The teachers union are saber rattling at the beginning of the school year once more.
Meanwhile our young people are not receiving a proper education.
Both political parties over the years have agreed that public education is a failure, but what now?
Nothing changes, except the list gets longer.
Sure it's tough. Kids with little discipline. Parents with less. Lack of money. Poor working conditions. A minister that lacks discretion. The list of complaints goes on and on yet there's still no improvement in results.
Maybe the list will start to dimish if the results are imporioved?
Frankly it gets tiring.
If you read the exchange in this post, maybe you will see why nothing changes.
Click this link (pdf) or the image on the left for a good read that provides some ideas for the bureaucracy to consider.
Hey, maybe the bureaucracy is the problem?
This isn’t a difficult problem at all. On the contrary, it is a relatively easy issue (when we consider our other ‘evils’! Indeed, I addressed it here on this site just over a year ago in my Blog: “Industrial Unionism in our Education System: an unwelcomed stakeholder”
As I argued then, I argue now: “A new academic year is about to start but we find ourselves doing at least one thing in an old way. In a previous Blog, I excoriated the level and involvement of unionised activity and collective bargaining in our society and painted it as a ‘giant evil’. I hold to that view incontrovertibly, particularly when it comes to the classroom.”
“We need to be strong and unwavering in our resistance to union interference – because that’s what it is, plain and simple, interference! In my earlier Blog, I was expressly clear about the deleterious effects of workplace disputes, which interfere with productivity, healthy workplace relationships and eventually, the ongoing strength and performance of our economy”.
http://www.weblogbahamas.com/blog_bahamas/2012/08/head-of-the-bahamas-union-of-teachers-but-opens-new-academic-year.html
Massey’s presentation is excellent, unfortunately will never be implemented , for there is no politician on either side of the bench who would are to take on the teachers union and expect to be re-elected.
What is overlooked in Massey’s fine presentation is the fundamental problem that children entering the Bahamian education system for the very first time are not prepared as most are biased by negative influences and values.. Far to many have negative attitudes about the discipline needed upon entrance to elementary school and many are not really interested in going to school in the first place.. These ingrown attitudes are the result of the broken homes they come from, the broken churches they attend and finally the broken school structure they find themselves in.. We literally have no idea of the despair and frustration these children feel and are experiencing..
This is not only a problem here but the same issues are found in the south Florida elementary schools as well.. The causes — broken homes, churches and schools — parallel the very same social issues and problems we find in the Bahamas.. Unfortunately, until the issues of self-esteem and positive character development are addressed and specific programs are implemented very little change can be expected in improving student performance in the public school system both here and in south Florida..