“[…] It is clear that the successful children did not need to be told to study hard but did so without cajoling and certainly without boofing. “So, contrary to claims that anyone can be a top SEA or CSEC or CAPE student—which is logically impossible anyway—the attributes of a minimum …
Read More »Dear Editor: How re-introduction of Geography in school curriculum could prevent flooding
“In 1969, Geography (and History) was removed from the National Curriculum both in the primary schools and in the lower forms (Forms 1-3) in secondary schools. “The resultant lack of geographical knowledge may well be to blame—at least in part—for the thoughtless treatment of the physical environment which produces pollution …
Read More »Dear Editor: “A sublime yet subtle poet […] who defied conformation”; Ode to Shadow
“He was a sublime yet subtle poet who danced to his own drum, who wove bass lines—allegedly from Hell, but so transportive as to refute that assertion—that underpinned, pulsed through and propelled each call that he made to his beloved people.” The following Letter to the Editor on the passing …
Read More »Dear Editor: Two Ears and One Mouth; the cost of T&T’s communication problems
“Be it Petrotrin, Roodal Moonilal’s Keith Rowley allegations, religious organisations seeking to deny persons their rights on the basis of their sexual orientation or just for not belonging to one belief-group or another, the Chief Justice and the Law Association, and the habitual venom of social media. “[…] It can …
Read More »TTFA “killing dreams” of our young players; SSFL president “fearful” as inactive U-20s near Concacaf tourney
“We are very fearful that what could occur in a couple weeks time [at the Concacaf Under-20 Championship) in Bradenton may not be something our players may want to remember; and will not auger well for those players who are hoping that this tournament would afford them opportunities to be …
Read More »The cost of marginalising Tech-Voc Education (Pt 3): corporal punishment, “weak” students and loss of teacher time
“In the old 10%-entering-secondary-school days, some schools allowed students to follow an accelerated four-year programme to take the external examination. “Would it not make sense to have a similar programme which provides six or maybe even seven years as the norm to cater for the weaker students or, alternatively, have …
Read More »The cost of marginalising Tech-Voc Education (Pt 2): full certificates and the ignored gender agenda
“We cannot simply produce a Policy for Education and not seek to educate the public on the value of Tech-Voc education. We must also demonstrate that value by offering Technology Education in all schools as a core subject in the National Curriculum. “[…] Another concept that needs to be examined …
Read More »The cost of marginalising Tech-Voc Education: a country of ‘technicians’ but not ‘technologists’
“The idea that bright students use their brains rather than their hands continues to haunt the Education System; it has a demonstrably negative effect on the Tech-Voc subjects. “[…] The result of this prejudice is that we have technicians but not technologists, that we produce students who can repair shoes …
Read More »Tribute to Professor Ken Philmore: the steelpan pioneer T&T never fully embraced
“Professor Ken Philmore should have been one of our immortal monarchs and champions… Without assistance, without adulation, without even our cursory attention, Professor went about spreading the gospel of our sound and our instrument. “He would continue to push the international profile of pan further appearing with giants: Tito Puente, …
Read More »Dear Editor: “We hold up a mirror to society…”; MFO responds to Baldeosingh on ‘gay rights’
“Mr [Kevin] Baldeosingh’s confusion may be caused by his desire to correlate the findings with the cited comment by Inglehart. Our position is not that our country’s values have changed but that these values are changing. A world of difference.” In the following Letter to the Editor, MFO (Market Facts …
Read More »Dear Editor: Oil and gas is “a waste of the future generation’s patrimony”
“This notion that ‘we have oil’ is a gross misrepresentation of what it cost to get a bbl of oil out of the ground to the point of sale—not to mention that the price you see quoted via international media is not what our oil sells for…” The following Letter …
Read More »Baldeosingh: T&T intolerance of same sex unions runs deeper than suggested by MFO poll
“[…] 77 percent of young persons were opposed to homosexuals having the same legal rights as heterosexuals, as were 66 percent of people with a university-level education. “Thus, it is misleading to say that younger educated people are more tolerant than older less educated ones—the more accurate phrasing would be …
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