It is
imperative to be reminded that basic education for all residents on planet
earth, including The Bahamas, involves the
Three
R’s--
reading, writing, and arithmetic--and the successful completion of Grade
12-level standard school work. It is not a choice. Unfortunately, too
many parents and young people believe, based on what they have been told by
so-called by responsible adults, that there are two kinds of basic
education: academic and technical. They suggest that if the child is Aacademically
inclined,@
likes to read, write and do arithmetic, then that child can do Aacademic
classes@
and become a teacher, lawyer, doctor, etc. However, if the child is Anot
academically inclined,@
has difficulty or shows little or no interest in learning how to read with
comprehension and write expressively, then let the child learn carpentry,
painting, plumbing, masonry, etc. How can one calculate the dimensions of
a wall and the needed amount of cement and blocks required to build that
wall if one cannot read or write? Reading, writing, and calculating are
basic to everything we do.
I have heard
some expressing themselves on the streets, in debating halls, and even on
radio talk shows, that if someone is not Aacademically
inclined@
then let her go to technical school to acquire a skill.@
What a dangerous misconception of education. This practice has actually
turned our educational system into a giant crime generating mill. We now
have a generation of young men and women who cannot articulate their
feelings, read simple instructions, and respond wisely to moments of
crisis. We have created an ugly, dangerous monster.
Promoting
students to the next grade at the end of the school term when they are below
the accepted grade point average for promotion (social promotion) has made a
joke out of basic education in The Bahamas. It has created a disinterested
approach to learning and has caused too many of our citizens to focus on
surviving instead of on being significant. One would do anything to survive
in a society where one perceives, based on one’s limited ability to reason,
that no one understands or treats him fairly. When one is not equipped with
the tools to reason, read with comprehension, write intelligently, or
calculate, that person perceives that the world is his enemy and thinks he
must do whatever it takes to get on top of those what are oppressing him.
These individuals are responding to the world around them based on external
stimuli(extrinsic
values) and their response may include violence.
Being
significant is a higher level of self-governance. It=s
governing oneself based on reasonable internal values and sound ethical
principles. It is the involvement of higher thinking level, reasoning, and
decision making, which lead one to becoming a positive, significant entity
in society. This can only be accomplished through the achievement of basic
education. Our public educational system has implied that one can become
significant without the successful completion of basic education. This is a
lie. When people cannot read, critically evaluate, articulate their
feelings or opinions, their self-worth is at a critical low.
Individuals who
did not have an opportunity to learn how to read or write but still value
the need for education, often regret that they did not have the opportunity
to learn how to read or write and find ways to make up their deficiencies
through an intelligent approach to life.
- Our Young Men Need Help
-
It
seems as though the mentality that thinks of education as an enemy and
not a friend comes from a poverty mind-set. Economic deprivation is
not just the difficulty or impossibility to acquire a good paying job
(based on one=s
qualifications) to meet one=s
daily needs. It is also a mental attitude that robs one from looking
beyond the pain and difficulty of a low-income job. These people are
more likely to blame the system than qualify themselves for a brighter
future. This attitude is perpetrated by parents and our men are being
most affected by it. This is not unique to The Bahamas.
While living in
Michigan, I worked at an agency as the Director on Psycho-education for
Abusive Individuals. I got a call from the Oprah Winfrey show coordinators
inviting me to come on the show with some of the teenage boys who where in
my treatment program and who could share how they had changed from being
violent to non-violent. They needed young men who could speak clearly, form
complete sentences, and articulate their feelings well. They gave me three
weeks to find such teenagers. Unfortunately, although there were young men
who had been transformed through the program I conducted, I could not find
any young man, in the short time they gave me, who was able to express
himself in a clear and concise way on national television. There were young
women but not young men.
I am told that
many of our large institutions, in need of able-bodied men, have a great
difficulty finding men who can read, write, comprehend, stick to the task,
and without a police record. They can find the young women they want with
much less difficulty. If these young men are employed, they have serious
poor work ethics. They go to work late, perform their tasks inadequately,
have a poor attitude, and are lazy. Eventually they are fired. These are
the same ones who complain about hiring expatriates who want to do the
tasks.
- Involve Educators
-
Research
indicates that educational reform does reduce crime. It is imperative
to understand that a major component of education includes not only
making students, but teachers and administrators accountable for success
or failure. Teaching methodologies, principals’ and teachers’ attitudes
and skills, are at the core to educational reform. When teachers and
school principals are held accountable for the outcome of their
students, I believe we will begin to see a difference in our community.
The kind of accountability for school principals may include not
increasing salary if a school receives a low grade rating and releasing
a principal if a school has a low grade rating for more than three
years.
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Barrington H. Brennen is
a marriage and family therapist. Send your comments or questions to
P.O. Box CB-13019, Nassau The Bahamas, or call 242 327 1980, or email
barringtonbrennen@gmail.com
