While addressing a group of children recently, I happened to mention the pope and I was completely flabbergasted to learn that not one of these 11 and 12-year-olds had ever heard the word pope.
If they did not know the pope’s name, or even if they did not know what his role is, or where he lives, or where he is from, I would not have been so upset. But they all claimed that they had never heard the word “pope”.
If it were one or two of the group who had never heard the word, I probably would not have been so shocked, but it was the entire class which came from different homes and different schools. It really threw me in a spin.
This experience set me thinking about education, learning and parenting. Is our educational system beneficial to the majority of our children? Is learning being experienced as fulfilling and exciting so as to capture the interest of the majority.
It used to be said that what the previous generation knew at 16 years old, the new generation knows at 12 years old. This philosophy signified that there was marked improvement in education and development of the mind, as it should be for the development and advancement of a people.
But now that “thinking” (generational improvement) seems to be stagnated or has even gone backwards and it is not only evident in “general knowledge” but also in “spelling”, “reading” and in “analytical thinking”.
I believe that a great percentage of today’s Barbadian children are not able to cope with the change in workload that occurs in the move from primary school to secondary school. To move from doing primarily two subjects, maths and English, and then three months later in secondary school they are doing about ten subjects, can be quite overwhelming for many of our students.
There should be a system used where we can determine which children have the capacity to adapt to such a drastic change in workload and at what age. Every child is not ready for secondary school at age 11. Some might not be ready until 13 years old.
Placing a child in that environment before it is ready can hamper its progress. Everyone does not develop at the same pace. I believe that our students would be more productive if we found a way to determine their academic capabilities at that early age.
Also, it would be to the island’s advantage if we could determine the child’s interest and skill area at an early age. I strongly believe that if the children show the definite talent for carpentry, mechanics, art and so on, they should be channelled in that specific direction from early.
Too many parents want their children to be in professions which they are not mentally geared and skilled for. These parents usually want to create an impression. They suffer from societal pressure.
If your child wants to be an electrician, just make sure that he or she becomes the best electrician they can be. We must rid ourselves of the “teacher, lawyer, doctor” syndrome.
God knows what He is doing. He has given everyone a talent. He gave the talent in such a varied manner that everything can be achieved.
God made sure that some will be carpenters so that houses will be built; some will be fishermen so that we can have that nourishing food; some will be farmers so that we can grow our own food; some will be policemen in order to protect us; some will be teachers – for obvious reasons; some will be doctors – to comfort the sick and make them well; some will be reporters in order to bring us the news; the list goes on and on.
Even the garbage collector, who is generally scorned because of the smell – a smell he did not create – is of major importance. He, too, like the doctor, is in the health business. He deals with prevention, whereas the doctor deals with cure. Ever heard that “prevention is better than cure”?
If the garbage collector does not collect the garbage for six months, can you imagine the number of diseases we could have?
Parenting is far more important and vital than most parents apparently think. Parents seem to be leaving all the work to teachers. Sometimes they even blame the teacher for the child’s performance and behaviour.
The majority of “teaching” has to take place at home. A teacher should not have to teach your 11 or 12-year-old child manners, respect, hygiene or how to dress.
Can you imagine that all of this resulted because some children didn’t know of the pope? Old folks used to say, “There’s good in every bad”. Maybe pope is an acronym for “parents oversee pupils’ education”.
Or “pupils obey parents every day”.
Mac Fingall is an entertainer and retired secondary schoolteacher. Email [email protected]
