How can we fix the education system, the school system, to end the cycle of poverty and crime which continues to be reproduced? "In the Caribbean, the school system has positioned itself as the only institution that works."So observes Jamaican educational guidance counsellor Camile Swapp, who continues "in Scandinavia they position their school system along with their medical system to lead in best practices with diet, putting child care at the centre of all learning".That the tertiary education system in the Caribbean has neglected to study the reproduction of poverty is an indictment against education in our society. Student violence is not limited to poor or working class areas; it has become a subculture-not only for conflict resolution, but to prove that one is worthy among one's peers.
The children of the middle class however, usually have parents who ensure that they get high scores on exams or because they are educated, don't project the image of worthlessness on their children. All boys are at risk but the working class and the underclass boys are not made ready for the challenges they face when fathers are not present to offer proper role models and they are negatively reinforced with self images that predict failure.Mothers, not understanding the boys, tend to be harsher with them and the girls tend to fall in love, have babies and drop out of school once they don't feel valued. So how do we fix these dens of iniquity?
School infrastructure, broken toilets, classrooms and substitute teachers need the attention of tertiary level education researchers and policy makers who go beyond teaching subjects, research child development and how to make schools better.As small islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados and the OECS must engage in the debate which shows child development in terms of progress of academic prowess and blossoming of personality, starting at pre-school, according to insurance executive Gerald Hadeed.Where are the 4,000 children who drop out? Why do they drop out? Are teachers and parents aware of the role models we offer? Understanding childhood and the fact that like Liberia and now Libya, we are producing child soldiers, modelling aggression, must force us out of our complacency to understand how the brain works at different stages in human development. Colonial education gave us independence, but it must be transformed to liberate us. Police at the school gates prepare us psychologically for the inevitability of prison for our youth.
In the US, when students in fourth grade fail their standard exams, the number failed is used to determine how many new jail cells to build. The cynicism in that philosophy cannot prepare our society to be compassionate, cultured, and humane, much less be competitive in the international economy. Political will must gear its effort to fixing the schools despite seemingly insurmountable challenges and the Education Minister needs everyone to join this effort. As a consequence of this trend, the administration of Miami Dade County Public Schools Superintendent, Dr Rudy Crew, created a School Improvement Zone in the poorest neighbourhoods in the School District.
What the 'Zone' did was to concentrate financial and teaching resources in these areas-paying more money to teachers who worked there longerhours, with incentives to teachers for improved academic and behavioural performance; shorter vacations and better facilities.Tracking the metrics coming out of the Zone resulted in lowering of crime and deviant behaviour and in Miami Dade, the fourth largest school district in the US, being selected as a finalist for the coveted Broad Prize for the most improved school district in the nation.
We have a glorious opportunity to turn around our schools and children so that 15 to 25-year-olds are not killing each other. To capture this opportunity we must have information, data on what constitutes good education? What is the environment which must be created so that we understand how boys and girls development mentally and differentially and what we know about child development?If teachers are not willing to work and be motivated in depressed areas, we must find the best who are willing and compensate them more for investing themselves in those with the greatest need.According to NYU Educational Sociologist and author Professor Pedro Noguera, the school system must lead the dialogue to create a brain rich environment for learning, which includes fixing the physical environment in which the child learns, ensuring that trained substitute teachers are in class when normal teachers are absent.
Parents must not feel that they have to leave Trinidad and Tobago because their children are likely to fail. When the strong want to leave the public school system and move to the Canadian and international systems or migrate to the US, then what about the weak? We can change the system when the people at the grass roots have the information on what is best for childhood and the system is responsive to the parents' articulation of the challenges they face in raising their children.
Student violence can be uprooted with assertive human values practiced by parents and teachers and when the curriculum embraces these values. The schools must also be used in the evenings for adult education, parent academies, which continues education -academic, vocational and professional competencies as well as values, which even those parents, may have missed as they were either pregnant or impregnating at age 15.Education relates to economic and community development and young people must acquire the skills to contribute to that development to empower their communities and take control of their development. It's a better economic decision to invest in education than in prisons.
To view the beginning of a national debate on this critical issue, tune in to "Making a Difference in Our Economic Space" on CNC3 Easter Monday at 9.00 pm, where Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh, Guidance Counsellor Camille Swapp, NYU Professor Pedro Noguera and Businessman Gerry Hadeed join host Felipe Noguera to weigh in on our future.