Last week the headmaster of the Wismar/Christianburg Secondary School Cleveland Thomas was taken to task when he refused to promote children who had not passed their exams contrary to the Ministry of Education’s new ‘no child left behind policy’. Many parents, students and teachers rallied behind him. We asked people in Linden and Georgetown what they thought of the policy. Their responses follow:
Norvil Fredricks – ‘I think it’s a dangerous thing for this society. The Americans say that a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Promoting a child who hasn’t performed well to a class that they are not prepared for is indeed wasting a mind and a matter of fact it’s more than wasting a mind its killing a mind. I think the government should look at rescinding this decision and making more meaningful consultations with residents of the various communities.’
Dennis Gill – ‘I have zero tolerance for this policy. It should be removed totally from the education system of this country. As a matter of fact I am thinking who was the person to even come up with this policy. As you would recognize the Head teacher of the Multi School Mr Thomas has taken a position that he is partially against it in that he agrees with the remedial classes but he is saying that if you fail the remedial classes you should stay back. I really think the administration of the day should look into it seriously and really remove that policy.’
Winston Smith – ‘I am against the automatic promotion ‘no child left behind’ policy. I agree with the remedial classes but not in its entirety. I think that if a child is slow some time should be given to that child so that he or she could catch up because we have some late starters. Some other topics should be introduced from the very early stages so that if a child is not academically inclined he would be exposed to other areas where he might be able to cope better. This could take them into some technical field where they could elevate themselves and become a positive contributor to society. Just promoting them to another level is definitely not going to work and this would definitely be adding to the distracting elements to society. We also need specialist trained teachers to deal with slow learners.’
Marcia Headly – ‘I don’t think this policy is a good thing. Rather than building a society we are killing it with this kind of promotion. It also puts pressure on teachers and students who are faster learners because in many cases those who would have been promoted without passing are often times distracters in a classroom. More than that, teachers would have to slow down the pace of teaching to cope with the failures. This policy was not given much consideration and I think it should be withdrawn, have consultations and look at better ways of implementing a system that would be of benefit to all levels of students and even teachers.’
Duane Tobin, public sector employee – `I don’t think that that would be effective for any child. On the other hand they should work a little more to ensure that children who are failing improve so that you don’t have to pass failing children.’
Krishna Sewlall, public sector employee – `I fully support it. We have children who are slow and we need to give them a chance to realise their dreams at a later stage. You find that when these children go to private schools they achieve their potential because they could not get into a government secondary school.’
Gillian Collins, housewife – `I feel that these children should remain in the class if they fail. It’s an example set for the others coming up to buck up so that they will not be left behind. It would encourage those who were left back to work harder and pay attention to their work. On the other hand, if you pass them they will continue to skylark and would come out of school at a low level. ‘
Melessia Benn, private sector employee – `If a child knows they are going to be passed regardless of whether they do good or not they will not perform. Focus should be on making sure the child takes in their education instead of letting them have a free pass through school that is how I see it.’
Paula Hassan, private sector employee – `I don’t think it is right. If they fail and you put them over to the next class then they will fail again. Reading is very important. They need to work on developing the children’s reading skills. I think the children are failing because they cannot read. If you can’t read you can’t answer the question on the test paper. Parents also need to become involved with their children. They need to play a part in their child’s school life.’
Shivani Narine, CPCE student – `I don’t think it is fair for students to be left behind. Some students are slow and I don’t think it is fair for the teacher to neglect these students. These students may have a disability and teachers need to work with them. I think lessons should be implemented and parents should get involved. Teachers need to talk with parents about their child’s problem and work with them to develop their skills through various means like drama.’