THE recent backslapping and bloviating of Ministry of Education (MOE) officials about the D-plus national average was conduct that, frankly, was unwarranted and can be interpreted as behaviour that can sometimes be equivalent to that of malignant narcissists.
Like many discerning Bahamians, I am concerned about the poor performance of graduating students in the basic areas of literacy and numeracy. The BGCSE results show that we are failing as a nation, as we are producing youngsters who cannot function in a globalised world and whose academic qualifications do not meet the required standards for enrolment in any reputable tertiary institution, including the College of the Bahamas, where students that were unsuccessful in the national exams must enter and pass continuing education prep classes before college enrolment.
The much-celebrated D-plus average, which the MOE refers to as the median grade, isn’t acknowledged by serious educational institutions or by certain sectors of the job market.
Minister of Education Carl Bethel’s attempt to connect the recent results to the removal of police from public schools appeared to be a smug attempt to politicise the results and was a cheap shot at playing the propaganda game instead of rising above political lines and focusing on entirely revamping our almost defunct educational system.
The minister should know that another year of depressing results does not indicate the development or strength of our human capital or educational system. D still means Dunce, Donkey or Dimwit, whether plus or minus.
The minister should know, or have been advised, that data from his ministry shows that the national mean grade for 2005 and 2006—when police were situated on school campuses—was also a D-plus and that any improvement or drop in the grades may have hardly been related to their presence, or lack thereof.
It appears that what the ministry is not addressing is the number of graduates who leave school without diplomas, have failing grade point averages and turn out poor national exam results, and who end up being sent into the “real world” with nothing. The revelation that fewer than 50 per cent of the thousands of annual high school students actually graduate with a diploma is indicative of our archaic educational system being fatally flawed and overly institutionalised.
Clearly, the value for life and education has been relegated to the trenches when nearly 60 per cent of the nation’s high school graduates finished with attendance certificates instead of diplomas, for failing to meet a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 during six years of high school.
In 1992, the grade range was based upon a five point letter grading scale—ranging from A to F. When the BGCSE came about in 1993, that scale was revised so that a seven point letter grading scale was introduced and included grades A, B, C, D, E, F and G. A U (unclassified) grade is not officially a part of the scale and can only be given when a student is absent for an exam—with a good cause—or when a student may have fallen below the minimum requirements. However, according to one educator, this doesn’t appear on the exam results slip.
Since the grading system is on a seven point scale that doesn’t reflect pluses or minuses, I’m curious as to how the MOE arrives at overall results which sometimes reflect pluses or minuses while, on the other hand, examination candidates collect result slips that only show straight letter grades—no pluses or minuses.
A revolutionary approach must be taken to improving the educational system and ensuring that at least 90 per cent of all school leavers graduate with diplomas. As I have said before, in curbing school failure/dropouts, the ministry via the schools must forthrightly implement policy to bring an end to socially promoting students until they graduate since they most likely leave school without a basic education and become leading candidates for a criminal lifestyle, enforce the mandatory 2.0 grade point average for movement to another grade, cultivate a positive school climate, produce a relevant curriculum, encourage peer tutoring by offering stipends to more advanced students for tutoring rendered to their struggling peers, recruit more remedial teachers, further develop the educational programme and the training of prospective teachers at COB, increase evaluations by psychological services for troubled students, require all failing students to attend summer school and limit their participation in extra-curricular activities.
Furthermore, I challenge all ministers of education to follow the example of former US president Jimmy Carter and enroll their children in the public school system to show their confidence in the system.
As Governor of Georgia, instead of merely paying lip service to his plans to give a face-lift to public education and ensure the safety of students, Mr Carter enlisted his children in the system that he had committed to improving. Locally, no member of parliament has children that attend public school, and certain past ministers of education appear to have seen it as simply a political job, since they even refused to send their children to COB.
I doubt that the current education minister, or any other parliamentarian, would be flattered or remotely accepting of their children bring home a report card of Ds.
It always amazes me how successive governments have not had the gravitas to reform the system and have enough confidence in their reformatory measures to take a new approach by at least suggesting a timeline for when the BGCSE average will be a C or, by their calculations, a C-minus.
THE OLYMPICS!
The 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing, China was a mesmerizing event that featured awe-inspiring animation and colours and proved to be a dazzling display of Chinese culture—even from thousands of miles away.
While I congratulate those members of team Bahamas who would have set national records and performed to their best, special recognition must be paid to Leevan Sands who thus far has earned the country’s first medal—a bronze.
As a sports enthusiast, I must express my disappointment at the apparent lack of a forward looking approach, by the Bahamas Olympic Association (BOA), in preparation for this year’s games.
I was also rather disappointed but somewhat expectant of Chris Brown’s failure to medal as once again a nation’s heart was broken as he was yet again beaten at the finish line.
Instead of following Jamaica’s example and seeking young athletes to develop for future games, it appears that the BOA and other local sporting organizations are failing to develop a scouting and training programme, where sports scouts travel to the islands in search of the abundance of talent that lie dormant—just waiting to be discovered.
Over the years, I’ve known and been told of first-rate athletes who, upon finishing high school, settle into jobs or family life as there probably were no opportunities to attend college or hone their athletic abilities and/or they became discouraged due to a lack of support.
Although many of our older athletes have made the country proud, our performance when compared to other countries (eg, Jamaicans, Americans) shows that rather than constantly “recycle” athletes who can no longer compete against younger, better trained participants from other countries, we must focus on grooming younger competitors.
Because of their developmental programmes, Jamaica can boast of having the fastest man (100m, 200m)—Usain Bolt—and the fastest woman (100m)—Shelly Ann Fraser—in the world, who both fulfilled their Olympic dreams, and made their country proud, at age 21.
Usain Bolt has dominated the Olympic sprint events and has electrified his country and the world with his world record performances.
At this Olympics, the Bahamas sent a team that included sprinters/field competitors, swimmers, tennis players and a boxer. However, why can’t we develop—with government and private sector sponsorship—our sports programmes and field a team that also competes in archery, softball or baseball (which we once dominated), canoe/kayak events, cycling, diving, equestrian events, fencing, judo, rowing, sailing (with our many regattas and experienced skippers this should be automatic), shooting, synchronized swimming, wrestling, weightlifting, volleyball (indoors or beach), taekwondo, table tennis, handball, trampoline, gymnastics and even basketball?
There is are numerous events that make up the Olympic schedule and I know of quite a number of talented, athletic Bahamians that already compete in these events and can qualify if the proper developmental programmes are in place and, if the Bahamas’ sports ministry and the BOA, weren’t so short-sighted.
First published in The Tribune on Friday, August 22, 2008 under the byline, Young Man's View.
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