SOME OF OUR EDUCATORS will be honoured today for their outstanding contributions in the classroom. This is in order. But even as we salute the chosen ones for their sterling efforts, we must require more from all teachers while demanding greater accountability in our education system.
When we speak of accountability we refer specifically to having highly qualified teachers who know how to create student success. We must get rid of that old belief that you cannot dismiss bad teachers.
The leadership of our education system must not settle for the status quo. The Ministry of Education, which is accountable for the standards in our schools and is the major driver of improvements in these institutions, must institute new measures. It must act swiftly to ensure teacher evaluations are universal, and that there are personal improvement plans as well as dismissal procedures where performance does not meet requirements.
It is of the utmost importance that there be ongoing programmes for professional development, observations and other actions, including testing and evaluation, aimed at upgrading all our teachers.
There is a clear need for some uniformity in teaching skills in our classrooms since effective teaching is the central factor in student learning. This cannot be overemphasized even though the individual needs of students are varied and distinct. The instruction offered in all our schools must ensure that there are no barriers to learning and that all our students are exposed to only first-class teachers.
A corps of talented and committed teachers has always been at the top of the prerequisites. As such, we must reward high achievement among our teachers, but we must also punish failures. Transferring poor performers from one school to another will not solve the problem.
Here, we proffer our considered view that there should be no standardization of the curriculum and assessments since standardized testing does not lead to improved student achievement and certainly does not deal with the issue of incompetent teaching.
It is critical that we ensure improved performance in reading and maths, especially at the primary level. This requires clear, measurable goals and targets as well as effective monitoring to determine if we are accomplishing our objectives.
We must, of course, be concerned about how the overall performance of Barbados’ school system compares with those of our regional neighbours and those farther afield. Since we must prepare our students to compete globally, we need to know whether our education system is measuring up.
Parent-teacher associations have a critical role to play in the further development of our educational system. Greater and more meaningful parent involvement in our schools is a must. Hence, PTAs must not be relegated to the role of simply providing financial contributions and supporting a few extra-curricular activities.
They, too, must be true advocates and watchdogs of our children’s educational prospects.