What shame?

Keith Noel, Contributor

A fortnight or so ago, there was in the United States media a great deal of hand wringing, finger-pointing and lamenting about the state of public education in that great country. Fingers were pointed at the teachers' unions, the education boards, the teachers themselves and even the children - through their parents. It was also pointed out that, increasingly, those who could afford it were enrolling their children in private high schools. These people included the very politicians whose job it was to ensure that the public schools afforded the best education possible.

The analysis showed that, compared to other countries, the US, despite its resources, was not delivering a good educational product to its people. And this was especially true at the elementary and secondary levels.

Now the US is very research-conscious and most decisions regarding changes in the approaches to teaching and learning are based on evidence gleaned from research. But, somehow, it seems to be that the researchers' work was either faulty, or the way the findings were made to influence the product was misguided.

Main negatives

So this was still in my mind when I read the recent Sunday Gleaner front page report entitled 'S-H-A-M-E. How we get education wrong'. In the first paragraph of this report, we see the phrases "poor teaching" and "substandard learning conditions" featured prominently. The article goes on to elaborate that in many schools teachers "were found wanting" in the effectiveness of their methods and to speak of schools where "classrooms were divided by chalkboards". The other main negatives the article(s) spoke about were the lack of training that principals and vice-principals were given and the fact that many school plants needed upgrading in order to ensure the safety of the students.

The solutions were obvious, it seems. Government must find the resources to train teachers better and to upgrade school plants. More real learning would take place, the students would be safer and the classroom environment would be more conducive to learning. Those plants that were in unsuitable locations should be abandoned and the schools relocated. Then principals and vice-principals must be trained in school leadership. (We are, in fact, already hearing sounds from the minister about this).

But wait! What would we then have? We would have what the US now has! And, based on their own research, their problem is greater than ours!

Wonderful news

I say 'greater than ours' because I note that our report has (for some reason tucked way inside the paper and not on the front where the negatives were) some amazing facts. After pointing out that the inspectors found "in some schools with blackboards dividing the classrooms, you have excellent teachers who know how to override that dynamic".

It goes on to say, inter alia, "Schools, in general, scored highly on the question: How well do students develop personally and socially?" This is one of the most important roles that a school should play, especially in a society like ours! It also quoted the then chief inspector as saying that she was amazed "by the level of care that teachers showed their charges. Teachers ... make sure that they (the students) are comfortable, that they have eaten, and that they feel good about themselves."

This is wonderful. It is one of the things that policymakers all over the world are trying to instil in their teachers. And we have it here in 'amazing' quantities. Maybe that is why our level of teen suicide is so low, despite the fact that the conditions under which so many of them live are so depressing. Maybe that is why, although guns are so readily available, we have not had any incidents of disgruntled teens taking guns into their school premises and opening fire on all and sundry.

But the point is still to be made - we must be careful not to think that all we need to do is spend more money on upgrading classrooms and demanding that teachers and principals upgrade their skills. We need to stop and really think about what we want our education product to deliver. And it CANNOT be, simply, 'more exam passes'! Let's learn something from the failings of our rich northern neighbours.

Keith Noel is an educator. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.