For sometime now, I have been concerned about a number of factors that have been impacting the quality of our educational system. While it may still be said that we have a good system, we cannot ignore the fact that there is a decline in standards overall. We can still boast of having achieved universal access, unlike many of our regional counterparts, but if education ‘loses its soul’, then the quality of our product will decline.
A few years ago, Minister of Education Ronald Jones contended that students in our schools were possessed by demons. There was a national hue and cry and much condemnation of his assessment. Well, I have no skill in identifying or recognizing demons or any agents of darkness, but it is my view that our schools are plagued by five spirits that make it difficult, if not impossible, for some of our teachers to deliver instruction on a regular basis. It may be argued that these five spirits do not originate in our schools, since schools reflect the society. Notable Barbadian novelist Dr George Lamming said many years ago that whatever vices exist in our society will find themselves in our schools.
Now here is my assessment. The five spirits that have been undermining the quality of our educational system are rudeness, disrespect, disruption, vandalism and violence.
On a daily basis in classrooms across the spectrum of schools, both primary and secondary teachers are the targets of a pervasive rudeness that may be worsening. It manifests itself in the failure of students to respond promptly to teachers’ instructions. It is exhibited in the manner in which students speak and communicate with teachers. The body language often stinks and students have little regard for the presence of subject teachers, form teachers and year heads. Even principals and their deputies are not exempted from this spirit of rudeness.
Secondly, there is an associated spirit of disrespect invading our schools. There was a time when teachers were respected. While it is acknowledged that they no longer perform the multiple roles which they once did, the level of disrespect they get from students and perhaps the wider society is worrisome. While it must be stated that some teachers have fallen from grace by their own lack of professionalism, respect is still due. This negative spirit is manifested in many ways on a daily basis and at every level. Students hurl abuse at teachers. They call them names that cannot be written in this newspaper without censure. It is not uncommon for students to bounce teachers as they pass along the corridors or as they exit their classrooms. Comments like: “You feel you important”, “You think I care ’bout you!” and “I is more woman than you” are not unusual in our schools. I recall the days when I respected my teachers even if I met them after school or on weekends. While I am not advocating reverential fear, the level of disrespect for members of this noble profession has reached unprecedented proportions.
Successive governments have consistently invested on average 20 per cent of annual expenditure on education. The Barbados model of investing in our human resources is perhaps still the envy of many other countries. They ask how can we afford free education from nursery to tertiary. We assert that our only resource is our people and that it is not whether we can afford but rather whether we can afford not to invest in our people in the way we do. While the issue of sustainability continues to haunt us, free education in Barbados is now not just an expectation but a basic Barbadian right.
It is in this context that the third spirit of disruption is noted. It is seen in the frequency with which students disrupt classes, not only by arriving late, but by throwing paper and other missiles across the classroom; shouting across the room; hurling expletives at one another; walking around the class without permission and even fighting in the presence of the teacher. It is this spirit that is cutting into our investment in education.
Every year at the Estimates level, the issue of replacement of furniture, plumbing, electrical fittings and other equipment that has been vandalized occupies much attention. Every day, students destroy desks, chairs and other furniture purchased with taxpayers’ money. The practice of drawing graffiti is a favourite pastime of many students. What further exacerbates the situation is that even though provisions are made in the Education Act for parents to be fined for the willful damage to school property, such requests are often disregarded by parents.
Last, but not least, is the spirit of violence. This is pervasive. It does not take much for it be evoked. A student looking at another out of his or her own two eyes might get a slap around the head. An accidental brush along the corridor or in the courtyard might be the cause of a major fight with somebody’s head being cracked or “busted”. It is not unusual for students to bring to school knives, scissors, ice picks, cleavers or even 12- or 14-inch swords. Girls are known to fight each other over a man or boyfriend. Some just fight like pitbulls because they just can’t stand one another.
In conclusion, while the system has not collapsed, the environment in which teachers are asked to instruct is putrid and contaminated and the soul of education is corroded.
• Matthew Farley is a secondary school principal, chairman of the National Forum on Education, and a social commentator.
