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Barbados Education In The Deja Vu Zone

Submitted by Raw Bake   “Six males scored zero, but all the females scored between one and 100.” After all the celebrations have ended, can you ask the Minister Of Education the following: How fair is a system that forces students, who do not have the ability to get even one question right, to take…

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Submitted by Raw Bake

 

Minister of Education, Ronald Jones

“Six males scored zero, but all the females scored between one and 100.”

After all the celebrations have ended, can you ask the Minister Of Education the following:

How fair is a system that forces students, who do not have the ability to get even one question right, to take an exam for entrance to a secondary school?

What is the rationale for subjecting such children and their parents to this mental trauma year after year?

Does the Minister agree with the observation that yet again, it would appear that children form the middle to upper economic classes have a higher than average chance of “succeeding” in this exam?

123 responses to “Barbados Education In The Deja Vu Zone”

  1. me Avatar
    me

    Just Only Asking | June 7, 2011 at 10:47 PM |
    “islandgal246 is not very smart, but I had to repond to her. Do you like how i extend an invitation to her to join me in the chicken coop?”

    i like and i agree. i chose not to respond to her comments re Pilots losing their jobs. i found it rather infantesimal and overly jealous. her problem is that maybe she went to a newer sec. school and turned her nose down at other schools. now she is seeing that students who probably did not do well in the 11+ could come years later and find themselves in careers of high esteem. from her comments, she lacks character, something she dropped in her anxiety to reach her perceived top of the ladder. pity. u answered well. ME

  2. me Avatar
    me

    @Raw Bake | June 8, 2011 at 9:11 AM |
    “I notice that every child that did well was from the upper and middle classes of society. There is no even playing field anymore, just greed and green.”

    Most children do well if they do not have encumbrances to hinder their learning. my family broke up when my children were young. it was a struggle but i countered that by putting aside funds every month for an outing. every vacation was a trip overseas (i did not have to pay for that). my extended family and my neighbour took it upon themselves to be there for my kids. when my family broke up, my neightbour told me ‘so what, we will take of them’ and they did. even tho my son got low marks in the 11+, he excelled from the time he went to secondary school. i really think that children who are suffering financially, have too much on their plate to really concentrate as they would like but some do. i remember the scandal some years ago (about 9 yrs ago) where the children of a particular school answered the maths problem with the correct answer but the question had a typographical error, making it impossible for them to answer correctly. up to then that school, along with another in st. michael central had students passing for Queens and Harrison College. Of course they had access to the paper. that was corrected. the private schools did not have that ‘privilege’ so i think now that the playing field has been leveled so to speak, the true results are being seen

    I have heard of teachers who teach the syllabus at lessons but fall short at school. the parent is then blackmailed into paying for lessons so that the child can do well in the exams. it happened to a relative of mine. however, that child’s mother spent time with the child and refused the offer of lessons, she is at st. michael’s Sec. and doing quite well.

  3. me Avatar
    me

    @islandgal246 | June 7, 2011 at 3:04 PM |
    ” with the recession on Pilots do get laid off so please be aware of that and let us hope your son has another skill in the event of this happening.”

    lol, yes he has another skill. he’s also a computer programmer

  4. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @me,
    The BU family is comprised of accomplished Bajans and some who have well educated children.

    We are always pleased to see Bajans succeed in their endeavours.

    You should be proud of your son. He is 1 of about 100,000 Bajans who have been sucessful academically or professionally in the last 20 years.
    Are you also included in this group?

  5. Raw Bake Avatar
    Raw Bake

    me | June 8, 2011 at 1:04 PM |

    @Raw Bake | June 8, 2011 at 9:11 AM |
    “I notice that every child that did well was from the upper and middle classes of society. There is no even playing field anymore, just greed and green.”

    I plead Not Guilty
    it wasn’t me.

  6. Raw Bake Avatar
    Raw Bake

    @David,
    Ditch the current one size fits all system. Everyone cannot learn at the same pace.
    Why must the slow learner be forced to sit an exam everyone knows he will fail, but the gifted child everyone knows can pass, is deemed to young to sit?

    More resources have to be allocated for early detection and remedial help. Teachers, Specialists, Plant & Equipment is required. Get up and do some real work. Find the money, reallocate, trim the fat and cut out the wastage. Early intervention at the primary level has to be the norm.
    It makes no sense waiting until after the children have sit the exam, to acknowledge that they have difficulties and then make half hearted attempts to assist.

    The role of the Primary school has to change from solely preparing children to pass the 11 Plus, to ensuring that all children acquire the basic skills necessary to benefit from attending a secondary school.

    Perhaps the whole education system needs to be steered away from being the exam passing production plant it has become, to what it did in early times with much success. Equipping every student with the skills to be a productive citizen.

  7. Bonny Peppa Avatar
    Bonny Peppa

    Raw Bake

    Some questions are rhetorical. LOLL

    Anyway, here goes:

    Continuous Assessment, isn’t this what 11+ is based on? And after continuous assessment, wouldn’t these same children be placed in the appropriate Secondary Schools? Six is still half dozen Raw Bakes. Or I got um wrong?

    I agree wholeheartedly with your #2. solution. Good point. Full marks. (for that one you going straight to Harrison’s College) LOL

    When you say that girls develop earlier than boys, you mean physically, I guess. Of course some girls start to get ‘chest-bumps’ at an early age. But as for academics, I think that there are slow boys n slow girls, all the same age. Gender is not a factor. In secondary school boys may tend to be sexually attracted to the girls because their hormones are beginning to be manifested. I don’t think the same can be said at Primary
    level. The instances of this are like my granma ‘s teet, few n far between. LOL

    Zoning;
    If a duncy boy/girl goes to one of the top schools do you think that it will make him a scholar? No. If you are not academically inclined, the school/teacher cannot perform miracles. We have to acknowledge that all children will not have the basic skills to master the academics.
    Here is where I think that that child should be accessed and placed in a Trade School where his talent/s can be monopolized at an early age. But he will still have to have some sort of academics but capatilize on his strengths.

    My only ‘quarrel’ with the 11+ is the relocation of students on that particular day to another school as opposed to relocating the teachers. I think that the strange or unfamiliar setting can make them nervous and unsettled. That is my only pet peeve with
    this test.

    Just only Asking

    I hay behind de fowl -pen watching you n Islandgal go at in rong fa rong. I refreein from
    behind de pen. Watch de fowl-pupp pleeze. LOLLLL.

  8. Raw Bake Avatar
    Raw Bake

    Bonny P
    Continuous Assessment, isn’t this what 11+ is based on?…
    Or I got um wrong?

    Rite, u got um wrong.

    11+ scores are based on how well the child can recall and display that recollection, on the day of the exam. Anything the child did prior to that day is not eligible for consideration.

    Good point. Full marks. (for that one you going straight to Harrison’s College)

    I only went school everyday of the week including Sundays, during August, so i feel like uh bank holiday bear pon uh church excursion. I feel toooooo tweet, anybody tell me anything I gine tell duh Hapoo!

    Gender is not a factor. In secondary school boys may tend to be sexually attracted to the girls because their hormones are beginning to be manifested. I don’t think the same can be said at Primary
    level. The instances of this are like my granma ‘s teet, few n far between. LOL

    Bonny u went tuh school at uh all girls school?
    Hush up yuh mout in heh do !

    Zoning
    If a duncy boy/girl goes to one of the top schools do you think that it will make him a scholar?

    Zoning is probably not the right word, channeling, streaming directing, steering… you get the drift?

    The children go to a school based on their academic abilities. A duncy boy would not end up at the school with the brightest children because thee is no one off exam for him to fluke and get high marks. If he was duncy from Infants to Class 4, Continuous Assessment would have flagged him as such and he would be “directed” to a school that is able to adequately assist him.

    My only ‘quarrel’ with the 11+…

    Fair enough, but like David said, 400 children every year will add up to some scary numbers over time.

    Over 30 years and counting.

  9. Bonny Peppa Avatar
    Bonny Peppa

    David
    And exactly what is it that you would like to know about the 11+?

    I @10:29

    YOu are making some broad statements which hold no weight.

    ALLLL 11+ children were given the same exam. And it is not only the well-to-do ones that did good in the exam or are getting a trip to disney. Some well-to-do’s got low marks also and some not so well-to-do’s will also be rewarded with a trip to Disney, NY, C’da or even a trip to Chefette/Kentucky.

    And if teachers decide to give lessons after school or on Weekends, they are not demanding that we send our children for lessons. The onus is on the parents. Why shouldn’t they be paid? Their shift ends at 3:00; anything after that is ‘overtime’. If I had a child that wanted the extra ‘help’, I would be more than willing to pay for it. I can’t do it, so I see nothing wrong with paying for it. The teachers already have their education. Do you think that it would affect them if you don’t send your ‘child’ to lessons? Phewwwwwww.

    me
    It isn’t every child that is given extra lessons that will do good in the exam so why should the teacher have to blackmail the parent/s into their little ‘scheme’? I see it as assisting those with a learning deficiency. They are only trying to help. That is how I see it. One of my grans is getting lessons at school and to be honest with you, her parents could forget it because she is just not grasping the work as she should. Maybe she is autistic dyslexic or just plain duncy. LOLL( all dese big words just ta sound nice)
    One of my brothers was the dunciest person on planet earth but today he is one of the most qualified among his kin. ( he even brighta dhan me den, LOL) He is a classic example of excelling after school. To this day he is a granpa and always doing some Course or the other. He has done almost every Course that the SJPP had to offer. No lie.

    Hants
    Wait, wah bout me? I is a professional too. De fellas up Bush Hill kin attes ta dat. Ask any a dem.
    LOLL

  10. Bonny Peppa Avatar
    Bonny Peppa

    Raw Bake
    ya got ma cryinnnnnnn.
    But seriously, based on your argument, continuous assessment is basically the same as 11+.
    I agree that a child scoring low marks from day one to day end, should not be made to do this exam. It can be very embarrassing for that child when the results are returned. He/she should be sent to a school equipped to deal with that sort of disorder but we have no such institution at present so we are stuck betwix a rock n a hard place.
    We need to let our voices be heard so that those in authority can correct this wrong. It is never to late. A ‘one voice crying in the Wilderness’ will be to no avail. Unity is strength.

    One of my boys was extremely ‘bright’ at Primary School. So much so, that he was always ahead of his class. Therefore he spent two years in Class 4. When it was time for him to do the 11+ I figured that he was headed straight to you know where? Yes, Harrison’s or Queens. Gaw bleahhhhhhhhhh, he passed for Foundation. Man, I beat de shit outta dat bitch when de results come back. Na joke. I went n buy de epaulettes fa H.C and he pass fa Foundation. Man, I nearly crucify de bitch wid licks. (LOL)
    But anyway, he did exceedingly well in school and passed out with about 8 A’Levels. I know better now, but he had me real cruellllllllllllllllllll dat day boy. Na joke Raw Bake.

  11. Bonny Peppa Avatar
    Bonny Peppa

    Raw Bake
    I went to a unisex school. LOL
    One or two a de boys would get outta han sumtimes wid de gurlz. In fack , I had ta put sum cuffs in a fella one day fa touchin me pun my ‘chest-bump’. He is a prominent lawya today. He was always a lil up-start but he mess wid de rong gurl dat day. He nevva nevva cum rong me since den. He had de bad habit of comin up ta a girl n sayin, ‘ ammmm, you got sumtin pun you blouse’, den he would play dat he brushin it off. I warn he bout fifty times dat ef he evva do um ta me, I gun beat de shit outta he. He did one day, n lost ta me. Plus I din like he summuch needa. Too short. LOLL

  12. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    First of all, Bonny your last two paragraphs in your penultimate posting are truly hilarious, albeit indicate that your son ended up where he was supposed to, excelling and all that.

    As for the 11 Plus, I am not against it per se, but it DOES put too much pressure on the children.

    I would rather partial zoning,which exists today, still with an exam that indicates the relative ability of children.

    Someone sometime ago made the point that putting children with different levels of academic ability together created problems. I can see that.

    However, far more important is raising the level of discipline at the schools, all of the schools, such that at any school one can rely on a safe and strudy oreinted environment, without bad distractions.

    Although the schools cannot correct bad influences in the homes, they cannot ensure that bad influences are not brought into the perimeters of the schools.

    Additionally, we need a rounded system in the schools that create people able to interact in society and a work environment, not just people who can pass exams, that is what is lacking…in some, including the most touted schools.

    But, discipline and a good attitude are the foundations of a good school, such that one arrives there on a day ready and willing to learn and not to distract.

    We also need a special school for learners whose environment has not ‘come through’ i.e. those who perform badly on the 11 Plus i.e. a remedial school.

    Education requires understanding of the subject matter but also the ability to deal with children and adults and the ability in some special cases, to assist the method of learning where children are somewhat slow.

    It is a shame that some schools are perceived as ‘better’ per se, not because they may not be good, but because all the shcools can potentially turn out, and indeed, as Bonny notes above, strong and telanted people, aka successful.

    Bear in mind that when you go for a job in Toronto, New York or London, the interviewer does not give a xhit about whether you went to Harsuns, Queens, Foundation or Alleyne.

    All they care about is your qualities including academics, experience, track record and personal qualities.

    An ‘A’ record at Foundation counts for more than a ‘C’ record at Harsuns, on paper, when seen in a CV sent to a University.

    Plus, someone who can speak clearly and thoughtfully will impress an interviewer more than someone with slightly higher grades, but who cannot conduct a reasonable conversation.

    It is about the end product and about developing a person, not about developing an exam-passing robot.

  13. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    Errata ‘, they CAN ensure that bad influences are not brought into the perimeters of the schools.’

  14. Bonny Peppa Avatar
    Bonny Peppa

    Crusoe
    Well said, well said. The best thus far. Even better than mine. I jellus.

    You know how I love to interject wid my lil ‘jokes’. I beat my son fa tru doe. Na lie. LOLL

    And you are correct. It is how you present or ‘sell yourself ‘ in an interview. The school has little or no bearance during an interview. It is how you perform there n then. I know a good few idiots who went to H. C and Q.C.

    I remember a few years ago there was this young lady at my work-place who was always ready to boast that she went to school at Queens College. I told her one day, ‘Look, I went to Brumley and you went to Queen’ College but we still end up at the same work place, doing the same pupp, getting the same pay’. After that, she was very hesitant to mention that shoite ‘ bout Queen’s College again, at least fa me ta hear. LOLL

  15. Bonny Peppa Avatar
    Bonny Peppa

    Crusoe
    You tawkin bout tummuch pressur fa de lil ones doin de 11+ but you faget de parents, de muddas especially.
    Wah I rememba when my firs sun went ta do de exam. I had ta cah long smellin salts, alcolada n limacol fa myself. And yes, I had ta use a bit a all befoe de exam did dun. I almoss pass out wid anxiety. ya woulda tink dat i did who doin de exam. in de meantime my sun in day relaxin n pickin he nails befo de test start. Man I did nervus as shoiteeeeeeee.

  16. smooth chocolate Avatar
    smooth chocolate

    @Bonny Peppa | June 8, 2011 at 5:51 PM |
    “… I din like he summuch needa. Too short. LOLL”

    short men are sexy

  17. Bonny Peppa Avatar
    Bonny Peppa

    Smooth Choklit
    I prefer minez tall, slim n leannnnnnnn. I does admire dem bi- cyclist pun de road in dem exercise gear n ridin dem lil bikes wid de boney tyres. you kno hummuch times dem nearly mek me run offa de road? stupseeeeeeeee. I jus luv dem mannnnnn. young n ol alike.

  18. smooth chocolate Avatar
    smooth chocolate

    @Bonny Peppa | June 8, 2011 at 5:01 PM |
    “..t. One of my grans is getting lessons at school and to be honest with you, her parents could forget it because she is just not grasping the work as she should. Maybe she is autistic dyslexic or just plain duncy…One of my brothers was the dunciest person on planet earth but today he is one of the most qualified among his kin. ”

    maybe ur gran will turn out like ur brother..

  19. smooth chocolate Avatar
    smooth chocolate

    Bonny Peppa | June 8, 2011 at 9:04 PM |

    i should correct myself…i luv all kinds of men..the only qualification is that they must be of the black ancestry but there will always be something extra about those short men

  20. Bonny Peppa Avatar
    Bonny Peppa

    smooth choklit

    ‘maybe your gran will turn out like ur brother’.

    All I will add to that is, where there’s life, there’s hope.
    LOLL

    I too luv all kinds, types of men. black, white, blue, yellow. I don’t segregate when it cum ta good men. I luvz dem all. Not too fussy ’bout de short whuns doe. I fairly short maself. Gotta get de height ta be compatible. Jus luv de tall, skinny, leannnnnnnnn fellas.

    Islandgal
    ya sleepin? de fowl pen? get up n pea.

    Nite-nite y’all.

  21. tweedley dum Avatar
    tweedley dum

    I wonder what percentage of Harrisonians have become positive and productive persons (not only in Barbados) compared to those from other schools.
    Why is there Harvard University,Oxford University etc., etc.,,,,,,,,,,,
    George Orwell wrote in his Animal Farm,”All animals are equal but some are more equal than others”. It is as plain as that.

    Amen.

  22. pretty blue eyes Avatar
    pretty blue eyes

    @Just Only Asking
    Doan mind that idiot Islandgal 246, he she or it obviously jealous of how articulate you are, you seem to come from an intelligent family and even though you might have failed the 11 plus twice you have done extremely well, later on in life,judging from your well written articles.

  23. just only asking Avatar
    just only asking

    Bonny

    Yah really shooting from yah hip, then tall men like doh dees rejuvenitae yah, wait doh, rock in tall nor skiiny so yah got to leave he out, and I short too so I can only admire you on this blog.

    Short men got ta live too, so you try and stop discriminating against we shorties yah hear.
    I just get out the fowl coop and I left islandgal still there after i take care of she business.

    She did real contented and did not that i could dominate in the fowl coop.

    Pleasnt day to you.

  24. just only asking Avatar
    just only asking

    @Islandgal

    People like you are normally to be ignored, but sometimes you have to fowl down to your level so that you can understand what is being said. Sometimes you have to be ostentatious in dealing with people like you.

    The foul pupp that comes from your fingers, note i said fingers and not brain, as i believe you cranium capacity reduces in size everytime you write.

    Your fowly bloger

  25. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Just only Dominatrix……. I told you I am not into this thing ,You are the one who cried “FOWL” and I just only asked a question. It is a shame that people like you don’t get it. But you have shown your coloured feathers. All the whips and leather mask you are wearing don’t scare me at all. You are suffering from the “Never thought syndrome” and feel that people envy you. You can only rule in your coop and I don’t mix with yard fowls like you! Cock ah dooldle BOO!

  26. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    @Bonny,

    What yuih calling me name fuh? Why don’t you let muh sleep? Yuh like a cock fight too much…….yuh toow danjerus LOLLLL. Wait yuh ain’t got nuh doktors , pilets, and engineers in de fambily to tell allla BU bout? I gine havta start keeping some FOWLS soon an become a farmer. But how come nuh body boasting bout de children dat became farmers hey? Dem Pilet,s, Doktors and Engineers gotta eats toow. Girl we got sum peoples dat tooo great tah dirty dem hans bout hey. Allota dem suffering from Disaccustomcy. Ah gine hey an pull sum weeds.

  27. David Avatar
    David

    @Raw Bake

    Thanks for raising this issue in the precise and concise way you have done so. Discussing educational reform in Barbados always evokes robust debate and is one where we seem to lack the emotional, political and moral will to act.

  28. me Avatar
    me

    @Bonny Peppa | June 7, 2011 at 5:20 PM |

    Sorry he does not fly AA.

  29. me Avatar
    me

    @Hants | June 8, 2011 at 1:47 PM |
    “He is 1 of about 100,000 Bajans who have been sucessful academically or professionally in the last 20 years.
    Are you also included in this group?”

    i have travelled all over and i have met many, many successful bajans, much more than 1 in 100,000.

    i had to make sacrifices for my children when my family broke up. i delayed my education by 8 years. i went to st. leonard’s girls, never considered furthering my education until they came along. i have a double major but my career at this point does not reflect my academic achievements. all things being equaled, i considered myself to be totally successful as a single mom.

  30. me Avatar
    me

    i think ‘islandgal246’ and ‘just only asking’ must love each other lololololol but from reading, i see that ‘just only asking’ is having fun with this blogger.

  31. Raw Bake Avatar
    Raw Bake

    David,

    You know very well that challenging or changing the status quo is taboo in Barbados.

    The authorities are acutely aware of the deficiencies in the system, but as long as it continues to predominantly affect those at the bottom of the economic ladder, where words like invest, donate, contribute and save are elusive dreams subject to daily survival, there will only be lip service paid to this issue.

    We made it through, our parents sacrificed, cut and contrived to ensure that we were successful. Why can’t these people do the same for their children? This mentality pervades the powers that be, in charge of the system.

    I do not expect any changes from the present generation of leaders at the Ministry.

  32. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    This how Enuff describes the dominatrix aka “just only asking” .”.I expect nothing more from a parrot who offers “I have a BA and an MBA with distinction” as a defense whenever he/she is excoriated. As I am not an ornithologist, I will not waste my time with you”

    It couldn’t have put it any better to a FOWL…..Lollll

  33. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Correction “He ” not it.

  34. David Avatar
    David

    @Raw Bake

    It is an unfortunate position because the social ‘incohesion’ which will result from an ‘illiterate’ 300-400′ children being deposited annually in to society. The society which the powers that be who lack the will to move change and who have to reside in Barbados will be threatened by such a situation no?

  35. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    Ya know , I really laugh at times when I read some of these blogs. We speak of Duncy,semi-illiterate,et al,on one hand and those who excel academically on the other hand. Yet this country is virtually owned and discreetly managed by many who would have been consider failures, if their parents did not have the wherewithal to send them to Canada or America to earn a piece of qualification, enabling them to come back to Barbados to own and/or manage businesses where they are able to engage in a “Rent-a-brain” scheme, hiring and bossing around those same 11 Plus Highflyers, who went on to excel at one of the older secondary schools,and eventually gaining a degree from on top the hill,and for all that they still have to ,Yes Sir ,and No sir , to some of their former school mates, whose head were as hard as a Libyan soldier’s short arm.
    As an old saying goes, We spinning top in mud.

  36. Bonny Peppa Avatar
    Bonny Peppa

    David
    But it isn’t yesterday, today or next week that these 300-400 illiterate children were deposited into society. This has been happening from time immemorial and many of these said children are absorbed into the society and into the world of work. Some become great bakers, hairstylist,manicurist, carpenters, masons,landscapers etc. Their ability is in their hands and they know it. Education and common sense are complete strangers. Some educated persons are just ‘book-smart’ but total idiots otherwise when it comes to ‘thinking’. I know a few. (No, not me)

    Our educational system needs a complete overhaul but in the meantime, we have to work with what we have. And scrapping the 11+ is not the answer.

    How many persons retire yearly and how many die? This too attributes to these ‘300-400’ being able to ‘fit in’. What says you?

  37. Bonny Peppa Avatar
    Bonny Peppa

    me @ 8:14
    if you tell he bout dis hot bonny peppa granny, i would bet you dat he would switch ta AA. fa real.

    just only asking
    doan get me rong. I luv ALLL men. but ya kno dat ya does got a pref’ranc? I kno a few short men dat rale cute n sexy too. so doan tink dat i whun bat a eye at you. doan fool yaself. One a de sexy short men dat I kno, is a rasta fella from Eagle Hall name Seitu. He SWEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT n short. I does admire he real baddddddd from school dayz. He does hug n squeeze me whenevva we meet. If only he did kno how he duz mek me feel all ovaaaaaaaa. N ef he miss n gimme a lil peck in my neck, oh gawddddddd, um all ovaaaaaaaaaaa. He tu swoiteeeeeeee.
    Anudda short n sexy whun is Minister Steven Lashley. Oh my gawdddddddddddddddd. (I will say n mo ’bout he)

    Islandgal
    no, I in got na doktors, pilets nor enginears in my famblee. I got bare thiefs, bullas, wikkas n frauds in my famblee. me being de bigges fraud ta date. but dem is famblee nevva-de-less, so I cannnnnnn disown dem. I faget ta menshun, a few jail-birds too in my famblee, but dem is famblee nevva-de-less.

    I see a lil young bi-cyclist riding dis mornin and as soon as he get nex ta me in de opposit lane, he start ta sprint. Oh my gawddddddddddd, I almos run inta de back a de car in front me. He legs did lil bigga dhan a macaroni, jus how I luv dem. (My mout watereth as I speek).

  38. David Avatar
    David

    @Bonny

    Societal characteristics/trends have changed. The village baker/bakery is no more. A growing middleclass moving to the built up areas means a change in demand for artisans, we have immigrant flow now which is different and importantly there is a growing pool of ‘qualified’ workers pressing downwards in the job market. This has the effect of soaking up opportunities which affects the ‘unqualified’.

  39. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Bonny like yuh hitting some sixes here. Everyone can’t be a lawyer, Doctor, Engineer nor Pilot. What has keep this island going are the farmers, tradesmen and women. Without these people we are dog shoite.

    There are still too many children falling through the cracks and being left behind who cannot read nor write.

  40. Raw Bake Avatar
    Raw Bake

    Colonel,
    “We speak of Duncy,semi-illiterate,et al,on one hand and those who excel academically on the other hand. Yet this country is virtually owned and discreetly managed by many who would have been consider failures, if their parents did not have the wherewithal to send them to Canada or America to earn a piece of qualification,”

    This is really the crux of the matter.
    Today many parents simplydo not have the wherewithal to go outside the system.

    @David
    I guess preparation is a lot easier than prevention.

    Police wary of social unrest
    http://news.barbadostoday.bb/barticlenew.php?ptitle=Police%20wary%20%20of%20social%20unrest&article=5137&pdate=2011-04-29

  41. Bonny Peppa Avatar
    Bonny Peppa

    David
    So doesn’t the upscale bakeries employ persons? I never mentioned ‘village’ bakers. No matter how much societal characteristics/trends change, there will always be a need for artisans. We just need to control the immigrant artisans, so to speak. I think that there is room in this game of life and we all have a part to play in it. Trade Schools is the answer to many of these children who just can’t cope with the 3 R’s. You know how hard it is at times to find a good mason, plumber, carpenter? Right now i am looking for a good plumber to fix my ‘sink’. You kno any?LOL

    Islandgal

    I in sa good at de farmin ting. I doan like playin up in dirt, cleanin fowl shit, weeding, plantin crops etc, but i is a tradesman. I does do a brisk trade up de ‘hill’ pun a nite. I still playin my part.

    Raw Bake
    One of my relatives has a son, he is a full man now, and his parents had the wherewithal to allow him the best private education because they realised from the get-go that he would be slow but that wherewithal wasn’t enough. He would’ve had to get a brain transplant. So if a child doesn’t have the ability to learn what will the wherewithal do? His other brothers and sisters excelled but he just couldn’t grasp the school work. Today he is a firstclass plumber, joiner and employs a few fellas.
    You want anyting buil? Lemme kno.

  42. David Avatar
    David

    @Bonny

    Have you visited Purity or one of the big bakeries recently?

  43. ac Avatar
    ac

    The failures in part is due to an outdated eduatinal system which keeps trying to fit square pegs into round holes. .

  44. Bonny Peppa Avatar
    Bonny Peppa

    David
    NOoooooooo, Wah happenin at dem big bakeries? Dem gihin way free bred? I luv bred, so leh me kno quik.
    LOLL

    One a my famblee get lay off from Puretee but he is a gangsta so he mussy went ta beat he Supavisa or sumting so. I in ask he wah happen causen he mite cum ta beat me tu.

    But tell ma wah happenin at dem big bakeries.

  45. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    Lawdy, the handle ‘Colonel Buggy’ just sounds ….quite disturbing…

    ac has a good point, plus Raw Bake in referring that many parents do not have the wherewithal.

    Note that most top performers in CXC and CAPE get lessons that they have to pay for, those fine results do not come cheap. Yes, the youngsters have intelligence, but most good performers have lessons etc. and many with intelligence do not also have the money for lessons.

    That is why the ‘top schools’ have such good results, intelligence is just one aspect, most of those parents also have money for lessons as well.

  46. David Avatar
    David

    @Bonny

    There is division of labour more so than specialists who can be called bakers.

  47. Raw Bake Avatar
    Raw Bake

    Bonny P
    I know plumbers that got six and seven CXCs. at Grades I and 2.

    That said, this thing bout if u in gud at de 3 Rs u cud always go and do a trade is a fallacy. yuh gaw got head to learn a trade. U really want a mason or capenta working pon u house dat can’t read or add?

    The children that were successful learning a trade, probably would have succeeded at the 3 Rs , If the teachers had the training and patience to help them.

  48. ac Avatar
    ac

    So what’s wrong with being a Farmer.aren’t they in they own rite “Doctors of the Earth” Or agricultural Scientist. They role is even more important that the medical practitioner. Without them we would be all dead for in their hands they hold the keys that sustain life A teacher training is only to teach. Most of them are not able to accept when a child has reached its academic limit in learning but would continue to push them in areas where it is hard for the child to compete and as a result the child gives up .Academic development is only one part of a child’s development but the social as well as the psychological is what completes the total foundation for successful children..

  49. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    islandgal246 | June 9, 2011 at 4:00 PM |
    Bonny like yuh hitting some sixes here. Everyone can’t be a lawyer, Doctor, Engineer nor Pilot. What has keep this island going are the farmers, tradesmen and women. Without these people we are dog shoite.

    There are still too many children falling through the cracks and being left behind who cannot read nor write.

    Well said ,islandgal246. The sugar industry kept our heads above water for almost 300 years. Who were responsible for the repairs and maintenance to the many sugar factories?, and who were responsible for the upkeep of the sugar plantations? We had no engineers in those days, and the only degree around was found in a thermometer. The “bright”ones stayed far away from the sugar industry, preferring to write up fancy bills in some Bridgetown store. And you are right about the women, behind ever tradesman was a mother.
    I’ve been in the technical field for many years,and in the last two decades many young men who attended some of the older secondary schools have opted to become Artisans or Technicians.
    Recently a research was carried out by an individual, pertaining to technical education in Barbados, and he discovered, that as a result of having only a handful of qualfied engineers in Barbados, and no UWI yet to provide such, the then Barbados Technical Institute at Richmond Gap was established to bridge that gap until such a time that the UWI was able to produce Qualified Engineers.(and what a disappointment). Those men from the Barbados Technical Institute,most of whom have now retired, have all done this country well, and the training that they had received would have merited a Degree at one of todays ‘Polytech/Univeristy’ in the UK.
    Funny though that in Barbados I could not call myself an Engineer for fear of being prosecuted , but in the UK as a Registered member of the Engineer’s Registration Board I was recognise as such.

  50. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    Bonny Peppa | June 9, 2011 at 4:55 PM |
    Trade Schools is the answer to many of these children who just can’t cope with the 3 R’s. You know how hard it is at times to find a good mason, plumber, carpenter? Right now i am looking for a good plumber to fix my ‘sink’. You kno any?LOL

    Bonny .I froth at the mouth when I hear people try to insinuate that tradesmen do not have to use their brain.
    When I left secondary school, I thought that Maths was behind me, then I went on to the Barbados Technical Institute, where I had to spend a year, not doing anything technical, but was introduced to Applied Maths , Technical English, and other subjects which were far more complex than anything that we had ever done at Secondary School. But you know something? we then fully realised why we need to do such Maths and English to work out an electrical formula or determine the Compression Ration of an engine.
    Some of the lads on the Carpenters Course, after a short while on the job as apprentices with such firms as Ash & Watson, because of their knowledge of Technical and Machine Drawing,ended up in the drawing offices,as Architects and Draughtsmen were few and far between.
    We ain’t all dumb

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