachan,
Thank you for stopping by and commenting.
We “all” know there is a problem with education, and has been for decades now.
Just try asking any young male student to tell you what 15% of $350 to see the results. It’s shocking what our students don’t know with relation to reading writing and arithmetic.
Oh, they know who our first Prime Minister and Bahamian Governor General were, but try reading, writing or answering sums. Just ask them to complete a job application.
And sure, we should know who our political leaders are, but if they had basic education skills they would at least be interested in finding those things out that they receive via political lore today.
Whether or not Dr. Sears skillfully spoke to BGCSE assessment practices with great depth and wisdom is irrelevant quite frankly. The entire country has known of the problem we face with the lack of education our students are receiving for decades and the time for collaboration and double speak is over.
It’s time to resolve the issues for the sake of our kids and their future.
Good for you Edward, telling it like it is.. Anyone that has a basic understanding of statistics knows that by adjusting different time frames you can make statistical outcomes either to improve or decline depending on the desired outcome.. As you say this is an illusion..
Lets face facts, over the past decade the government of the Bahamas has allocated more and more scarce funds into education.. Sadly this has only compounded the failure in our education system.. Have we reached the point now where we are funding only further incompetence and failure?? One wonders why these issues are never fully addressed by our learned experts..
Why isn’t a new approach being adopted to change the attitude and self-esteem of our younger students?? Has anyone ever considered that the problem may be in the poor attitudes of our students and not with our teachers as a whole and the illusion that more funding will fix the problem?? Programs must be introduced as early as the second grade level to help young students develop a better sense of self-esteem, accomplishment and character development.. Positive attitude creates positive students who want to learn and improve themselves.. Positive character creates positive social skills and a better attitude towards life..
It is time to give our children a chance to live up to all of their potential not only to be good students but to live positive and healthy lifestyles.. Otherwise, in ten years from now, we will be stuck with the same old illusions and frustrations that we feel today..
The real problem is that government should not be in the business of education. That’s the real issue.
They don’t have the ability and knowledge. They indoctrinate our kids , they want to keep them ignorant and they teach them progressive values. Just ask kids about the CO2 on the global warming, who responsible for it and if it’s true, or ask them if they know what are the real value of right wing conservative. It’s a wanted ”dumming” down. Never forget keep people ignorant so you will be able to better control them.