If we really want to solve the crime problem, we will have to seriously examine how we educate our children in T&T. It's time we take a serious look at what is lacking in our children's education, beginning with how we teach English language and English literature. That would be a good place to start. Don't get me wrong, we have many great teachers in this country who do their jobs well. The problem is they are being forced to teach for exams that do not encourage a great deal of creativity or higher-level thinking skills. All those CXC English exams shows us are which teachers and students learn to play the game of taking an exam. The CXC literature exams show us little more than who can memorise all the literary elements of the prescribed literature.
Unfortunately, success in this exam-ridden society also depends on who can afford to attend the best primary schools (many of which are private schools) and who can afford extra lessons. Success often depends on money, and that does not leave our poor and marginalised children poised for success. Yes, there are noble parents who struggle and rise above their economic circumstances, but let's get real: there are too many children who fall through the cracks. Many of those primary school students-especially boys, in my opinion-struggle with English and don't get the foundation they deserve because they are literally thrown into an educational system that is foreign to them. Nearly all students in Trinidad-particularly boys-should be treated as English as a Second Language Students. This is because Trinidad Creole is the first language of most children. And what about those students whose first language is Hindi, Arabic or sign language?
There was a time when I thought that we needed to improve our education system because it only benefited ten to 20 per cent of the students in this country. Now, to be truthful, I don't think it benefits anyone. Those students in the top 20 per cent (we're measuring CXC results here) have just learned to take a test better than anyone else. I know from teaching CXC English language and literature along with SATs (the entrance exam to university in the US) that many students, even in the "prestige" schools, do not have the comprehension or analytical skills they need. Many of them don't read enough to develop those skills, and they certainly don't write enough to construct a proper essay. If parents are happy that their children have eight great passes, they shouldn't be. They should really be worried about whether their children can think and read and write because those are the skills children need in this world.
It is important for our education system to reach all children-especially those at risk. There is no chance that we can have responsible, caring, smart children capable of thinking with this colonial education system we have inherited. We can't expect to have boys who don't pick up guns if they have never been taught responsibility and empathy and basic thinking skills. They get those skills be seeing them in real life and in literature, and that's why we need to seriously think about the way we teach English literature. Reading a handful of books on the CXC reading list just doesn't cut it. We can't have students reading 20 short stories, 20 poems, a Shakespeare play, a West Indian play and West Indian novel for two years.
Students need to read much more than that. (Remember the US College Board says secondary students need to read 25 books a year to develop the skills they need). It is ridiculous to think that studying all the literary elements in a handful of books is successfully teaching English literature. That's downright insulting. It prevents students from experiencing a canon of literature, and it prevents English teachers from using their creative imaginations in developing stimulating and effective English literature courses that relate to their students. What we need is a system that requires students to read 15 to 24 books over Forms Four and Five. At the most, that turns out to be a book a month. Students sitting the CXC English literature exam would have to apply their knowledge of literary elements in these books to construct essays that deal with the CXC questions.
This is far more challenging because students would have to apply the knowledge they have learned rather than just recall literary elements they have been taught about a specific book. This is what the US advanced placement system does. Teachers would have more freedom of choice to use a variety of Caribbean and international literature to prepare for the CXC English exam. It would allow teachers to be more creative in their teaching. The bottom line is this: we will never improve our children's education or solve the crime situation in T&T unless we teach children the skills they need to think their way through problems and issues while they learn to feel invested in this country. We start by getting students to read and value their education.
THOUGHTS
• Nearly all students in Trinidad-Particularly boys-should be treated as English as a second language student. This is because Trinidad Creole is the first language of most children. And what about those students whose first language Hindi, Arabic or sign language.
• It is important for our education system to reach all children-especially those at risk. There is no chance that we can have responsible, caring smart children capable of thinking with this colonial education system we have inherited.
• Reading a handful of books on the CXC reading list just doesn't cut it. We can't have students reading 20 short stories, 20 poems, a Shakespeare play, a West Indian and West Indian novel for two years. Students need to read much more than that.