Dear Editor,
All Guyanese citizens are products of Guyana’s school system. The steadily increasing intensity of anti-social behaviour that is occurring in our schools, is a reflection of what is taking place, almost daily, in the wider society. Guyana appears to be locked into a downward spiral. Violence is leading to even more brutal, and primitive forms of violence. I am convinced that a significant portion of the fault lies with our school system, the most powerful instrument or device available to Guyana to ensure that its citizens are prepared to journey successfully through the twenty-first century.
Only the most obdurate among us will, despite the overwhelming evidence of the above, continue to deny that our largely ineffective, and dysfunctional school system needs to be transformed into a quality education system. I would, therefore, wish to take this opportunity to heighten the awareness of a simple truth, and that is, the quality of our education system can be no better than the quality of our teachers.
Teaching in today’s classrooms has become increasingly challenging and complex for the following reasons:
1) The nationalization of all schools in 1976, and the abolition of all school fees from nursery through to the tertiary levels, made schooling available to every Guyanese child of school age, regardless of their economic and social circumstances. 2) With the advent of mass schooling, the student clientele changed from a relatively homogeneous body with a common set of values, to a vastly heterogeneous group with a corresponding array of value systems ranging from middle class to no value system whatsoever. 3) Schools are essentially middle class institutions in character, and many students, for various reasons, come unprepared for succeeding at school, and as a result suffer from culture shock. 4) Many of today’s students come from struggling single parent homes with several deficits. In addition to inadequate learning environments and resources at home, many students may be undernourished, not in the best of health, have poor eyesight or hearing, and a host of other health problems. 5) As the Guyanese society developed, a lot of the social traditions and institutions that assisted in, and influenced the upbringing of Guyanese youth, have declined, lost their influence, or have disappeared. Society now expects schools and teachers to make good this loss. The experiences of each and every student must now be validated, and all students must receive quality education. 6) Notwithstanding their benefits, the TV and other technological gadgetry compete with teachers for the minds and attention of students, and have become sources of student influence and distraction. 7) The age of puberty is decreasing.
As a result students have become more precocious and assertive. Because of the absence of good adult role models in their lives, many students may be in need of counseling. 8) There is also the intensity of the peer group pressure, and the erosion of parental support for the work of schools and teachers; and 9) the presence of illicit drugs, concealed weaponry on students, and the lack of adequate security in school compounds; 10) There are insufficient numbers of male teachers in schools. I t has been suggested that the absence of sufficient numbers of male role models can be linked to the continuing increase of discipline problems, alienation and concomitant increase in the drop-out rate among male students; and over and above all else, 11) The disrespect for the Laws of Guyana that permeates all levels of Guyanese society. This has resulted in a paucity of positive adult role models.
It should be overwhelmingly evident from the above that teachers are now challenged by many new non-traditional professional and social responsibilities. If teachers are adequately prepared for their tasks, there will no need to retain such a primitive device as corporal punishment. This is tantamount to further victimization of the victims. It must be emphasized that the retention of corporal punishment (yesterday’s tool) in schools, is most definitely not the answer to (today’s) problems of discipline in schools.
All Guyanese ought to be committed to the task of building a peaceful and non-violent society, particularly teachers who are the midwives and moulders of this nation. We must invest far more than we are presently doing in the preparation of our teachers.
We are falling far short of what is really required. Teachers must now be able to contextualize the curriculum, bring it alive, give it meaning, make it relevant and interesting so that students enjoy learning, and they will inspire our children.
The urgently needed improvement of our national culture and decorum demands that Guyanese teachers must now benefit from an education that is ecological (emphasizes the interconnectedness of things – how people relate to one another and to natural systems), generative (reproduces itself through social interaction – especially adult/youth contacts and relationships), and transformational (engenders a sustainable view of the world).
In the modern world recognized professions require many years of scholarly study and training at institutions of higher learning. Since it has been accepted in most developed countries that teachers need to be better educated, colleges of education that were once engaged in the training of teachers have either been transformed into universities, or have been absorbed by them. Here in Guyana, it is doubtful whether the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) has the capacity to deliver curricula in the academic disciplines to a standard much beyond the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), much more to the standard of a creditable Associate Degree; or to develop educational programmes that are ecological, generative and transformational.
If the University of Guyana were made responsible for all teacher education, it would be of tremendous benefit to all stakeholders. Students who seek admission to five/six/or seven year Bed/MEd programmes in the School of Education and Humanities could be required to have certain special qualifying requirements (for example, creditable performance on a Teacher Aptitude and Personality Test), for entrance into the teaching profession. This would have the effect of improving the quality of the most critical input into the education system. Further, CPCE student teachers and teacher educators, instead of being isolated as they are at present, will now be able to interact with a much larger number of goal-oriented tertiary level students (future doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc), and faculty members who are actively engaged in scholarly activities in various fields of study. They will now have access to a wider variety of resources, and actively participate in numerous extracurricular programmes.
Exposure to the humanities will, ultimately, contribute positively to the improvement of political decorum and the development of an integrated national culture. Critical thinking – thinking about the logical structure of an argument; a greater understanding of the world – its different groups of people, their histories, the ways in which they interact; the training of the imagination; and the willingness to put themselves in the shoes of another person, and to reflect on the consequences of their behaviours on others, are all encompassing and enduring outcomes of a well-taught humanities programme, on which real democracy is built. It is within such an environment that student teachers and teacher educators are more likely to experience a process of education that is ecological, generative, and transformational.
The efficient integration of operations of what were, previously, two separate, severely under-funded and under-resourced institutions will result in substantial savings. The elimination of duplication and waste will facilitate the re-allocation of scarce resources.. Further, the misplaced and vastly under-utilized Learning Channel at the National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD), should be relocated to the university campus where it could be used for, among other things, evening and weekend distance continuing education programmes to meet the needs of teachers who have to be released from their classroom duties to attend the university in pursuit of additional qualifications. This would serve to improve teacher school attendance and quality time on task. This, in turn, should result in the reduction of student indiscipline and dropout. Ultimately, all Guyana will benefit when well qualified and truly professional teachers staff our schools.
It is imperative that Guyanese teachers become better-qualified professionals. They must be leaders, researchers, managers of learning, counsellors, and role models. If Guyanese teachers can perform their tasks efficiently and effectively, then change and obsolescence, which have become a way of life, can be planned and catered for. We shall have achieved quality in education and educational excellence only when we have produced graduates who have a love for learning.
Yours faithfully
Clarence O Perry
