Online feedback

Below are edited excerpts from comments posted online at www.jamaica-gleaner.com from readers' reaction to yesterday's lead story, 'Teachers flunk'.

Wrong qualifications

Many teachers are upgrading their qualifications but not in their subject areas. Many hold degrees in guidance and counselling, psychology, etc. that does not help them to deliver or improve content, methodology or technology integration in the classrooms. If you examine the course contents of some of these degrees, they offer very little in improving the teacher's skills or knowledge in the classroom. Yet, these teachers expect to be paid by the Government for having achieved qualification that does not pay off in the classroom nor help students in their quest for academic achievements.

- Adanzo68

More accountability of teachers

I am facing a huge problem with my daughter's primary school in Ocho Rios and the competence of her teacher. In the last two weeks, they have been given two days off for the lamest of reasons. What is obvious is how skewed your child's education can be depending on what the teacher feels comfortable with teaching. The problem is such that my daughter rarely gets math homework. Most homework is based around language arts, art and craft. After a visit to the school, it was immediately apparent that management was a remote concept, but control and discipline seemed paramount. How can the education ministry facilitate 'reasonable' accountability by teachers to parents?

- Joan

Irrelevant assessment techniques

I am really sick of the Ministry of Education adopting all these assessment techniques from England and Wales that have no relevance to the Jamaican society. I'm not saying that some teachers do not belong in the classroom, because teaching is just work for them, but teacher assessment used by the school's inspectorate is based on a system where a wide and never-ending variety of resources is available. Where did teachers in Jamaica learn to track progress, use findings to inform planning and create activities to move students to the next level? While teachers must be responsible for their knowledge, or lack thereof, teacher training must also be streamlined and adapted to the changing times. I'm just saying, many of the things I know now about teaching, planning, assessment and tracking progress, I learnt in England.

- Dreadblue_law