As the impasse between teachers, represented by the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU), and principal Jeff Broomes continues at The Alexandra School, concern has been mounting about the impact on students.
That’s one of the main issues which the National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (NCPTA) says it’s focusing on.
Wearing the hats of NCPTA president for the past two years and former Alexandra student, teacher Rhonda Blackman spoke to Associate Editor Dawne Parris about what should have happened, is happening, and needs to happen for students at the St Peter institution.
You are looking on at this Alexandra dispute from several vantage points – as president of the NCPTA, a former Alexandra student, and a teacher. Tell me about your experience as a student, first of all.
Blackman: I was at The Alexandra School under principal Ms Ward – a strong leader, a no-nonsense lady – who made sure that we upheld ourselves to the highest standard because we had a reputation to maintain. She always saw Alexandra as “the school”.
So we claimed the school, we owned the school and we behaved in the manner that was expected of us. After Ms Ward left, Mrs Ada Straughan became the principal and she continued with that kind of leadership. She was strict, she was firm, but she was loving and she holds a special place in my heart because she was approachable, yet no-nonsense.
In terms of teacher-student relations, we had good teacher-student relationships. Ms McCollin, who is deceased now, had a very special place in my heart, along with Mr Blenman, the integrated science teacher. These were teachers that we couldtalk to and that would have extended their arms to us even if we had problems with other teachers.
You know that sometimes students might dislike certain teachers, and in my time my friends and I were no exceptions. There were some that we didn’t like their style, but we respected them nevertheless.
What about teacher-principal relations as you saw it as a student?
Blackman: We had strong leadership, and as students we probably would not have known the technicalities of any issues teachers and the principal had, but there was a high level of respect. It was a level where we never saw any teacher-principal hostility; at least it was not visible.
Were any of the teachers now at Alexandra teaching in your time?
Blackman: A lot of the teachers are. And not only the teachers, but some of the students who went to school at Alexandra in my time are teachers there now.
Are they among the teachers on strike?
Blackman: Yes.
How do you feel about this situation at Alexandra, especially as it involves some of your former teachers and schoolmates?
Blackman: It’s still my school and I’m sad. I am sad because it is a school that has helped shape and mould me into the woman I am today and any negative publicity will tarnish the good image and reputation of the school. Right now it is painful for me seeing that image being tarnished.
What is your take on the stances taken by the major players in this matter – the principal, the ministry, the BSTU? Let’s start with the BSTU.
Blackman: The NCPTA would not want to comment on the parties involved in the process because our focus is on the continuous education of our children and getting their education back on stream and learning taking place. I would not want to comment on what position whoever is taking.
Can you see this matter being resolved, though? And if so, how do you think it will be?
Blackman: First I would want to say that it’s been going on too long and all along I was wondering, ‘Why aren’t the parents speaking out?’, because the parent voice should be a strong voice. I felt that in the initial stages, if the parents had taken a strong stance, it would not have escalated to this.
I also felt that there should have been earlier intervention from the Ministry of Education’s end because these are issues that I believe could have been resolved.
But they haven’t been resolved yet. If a ministry official or some other person in authority came to you and said, ‘Tell us what we should do to resolve this’, what would you tell them?
Blackman: If it was up to me, it would not have gone on for this length of time. It’s like a cancer that was festering for too long. In the whole issue there is too much personality and sometimes we have to step out of the personality and deal with the issue.
I think personality clashes were going on – it is my way or no way – and that should not be the case. It should be sitting down and discussing. I think that personalities got in the way. This is a situation that I think should have been nipped in the bud, but it needed early intervention by the powers that be.
If it was up to me it would have been resolved a long time ago. I believe there is a process that, in my view, should have been exhausted by now and the leaders responsible should have intervened. But as the saying goes, better late than never, and my concern now is that it is at a very critical stage and there is a high level of toxicity in the school environment, and I cannot see how the parties can go back into the environment and co-exist harmoniously.
If the principal is removed the morale of the school is affected; the students’ morale would also be hurt because of how they view their principal; and if the teachers are moved, I just don’t see it being a win-win or win-lose situation for anybody; it’s all lose-lose.
Everybody is going to lose in the process because it took too long to be dealt with. But the NCPTA’s position is not to say who is right or wrong.
You said earlier you can’t see the parties coexisting harmoniously, regardless of what the outcome is. So you don’t think the damage can be repaired then?
Blackman: Damage control at this stage is going to be very difficult. It’s going to take a long process to rebuild the image of Alexandra School that was rated number three in this country many years ago. Once that image is tarnished, it’s going to impact not only students’ behaviour but it’s going to have an impact on students’ performance.
Not only that, but we have to look at the message that we have been sending to the students. Is this how we handle conflict? We ask students to deal with conflict in a particular way, yet we, the ones students look up to, are sending wrong signals and setting double standards.
That is something the adults in this whole process need to understand: we are showing our students – not only the ones at Alexandra, but also the students in the country by extension – that this is what considered as acceptable behaviour.
Do you think students can recover academically from the fallout, especially those who are preparing for CXC exams? There have been suggestions that Saturday classes could be the answer. What is your view?
Blackman: Time lost can never be regained, and this is time lost. Saturday classes playing catch up at this stage is going to help, but I don’t see it covering the amount of work the students would have lost; and this is where the parents need to play their role.
They must ensure that their children remain focused and that they buckle down. It’s not just time lost from the beginning of the term. While people are looking at the amount of teaching that would have been lost in the last three weeks, the NCPTA has been seeing protracted periods of time loss for these students.
So are you saying that there’s no chance of these students fully catching up in their syllabus?
Blackman: It depends also on the individual student. One child would say, ‘Well, my teacher is not here, but I’m going to push some work; I’m going to study on my own’. Another child might say, ‘This is breeze time because my teacher isn’t here and I’m not getting any work; so I’m breezing’. So it depends on the individual child and the home environment and the parents.
That brings me to the next question then. How can parents of students at Alexandra School help their children make up for lost teaching time?
Blackman: Some parents may be able to help their children with the work themselves, or send their children to lessons. But parents must also instil in their children the importance of taking the initiative and doing some work.
They can use the textbooks; surf the Internet for positive things – not only Facebook and Twitter – to help with their education. CXC has a site where they can get scripts and look at past exam papers. Parents can also get their children together in study groups.
How has this situation impacted on other schools in the system?
Blackman: What I can say is that a situation like this might not be unique to Alexandra School, and it could arise at another school; and it has lessons for other schools. I would hope they use this situation – I don’t want to say model because it’s not really a model to follow – to say what are best practices and what should not happen.
Another thing is that I would hope that parents would not only turn to PTAs in crisis situations. I am in awe when I see hundreds of parents coming out when there’s a crisis, yet they don’t understand the associations need their support throughout the entire school year, because a strong PTA equates to a strong school.
Parents need to understand that while there’s one principal and 50 or 60 teachers, there are hundreds of parents, and they have a voice and power that they don’t even to begin to comprehend. If you have a strong PTA and there’s a problem arising, you can bring it to them and try to have it resolved.
Is the Alexandra PTA president Carl Benskin and the executive doing what they need to do, in your view?
Blackman: I am pleased that the PTA would have taken the initiative. Remember that this is a new executive that was elected in October, and so they have been thrust into the situation. They may have known of it all along, but now in terms of their leadership role they are new and some of them are even new to the environment.
But I am pleased as the national president that they have stepped up to the plate and made their voice heard. It is something that was missing for some time. They have the solid backing of NCPTA going forward.
What would you have done in Mr Benskin’s position?
Blackman: I would do what he is doing. In the short time he has called the parents out, heard their concerns, and he has started the process. Something we must recognize is that there is an appropriate process and there must be a paper trail because too often people speak and don’t put their concerns in writing.
Well parents are now either in the process of choosing, or have recently chosen, the preferred secondary schools for their children ahead of the Common Entrance exam. Do you see the current situation at Alexandra dissuading both parents and children from putting the school among their choices?
Blackman: Certainly it will dissuade some because what parents are looking for is structure and they also want to see some measure of balance. We want to know that when our children go into an environment, it is safe, learning is taking place and the environment is conducive to learning.
The Alexandra situation does not lend itself to that at this time. There is too much disruption and lack of supervision.
