|
Education, education
this is the foundation
Our rising population
needs sound education
To be recognized
anywhere you go
You got to have your
certificate to show
To enjoy any kind of
happiness
Knowledge is the key to
success
CHORUS
Children go to school
and learn well
Otherwise later on in
life you go catch real
hell
Without an education in
your head
Your whole life will be
pure misery
You better off dead
For there is simply no
room
in this whole wide world
For an uneducated little
boy or girl
Don't allow idle
companion to lead astray
To earn tomorrow you got
to learn today.
How your child’s /
children is/are’s school
days different from your
own of ten, twenty,
thirty years ago?
Are today's school kids
as hardworking and
ambitious as those of
your time?
What's your take on
corporal punishment:
Should school children
be
caned/strapped/flogged?
Do you think flogging
helped to "put sense
into your head?"
What are some of the
ways in which today's
kids are distracted from
attending to their
school work?
What were some of the
distractions in your
time?
And how about teachers
and teaching. How have
they changed since your
time?
Is the school still a
major socializing
agency?
Did you ever stoway/break
beach/skip classes in
your time?
And one more thing: Are
you giving your
child/children a dose
of salts or castor oil
before the reopening of
school?
From Joy Charles
How is/are your
child's/
children's
school days
different from
your own of ten,
twenty,thirty
years ago?
My child's
school days are
very different
from my own. I
grew up in
Grenada across
from the primary
school. My
daughter on the
other hand
doesn't have
that luxury.
Neighbours,
grand parents
and teachers
were " Instant
commanders" in
my time.
Neighbours do
not get involved
in my child's
life and she
only get to see
her teacher at
school, a
disadvantage of
growing up in a
large country.
My school
started at 9:
am, and my
daughter's
school starts a
8: am. I was
reminded by the
quarter to 9
church bell ,
but she has to
be dropped off.
I had a one hour
lunch and got to
go home, but she
has a closed
campus.
Are today's
school kids as
hardworking and
ambitious as
those of your
time?
Today's school
kids are not
quite as
hardworking and
ambitious as
those of my
time. I am
comparing the
kids I see in my
classroom with
those I grew up
with in Grenada.
I have to help
motivate those I
see in my
classroom. Those
I grew up with,
most of them
were self
motivated. In my
days we wanted
to be in the
first ten in
class. However,
the kids I see
today don't have
that kind of
motivation. They
are told school
is not
competitive, yet
they must
compete for
scholarship and
also in the job
market.
What's your
take on corporal
punishment:
Should school
children be
caned/strapped/flogged?
In my days
corporal
punishment was
part of school.
Today we live in
a society where
there is a thin
line between
flogging and
child abuse. I
still think a
small number of
kids need it.
Do you think
flogging helped
to "put sense
into your head?"
There is no
doubt that
flogging help to
" put sense in
my head." When I
think of
flogging it was
a time for
decision making.
It works -look
how I turned out
( smile )
What are some
of the ways in
which today's
kids are
distracted from
attending to
their school
work?
They are
distracted by
TV, drugs, part-
time jobs, sex
and violence.
What were some
of the
distractions in
your time?
Distractions in
my time were the
juke box playing
the latest
records,
listening to
cricket when
West Indies were
playing
Australia
|
(time
difference ) and
of course
playing football
and cricket. In
primary school
there was no
separation of
classrooms. As a
result my
teacher was
competing with
another teacher
for my
attention. Also,
there was always
a nice girl in
the other class
( Laugh ).
And how about
teachers and
teaching. How
have they
changed since
your time?
There is quite a
change. My
teachers I
believe had
their lesson
which they carry
in a nice bag.
Today I have to
carry bags such
as the one with
the lesson, my
teaching
calculator and
sometimes my lab
top. My teachers
had to manually
calculate
grades, but I
have the
"luxury" of
electronic grade
book. I believe
today's student
attention span
is short. When
teaching my
class times are
in three
sections. A
fifteen minutes
explanation, a
try this session
for feed back
and correction
if need and
independent
work.
Is the school
still a major
socializing
agency?
You bet. I have
heard students
said there is
nothing better
at home to do
and others felt
if they stay
home there will
be too much
house work.
Did you ever
stoway/break
beach/skip
classes in your
time? And one
more thing: Are
you giving your
child/children
a dose of salts
or castor oil
before the
reopening of
school?
I have to admit
I skipped class
a few times. A
classmate who
was a little
older use to say
"lets skid" when
we were not
doing any thing
in class,
usually about
2:30 or 2 : 45.
My home was in
close proximity
to the school so
I could not do
it very often.
However , when I
did I use go to
the school steps
after school to
check for
homework. There
was also a time
when all boys
skipped
handicraft (
half day )
because a new
bat was made
that morning.
Cricket started
a lunch time and
we lost track of
time. The belt
spoke to us the
next day.
My daughter does
not take the
dosage.
Joy Charles is a full time high school mathematics teacher and an
adjunct
professor of
mathematics at
Wayne County
community
college. He hold
a BA in
Mathematics and
A Master of Arts
in Teaching
mathematics
(MATM) . He was
cited in the
Who's Who Among
American
Teachers, 1998. |
From Clevil:
How your child’s
/children is/are’s
school days different
from
your own of ten, twenty,
thirty years ago?
They live and go to
school in s different
country from me; I went
to school in Trinidad,
they go to school in
Canada.
Are today's school
kids as hardworking and
ambitious as those of
your time?
Yes they are. Actually
they are given more
homework than I got back
then.
What's your take on
corporal punishment:
Should school children
be
caned/strapped/flogged?
I do not agree with
corporal punishment.
Children should not be
caned/strapped/flogged
Do you think
flogging helped to "put
sense into your head?"
No, flogging did not
help to “put sense in my
head”. Flogging helped
to put fear in my heart.
What are some of the
ways in which today's
kids are distracted from
attending to their
school work?
Today’s kids are
distracted by computer
and video games,
television, mp3s and
ipods.
What were some of the
distractions in your
time?
Distractions in my time
were pitching marble,
spinning top, playing
football and cricket.
And how about
teachers and teaching.
How have they changed
since
your time?
The teachers back then
were more dedicated to
their profession. They
taught class because
they wanted to educate
children. They never
went on strike
The teachers today are
more concerned with
wages and benefits than
the welfare of the
children. They often go
on strike or threaten to
do so.
Of course there are
exceptions in both cases
above.
Is the school still a
major socializing
agency?
Yes it is still the most
major socializing
agency.
Did you ever stoway/break
beach/skip classes in
your time?
No, I never did any of
the above.
And one more thing:
Are you giving your
child/children a dose of
salts or castor oil
before the reopening of
school?
No I don’t, but I take
some myself.
From Ackee:
|
"How is/are your
child's/
children's
school days
different from
your own of ten,
twenty,thirty
years ago?"
My daughter
looks forward to
going to school
very much, and
is not
intimidated when
she needs to
speak up in
class. In my
high school days
in Jamaica,
"boldness" was
frowned upon,
and to a large
degree, stifled.
When I remember
the young ladies
who most
challenged the
rules - and not
necessarily in a
disrespectful
manner - they
always used to
be in the
headmistress'
office in
punishment.
Today, my
daughter is
encouraged in
school to speak
up and query
whatever she
does not
understand.
"Are today's
school kids as
hardworking and
ambitious as
those of your
time?"
I think so. The
work is somewhat
different to our
time, but I
think today's
children are
competing just
as much as we
had to for high
school placement
and so on. And,
as a visible
minority, my
daughter will
definitely have
to keep her nose
to the academic
grindstone to
make sure of her
future in a
society that may
not always give
her an equal
chance.
"What's your
take on corporal
punishment:
Should school
children be
caned/strapped/flogged?"
Absolutely not.
I was caned by
nuns as a small
child in
Catholic school
for the most
trivial things,
and it nurtured
a huge fear in
me about
expressing
myself openly in
school. If our
children cannot
be free of
violence in
their schools or
of being
silenced by
fear, how can we
possibly expect
them to realize
their full
potential?
"Do you think
flogging helped
to "put sense
into your
head?""
No. It just
taught me who
held all the
power.
"What are
some of the ways
in which today's
kids are
distracted from
attending to
their school
work?"
The distractions
include the TV
and computer
games. I solve
the problem by
leaving my
daughter in an
after-care study
hall at school
until I am on my
way home from
work. When she
gets
home, the
homework is
done, and she
can play to her
heart's content. |
What were some
of the
distractions in
your time?"
In my time, it
was difficult to
tear myself away
from games with
the
neighbourhood
children. We
would play
cricket,
football,
rounders and
hang out until
we had to head
inside to hit
the books.
"And how
about teachers
and teaching.
How have they
changed since
your time?"
There is such a
variety of
personality
types among
teachers, then
and now.... some
teachers have a
softer, more
inviting
approach....
some are
dictators,
brooking no
argument. I
think teachers
today have more
career choices
open to them,
yet still choose
teaching,
whereas in my
day, I think
many of my
teachers had
fewer choices,
and so did not
approach the job
as an important
calling, but as
a task.
"Is the school
still a major
socializing
agency?"
Definitely. It
is where the
friends are made
and all the
latest trends
are shared. That
has not changed
much since I was
in school.
"Did you ever
stoway/break
beach/skip
classes in your
time?"
Thankfully my
daughter won't
be reading
this..... yes, I
used to skip
school once in a
while to check
out friends
across town if
their school was
having social
events.
"And one more
thing: Are you
giving your
child/children a
dose of salts or
castor oil
before the
reopening of
school?"
Not a chance! My
mother still
entertains us
with laughable
stories of her
days of castor
oil and herb
tea, and I am
happy to say
that my daughter
has escaped all
such tortures.
Ackee |
From: Lincoln D
How your child’s /
children is/are’s school
days different from your
own of ten, twenty,
thirty years ago?
I completed my primary
and high school
education in Grenada.
My two sons have
attended, and are
attending, school in
Canada. For one thing,
the morning pre-school
rituals are quite
different. In Grenada,
I/we were engaged in
pre-school rituals which
would have involved a
whole range of things
such as tending to
animals, sweeping the
yard, “droging’’ water
to bathe, and even
running to the shop to
make a “quick
message.’’ By the time
I got to GBSS, I was
deeply involved with
soccer. Some mornings I
woke early to train
either individually or
with my teammates.
My Canadian kids have
none of these rituals.
The most they have to do
is drag themselves out
of bed, eat and off they
go to school.
As well, going to and
from school in Grenada
was an adventure in
itself. You found ways
of entertaining
yourself. It could be
pencil races in the
drain, teasing someone,
or just chatting along
with your friends as you
make your way to or from
school. The adventure
in Canada is different
and the fun is
different. It involves
ready-made entertainment
gadgets like cell phones
and i-pods, visits to
the mall, etc.
Are today's school
kids as hardworking and
ambitious as those of
your time?
I would have to give it
to the kids of my
generation. But that is
a generalization.
Because I know kids who
are working their butts
off to succeed. But I
think the kids of my
generation were
hardworking and
ambitious because we
felt and/or knew that we
wanted something better
than what our parents
had. And our parents
tended to push us to
achieve something better
than they had. We were
almost desperate.
Having a “good’’
education was the only
option for achieving
that better something.
With kids today, they do
not seem to have that
same sense of
desperation. They see
many more options to
achieving something
better than they
parents. They appear
optimistic that as
Canadians, as most are,
opportunities for
advancement will be
there for them. They do
not see the education
route as the only
option.
What's your take on
corporal punishment:
Should school children
be
caned/strapped/flogged?
Having being “brought
up’’ on the strap, I
have no problem with
it. But I understand
the new environment in
which we live and I also
know that there were
teachers of my time who,
in my opinion, abused
the strap. What we have
today is a system of
time-outs and
suspensions and kids are
hardly bothered by
them. In the days of
the strap, you took your
licks and you remained
at school and tried to
correct whatever caused
you to be flogged in the
first place. My
suggestion will be to
have the strap only as a
deterrent of last
resort; used sparingly
and only after other
non-physical measures
have been tried, and
with limitation on the
number of lashes.
Do you think flogging
helped to "put sense
into your head?"
Fear of the strap had me
staying up late, using
candle and lamp, trying
to work out the answers
to sums and trying to
conjugate verbs.
What are some of the
ways in which today's
kids are distracted from
attending to their
school work?
Too many gadgets and
play-things around.
Sure, endless playing
around with the gadgets
may lead to the next
Bill Gates. But for the
many millions who are
not going to be Bill
Gates, their time would
have been better
invested learning to
read, write and spell –
without using the
computer spell-check,
which often gives the
wrong spelling to words.
What were some of the
distractions in your
time?
Sports (soccer, table
tennis, cricket) and
culture (steel pan,
carnival).
And how about
teachers and teaching.
How have they changed
since your time?
Again, I’ll have to
compare Grenadian
teachers with Canadian.
In Grenada, teachers
were, by and large, part
of the community in
which you lived. There
was a connection, an
affinity, and sometimes,
fear and respect, that
went beyond the
classroom. You knew the
teachers outside the
classroom, and he/she
often knew your mother,
father and your whole
clan.
In Canada, teachers are
just teachers. You get
to meet them a few times
– at school. It is pure
business. They deal
with you or your child’s
issue at school and they
disappear from the
community that embodies
the school.
Is the school still a
major socializing
agency?
It still is. And, in my
opinion, always will be,
so long as children have
to receive an education
and have to attend a
school for how many
hours a day and for how
many years of their
lives. A whole lot of
things will happen
during those school
“daze’’ to shape the
life of a boy or girl.
Did you ever stoway/break
beach/skip classes in
your time?
No. Never. For one
thing, I was afraid
someone would have seen
me and told my parents.
But I also liked
school. Or, rather, I
liked the idea of going
to a place where I
learnt something new
every day. As an
elementary student, I
thought teachers were
the greatest people in
the world. I kept
wondering how did these
people know so many
things.
And one more thing: Are
you giving your
child/children a dose of
salts or castor oil
before the reopening of
school?
Never, ever thought
about it. Perhaps
because they do not
spend their summer like
I did, eating mangoes
and other things that
would have given them
“worms,’’ which needed
to be “washed out’’
before the reopening of
school.
LincolnD, a graduate of Hindsey and the GBSS, is a journalist and
marketing professional
in Toronto, Canada. He
is the father of two
sons.
From Godfrey Ferguson
“To form good citizens
we must educate our
children. From our
national institutions
will proceed a race of
men [and women] capable
of defending by their
knowledge and talents
those rights so long
denied by tyrants.
It is from these sources
that light will be
diffused among the whole
mass of the population.”
– Henri
Christophe, 1817
Born a slave in Grenada,
Henri Christophe (6
October, 1767 - 16
October, 1820) was an
adolescent when he
arrived in Cap-Francais
in St-Domingue.
Although much of his
policies as King of
Haiti were of the feudal
social order, Christophe
championed the
importance of education:
King Christophe built
many schools and
provided opportunities
for outstanding
students. He believed
these schools would
secure Haiti’s new and
hard-won freedom.
Though barely literate,
Christophe’s wide
travels and his
experiences with
slavery, tyranny and
oppression while he
should have been still a
school boy, must have
instilled in him the
virtue of education as
an essential vehicle of
progress. Christophe’s
primary school education
came in 1778 when he
fought as a volunteer in
Savannah, Georgia, for
the independence of the
United States of
America. He obtained
his college education as
one of the principal
leaders of the Haitian
military forces that
stood up to and
eventually defeated the
globally-feared
Napoleonic army.
Many multi-generational
post-emancipation
Africans throughout the
Americas share
Christophe’s
appreciation of
education as the great
equalizer. Many
present-day Grenadians
share these aspirations
and Godfrey Ferguson is
one of them.
Godfrey was born in
Paraclete, St Andrew.
He attended the Belair
Government School and
later Mc Donalds
College. His
pedagogical education
was accomplished by
becoming a teacher while
in his teens and later
as a graduate of the
Grenada Teachers
College, where he
obtained a certificate
in Education.
Mr. Ferguson taught for
5 years at the Tivoli
Roman Catholic School.
His commitment towards
excellence in education
took him to the United
States where he
excelled, attaining
undergraduate degrees in
business, economics and
political science and an
MBA from University of
Connecticut (New Haven).
Ferguson is a business
manager, artist manager,
and election campaign
manager. He is
currently employed as a
Manager for State of
Connecticut.
A former Grenada
national youth player in
both soccer and cricket,
Mr. Ferguson is also an
accomplished tennis
player. He was an
opening batsman for the
Mc Donald's
College cricket team,
and was also useful
bowler. Mr. Fergusson
is married with five
children. I spoke to
Mr. Ferguson by
telephone.
-Martin
P. Felix
|
BIGDRUMNATION (BDN):
How are your
children's
school days
different from
your own back in
the ‘dayz’?
Godfrey
Fergusson (GF):
My kids'
school days are
as different
from my own as
night is
different from
day. Couldn’t
be any more
different. For
instance, for my
entire primary
school days I
went to school
bare- footed. I
started wearing
shoes on a full
time basis when
I went to high
school. Just as
contrast. I
probably had a
single pair of
pants and
shoes. At the
beginning of the
term we had new
uniform but that
was the
beginning
of the school
year in
September. But
here in this
country I spend
thousands every
semester on my
kids. Shoes and
clothing are not
an issue for
school. All
they have to do
is ask for it.
In my days if I
asked for it I
would not get
it. Not because
they would not
give it but
because the
money was not
available.
Economically the
kids are a lot
better off.
BDN: Are
today's school
kids as
hardworking and
ambitious as
those of your
time?
GF:
I’ll say yes. When I think of my kids and of my friends I
would say
definitely. In
my days my
education
ambition started
in high school.
And obviously I
worked hard and
other people
worked hard too
and wanted to go
to university to
finish high
school. But the
economic means
were not
available to me
and so I decided
to leave country
to achieve
that. If we
were to compare
that situation
with that of my
kids – right now
I have
two kids in
university and
my wife and I
are paying for
them so they
don’t have that
economic issue
that I had.
BDN: What's
your take on
corporal
punishment:
Should school
children be
caned/strapped/flogged?
GF: I
grew up under
that system and
I was a teacher
and naturally I
administered
corporal
punishment –
strap, whips and
stuff like
that. It was
part and parcel
of the system
that we grew up
with. But when
I traveled to
this country [
the United
States] I
realized that
they had turned
their backs on
this practice.
Even England
that we got it
from, they too
abolished
corporal
punishment in
school. So I
concluded after
a long period of
thought that
children should
not be beaten in
school. I
thought a lot
about it and
considering the
social and
psychological
training that I
got back in
teachers college
I concluded that
it was wrong in
a lot of ways to
beat. Further,
the best way to
get kids to obey
the rules and
perform in
school is to
give them
positive
reinforcement.
BDN: Do you
think flogging
helped to "put
sense into your
head?"
GF: I
thought that
helped to
discipline me
but I realized
that it
instilled more
anger in me and
actually the
anger is long
term.
BDN: What are
some of the ways
in which today's
kids are
distracted from
attending to
their
schoolwork?
GF: For
one thing: I
think kids are
distracted by
having so much
media vying for
their attention,
because all of
this media
consumption
takes a lot of
time. If you
get hooked on
the media it
takes a lot of
time - video
games, playing
video on the
Internet, hand
held games, PSP,
the xboxes etc.
Added to that,
you have phones
and cell phones.
So, all of
these electronic
devices can be
major
distractions. A
kid can get
caught up with
playing these
games for hours
and neglect her
work.
And weak
parenting is a
contributing
factor, too.
Another is the
demand of work
on parents,
which is
sacrificing
parenting and
care.
So in the
absence of
stronger
parenting the
negative
influences in
the media tend
to have its
way. Then you
have the dangers
of drugs, urban
gangs and other
vices. |
BDN:
What were some
of the
distractions in
your time?
GF: We grew up very simple, folk society. Probably our biggest
distraction was
girls (laugh).
When one got
older the
distraction
could be hanging
out a lot and
not devoting
enough time for
work and not
have the
discipline for
it. Another
major
distraction from
school work was
agrarian chores
– land work,
taking care of
animals, etc.
On banana day
many kids had to
be absent from
school.
BDN: And how
about teachers
and teaching.
How have they
changed since
your time?
GF:
My day as a teacher we had a teacher and a black board chalk
and a duster.
When I went to
Teachers College
I learn that we
need visual aid
too and our
school did not
have the
resources. I
spent my own
money to buy
supplies,
Bristol board,
crayons,
markers. It was
basically hands
on.
You tried to
enrich the
education
experience by
using the little
resources you
had but now kids
have all kinds
of new
technology. They
have power point
presentation and
all kinds of
visual aids to
enhance the
experience of
learning. The
kids themselves
learn to do
those
presentations.
They also have
the Internet.
When I was in
school I wrote
three books
because I
realized that
there was a need
in these areas:
one Math book;
two English
books. I also
wrote a short
story book.
There was an
education
consultant who
came from
England and he
wanted to know
who I was
because he saw
my books in a
library in one
of the
universities in
London.
Apparently they
kept all of the
books developed
by people in the
colonies.
BDN: Is the
school still a
major
socializing
agency?
GF: Probably not. I think the Internet is now the major social
agency. I
believe that
school can
indeed be that,
but things have
changed. We
find a lot of
socializing
outside the
school. For
example, they
divide up the
kids into
different houses
and teams and
therefore the
interaction
between the kids
are minimalized.
There is more
emphasis in
competition
rather than
socialization.
Schools seem to
be more
interested in
controlling than
in socializing.
I don’t think it
takes a social
scientist to
caution that the
long-term effect
may not be very
positive.
BDN: Did you
ever stoway/break
beach/skip
classes in your
time?
GF: Yea, I did that on the influence of the bigger guys. Shhhhh… I
hope my kids are
not listening
(laugh). We
skip, go to town
(Grenville) and
hang out. But
being in a small
society
my folks heard
about it and
that was the end
of it. Never did
that again. I
never did that
in high school.
I was very
focused.
BDN:
And one more
thing: Are you
giving your
child/children a
dose of salts or
castor oil
before the
reopening of
school?
GF: (laugh)… When I think of it that was a good thing you know. The
kids go to a
pediatrician and
they take care
of things. In
our days our
parents were the
doctors,
pediatricians
and all.
BDN: Thank you
very much, sah.
Nice chat. |
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