Bahamas: Creativity and Education
Written byJanine Mendes-Franco
“One question that keeps nagging at me is; why do we keep blaming dysfunctional families for the failure of education?” Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com links to a lecture by Sir Ken Robinson to make a point about education in the Bahamas.
Written byJanine Mendes-Franco
3 comments
I think that educators are not considered professionals and they are blamed if their students do not perform up to par. More and more pressure is put on teachers while students are pretty much the same as they always were. Also, parents are upset about failure, so they look for a reason. As well, it is convenient for the teacher to blame the “dysfunction of the family” for the failure. The relationship between the family and the educator is also dysfunctional. There is no real communication about what can be done to improve the students work and progress. The student is not made accountable for his or her terrible performance, so everyone blames everyone else and nothing changes.
I believe Sir Ken Robinson hits it on the head. I also agree that the pointed finger goes everywhere but to the source. All four entities need to work in concert: teacher, student, parents, government. When one feels all things are working for you~amazing results occur. As a twenty-five+ year teacher in public/private/parochial schools…I have often asked the question, what is the formula? I thought I knew back in high school, but after years of teaching, it is confirmed. “ENGAGEMENT”!! In order for anyone’s education to withstand all the negative forces abounding, all parties must be ‘engaged’. Our society today pulls at all of us for time and diversion and it is difficult at best to remain focused and engaged on any topic at length. Another requirement of engagement is ‘for the benefit’ of someone else. All parties must suspend their own agenda in order for the free-flow of ideas to survive and grow! Education is a gift from one mind to another…on any given day this happens…when both minds are willing!
Thanks for the comments.
My question remains however.
If we have dysfunctional families, and the government “educates” most people, how do we solve the crisis in education?
Should we privatise it?
Should we keep students in until 5:00 p.m. and hire retired teachers to help them complete their homework as their illiterate parents can’t help the students?
Where do we begin to find solutions?
After all it’s the children of today that will need to fill our positions in the years ahead and the system is failing them.