Teach the children de 3 R’s

Ah believe it was de Whirl Bank that suggested Universal Access to Secondary Education foh all by 2020. But some body ah believe is the PM, had brighter I-dare, ah force ripe one of course, that say we could better dat and be ready by 2005. And would you believe that you have trained Educators in our Ministries that went along with this unrealistic, “hurry-hurry bird don’t build good nest I-dare”.

It was as though the experienced teachers saw danger coming from day one, their concern was what will happen to the slower kids. But Ministry officials had de answers, or were dey provided with de answers? Dey said that de slow kids will get remedial wuk foh two weeks during the summer vacation and will be ready to enter Secondary School in September.{{more}} Some how, all dem big intelligent experienced Principal and Teachers swallow pride, some to keep dey wuk, some to get promotion, and agreed to give it ah try.

We now have the 2006 Common Entrance results and we got candidates who took de Exams getting 7 % in Maths, 8 % in English and 12 % in the General Paper, but dem suppose to enter Secondary School this year or next year. Now me ain’t no Educator but ah dey bout long nuff to know that ah good Education begins with the 3R’s, be able to Read, Rite and do Rithmatic. And any child with them kind ah marks ain’t ready yet. So I am saying that if it teks ah child till he reach age twenty to get his 3R’s together, then let it be so. Some ah the most successful people in SVG never set foot in ah Secondary School classroom. And some ah the most un-productive, un-ambitious, un-inspiring, un-successful people in SVG are those who excelled at Secondary School and went on to excel at University.

And so ah begging who ever toyed with de I-dare that we could achieve full Universal Access to Sec. Ed by 2005, to Row Row de Boat Gently Down de Stream. We got enough ignoramuses on the street already, let us tek time with the slow learners and equip dem with the basic. What cents does it mek if ah child finishes Secondary School and could spell ah big thing like Cow, but can’t spell ah small insect like mosquito!

DON’T GIVE UP CHILDREN

The Common Entrance results turned out to be good, and ah want to congratulate those that pass and in particular lickle Miss Renton who topped de list, guess she’s ah true specimen of John and Suzan, her scientific parents! And ah want to tell those who didn’t mek it, that life does not end when your Common Entrance results say you failed to pass, yuh are not ah failure. Some how de system failed to get you to overs what dey were trying to teach you; or maybe you didn’t try hard nuff. But don’t give up, one day when you look back, you might say that it was ah blessing in disguise.

MORE WUK TO DO FELLARS

Ah was telling my girl Lie-Za that it was interesting to see pictures in the Newspapers of some young men presenting ah number of computers to the Church operated Secondary Schools. But she had reservations, she tell me dem Church Schools ain’t all dat hand-to-mouth and dey should ah suggested that de gifts be given to ah more needy and deserving recipient, and even at this stage, de Church could suggest to de donors that dey give de Computers to another Institution like de Adult Education Program, and add-vice dem to hand the Computers over to de Prisons way dey could be better used in de Prison Re-hab Program. How it would be ah great opportunity foh all dem youths who fell by de way, some foh stealing, some foh Rape, and who ain’t in foh selling Drugs doing time foh teking Drugs. Let dem get ah chance to redirect dey thinking and sharpen dey skills and get more tek-know-ledge-able. Sadly she reminded me of her kid brother who fell into bad company, got hooked up with de “white lady” and is now ah casualty at the Mental Health Centre, then she shook she head pitty-fully and said: ” What dem fellars could do, is to visit the Mental Health Centre and see foh dey-self how all dem youngsters out dey wasting-away as ah result ah Drugs and other abuses, dey suffering foh want ah medication and therapy, learning computer skills and games will help straighten them out, maybe there is place dey ought to start”. So fellars, it looks like all yoh wuk now cut out waiting foh all yuh!

MASSAH BULL MASSAH COW

Pull-ah-trick-hands, Prime Ministers actually mek interesting comparison. Cato did not do much travelling, de joke on him was that he did fraid plane. Mitchell will not be laughed at as ah coward, he did luv ah plane ride, he flew so often and so far, that we uses to refer to him as de National Bird. Just when we though that Mitchell’s record foh flight hours was unbreakable, Gonsalves took to de skies. Whereas Mitchell preferred Italy, Gonsalves like he is ah Air-shun, he luv Melee-sir, two trips in as many months. And whereas Mitchell did buy himself ah plane foh de country remember de Carib Express. Gonsalves single-handedly getting ah Airport. Mitchell dispose of whatever Crown Lands we had in Canouan to Far-reignars, Gonsalves heading down that road in Bequia. Mitchell had ah weakness foh Far-reign expert-ease, Doc-dah-rule-yah weaved threads round him, but Gonsalves Airport ain’t even start, it will be ready by 2011 and he done pick Melee-shuns, Far-reighners as well, to manage it. One would ah thought that with all this training available, that ah group ah Vincies would ah get opportunity foh training in Airport management. And to top off the comparison, Mitchell acquired Rich People estates and gave to the Poor and Landless, Gonsalves began his mission by paying de farmers compensation foh wuking on de Estates, but now, he doing de opposite to Mitchell, de poor farmers who got lands from Mitchell at Buccament have to hand over to the Rich investors… Ah straight case ah ah Massa Bull, Massa Cow, Ken Boy-yeh say “same Car-key pants”, but always remember Ole people say “Ah day foh Dog and ah day foh Agouti”!

And with dat, ah gone again

One Love Bassy.