I woke up one morning a few weeks ago to news that dulled the effulgence of the light that usually comes over a city like Madrid in early June. A message from my brother that Patrick White had died. “At school when we were all students it seemed normal,” my …
Read More »Dear Editor: Stop stigmatising single-parent families and consider deeper causes of school violence
“[…] Is it that two pandemic years at home have left some of our school children confused and unable to distinguish between video games and real life? Is it that the violence-filled ‘entertainment’, often the only type of entertainment they are exposed to in our cinemas and elsewhere, has dulled …
Read More »Dear Editor: Know why there’s a teacher shortage? Ask the MoE when last they paid substitute teachers
“[…] The Ministry of Education seems not to care about substitute teachers who make themselves available to fill the gap for full-time teachers. Sometimes four months after the execution of our duties, payment is still outstanding. It may be six months after too, or even an entire year. “[…] I …
Read More »Noble: The pipeline from school to prison; the drivers of school violence—and the cure
In the recent uproar about the viral videos of school fights, the November 2018 prophecy by then Police Commissioner Gary Griffith is forgotten. “It is really important for us… to look at secondary school crime prevention… If we do not deal with this situation now, in years to come, we …
Read More »Dear Editor: Youths can be taught how to BE parents before they become one—what are we waiting for?
“[…] Many years ago, the United Nations funded a parenting skills programme that was available free of charge to parents of high schoolers. Each participant was provided with a textbook and a workbook. The programme was run over several weeks. “[…] For one thing, I learned that values are caught, …
Read More »Early Bird: Are today’s fathers leavers of mothers or authors of gospels? And still mum on the subject of sex?
As a father of two unmarried daughters, Bobby spends a lot of time thinking about their future. His own marriage is almost 40 years old already, his daughters rather less. And, despite the evidence of a steadily growing divorce rate, his faith in the institution remains unshaken. The seemingly clear …
Read More »Dear Editor: Shouldn’t the media make the distinction between CXC and GCE grading?
‘[…] ‘Distinction’ is a term which was used in the GCE ‘O’ and ‘A-Level’ examinations and has no place or equivalence in CXC’s grades. CXC simply says that a particular performance was excellent. ‘CXC uses criterion reference assessment, a procedure that can be compared to having qualifying standards in Athletics… …
Read More »B&B (trailer): Michael Holding: Caribbean’s colonial education more damaging than lingering royal ties
Removing Queen Elizabeth II as your head of state is one thing, but iconic former West Indies fast bowler and cricket analyst Michael Holding believes a surer path to true emancipation will come when we address our colonial education. Look out for our full interview with Holding on the Burdie …
Read More »Lisa Allen-Agostini: A stitch in time; sew it begins…
When the Pandemic started and the world stopped, like everyone else, I was thrown into a whole new mental space. Unlike everyone else, I did not learn to bake banana bread or grow marijuana. But in mid-2020, I did feel called to learn to sew—buying a basic Brother sewing machine …
Read More »Noble: Wheels within Wheels; how crime flourishes with a malnourished public sector
Nobody wants to live in fear. Nobody wants to lose a loved one to crime or be victimised. The pain ricochets through the community as others experience the wrenching loss that descends on us in sudden ways. Most believe that the government is responsible for public safety. But our reactions …
Read More »Noble: ‘Bringing children back into school is not a simple case of opening the doors’
Education is an essential foundation of a society. Yet, the pandemic has laid bare the reality of our school system. Thanks to the Ministry of Health’s media conferences, we have been able to know the death rate and the capacity of our hospitals. But there are no comparable statistics available …
Read More »Baldeosingh: Education system deprives and abuses black children
“[…] The pattern here is undeniable: the schools with the highest Excelling to Academic Watch ratio are located in Caroni and Victoria, while the obverse ratio is found in the Port-of-Spain and South Eastern areas. The other six areas have more or less equal ratios of good to bad schools. …
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