Submitted by Chuckles
I would like to divert a bit and ask you [Caswell Franklyn] to make your services available to the BSTU/Mary Redman. What is this woman doing to the school children at the Alexandra School?
I was a member of the BWU for about 18 months before I left these shores to take up employment overseas. The first thing the Late Sir Frank Walcott told a group of new members of which I was one, was that the Union doesn’t go on strike until it gets public sympathy and support. Where did this woman do her trade-unionism training? A few weeks ago she was all over the news media trying to defend the indefensible i.e a teacher submitting SBA studies late to the CXC resulting in all the students failing the subject. Today teachers at the institution wouldn’t be in the classroom due to a dispute between her union members and the principal. The biggest Trade Union, NUPW isn’t backing her and from all reports the BUT members not losing a day’s pay over a non-issue.
482 responses to “Alexandra School Dispute – Who Shall Lead The Children?”
IF what Caswell Franklin says is true then this explains why many civil servants are fustrated to the bone. Political affiliation should not surface in a situation where an individual is not executing professional function. Why do matters like this on going saga at Alexendra school had to go on for so long that it came down this. This should have been dealt with a long time ago. But like all things in my little island home, time is not of the upmost essence and this situation is certainly not tourism
One thing that is coming out in this whole debate is that there seems to be no leadership in the Ministry of Education, from top to bottom.
Since Wendy Griffith Watson retired in 2009, I think, there has been no appointed CEO. There were two strong officers in the MOE, Idamay Denny and Sylvia Henry and they left soon after Mrs Griffith Watson left. Why has it taken so long to appoint a new CEO? Certainly, the acting CEO will not put his neck out there, he is not safe in the position. My teacher friends tell me that it is known that the Dems want Karen Best and that there is an impasse. They have a polished, well educated deputy Joy Gittens who I am sure would do a good job and turn things around but the Dems dont want her because she went in the MOE during Mia’s tenure, so maybe they have qualms with that.
So in the meanwhile, the country’s children will suffer and hot heads like Mary Redman will rule the system. Why is there no comment from the minister, he is never short for words or is he not saying anything because he does not know what Freundel is planning for their sorry tails?
Strange enough, the union wants the principal to go but we have heard no condemnation from them on the teacher who refused to teach a class for a whole year. Come out and condemn her for not doing her job.
But what has happened with this teacher appraisal system?? I knew of a teacher at a school I was associated with, this teacher was a problem for ages, cant teach the subject and always on sick leave. When the new principal checked, she had qualifications but not in the subject she was teaching. When the principal tried to move her to her area of qualification, she called in the union. Could not touch her! Then the principal agreed with her to do an appraisal (which would have been done by her year head and the deputy principal, do you know the appraisals never took place, she was either sick or not on the compound. She is still in the system giving the same trouble.
Why are we landing all the blame on Mary Redman?
Does BSTU not have an Executive?
Prodigal Son
If a teacher “refused to teach a class for a whole YEAR” as you have written, that is a very bad situation. However what would be very much worse is a Principal who allowed that to happen and could show no evidence of any effort (i.e. letters of reprimand, reports to the Ministry, Board of Management or even the hiring of a replacement) to respond to the situation. Broomes is either a liar or the most incompetent and impotent manager in Barbados. Take your pick.
Ex Hotel Worker
I hope that that tourist was a Black tourist … Caw blin’ ma …
@Prodigal Son
Forget the politics. David reminded me this morning that this problem has been simmering since 2006. Wasn’t Wendy the CEO when it first surfaced? Wasn’t there another political party in power. I was happy to see that most of the regular political contributors absented themselves from this debate. Cud dear , look for another topic to score your political points. This one is dealing with industrial relations at the Alexandra School.
Was that the venerable former BSTU Patrick Frost reported on the news this evening supporting the Redman led BSTU decision to withdraw labour?
Ping Pong,
This is the statement made by the Principal at the School’s Speech Day in December that infuriated the union and flared this saga up. He obviously did fill the gap as I hear his accusers on this blog saying that he brought in “unqualified” persons to teach. If he reported the matter to the MOE, I would not know as the union is not putting any info out there. From his report on the academic performance of the students, the results seem alright.
I do not know the man, so I would not know if he is a liar or incompetent or impotent. I judge no man.
But why has the union not publicly reprimanded the offending teacher??
This is an easy issue to fix.
Transfer Mr. Broomes to the Attorney General’s office as some type of Officer with salary and benefits intact. As was done with Hallam King.
Appoint Mary Redman as Head teacher at Alexander
school.
Matter fix!
This situation has been dragging on for much too long.
Chuckles,
Where am I trying to score political points? All I said is that there has not been an appointed CEO since 2009.
The problems started from his appointment as two formers students have alluded and all was quiet down there until two years ago when the teachers opted to go to BSTU headquarters for Teachers Professional Day instead of attending activities at the school.
Are you offended that I said that they want to appoint Karen Best to the post and therefore there is an impasse? Speak to any teacher in the system and then come back and tell me that I playing politics!
If I have offended you, I am sorry, bo.
My Dear Prodigal
I believe these are your words “They have a polished, well educated deputy Joy Gittens who I am sure would do a good job and turn things around but the Dems dont want her because she went in the MOE during Mia’s tenure, so maybe they have qualms with that’.. I don’t think that there has been a single reference to BEES and DEMS in this debate prior to that quote. For your information I have a U.S Green Card, A US VISA CARD, a Barbadian National ID CARD, a BARP CARD and A PRICEMART CARD. I do not have a BLP nor a DLP membership card. I really don’t care whether the Dems or the BEES are in power. I am too old and independent to be a lackey of either party.
Prodigal Son
Please allow me the opportunity to correct some of what you have written. The situation between Broomes and the BSTU is not one where the present Acting Chief Education Officer can intervene. Firstly, the union has invoked the grievance procedure on behalf of its members at the Alexandra School. The matter should have been reported to the Chief Education Officer who had three days to resolve the matter. Failing a resolution at that level, the matter would be referred to The Permanent Secretary. The three days passed long before the Mr. Laurie King, who has been acting for two years, had been appointed to act. The matter is really out of his hands. All he can do is sit and hope that those superior to him in the Grievance Procedure do the right thing.
Don’t believe everything you hear and read: use a little common sense. A teacher who fails to perform his/her duty would be in breach of the Public Service Act, and would be liable to be dismissed from the teaching Service. In order to start the disciplinary process, the Principal would have to recommend that charges be filed against the teacher. Was this done? And if this was not done, the Principal would be in dereliction of his duties and could also face disciplinary action. That is why I find it hard to believe that Mr. Broomes, the strict disciplinarian would allow that offence to continue for the entire term without taking action, and please don’t tell me that he is afraid of the union or that he wanted to avoid controversy.
Let’s assume that Broomes has done his job properly, that is, to the satisfaction of his employer, the Government of Barbados and in particular its supervising agency in this matter the Ministry of Education. Isn’t it passing strange if not an egregious perfidy that in the face of the opprobrium heaped on Broomes by the BSTU and many Alexandra teachers, that the Ministry is silent on the matter? There was a full inspection of the school done by the Ministry, why has the results of this inspection even in summary form not been made available to the union or the public? I am led to speculate that either the Ministry cannot in good conscience defend Broomes or it suits the Ministry’s (nefarious?) purpose to have Broomes held to public ridicule. It is my belief that the Ministry cannot in good conscience defend Broomes.
Mr. Frost explained on the news this evening that Broomes has an appointment letter to Alexandra which makes it difficult to transfer him.
For the unionists among us, is the withdrawal of labour until a stated demand is met a “method of dispute resolution”??
I cannot believe that one ugly red woman could be holding this country’s children at ransom and the MOE not doing anything about it. What is the next move shut down the entire school system, then when she gets her way in having Mr Broomes removed, will she go for Mr Farley next, or Mr Cumberbatch? This woman is so vindictive and immature that she was even threatening to shut down CXC and have a man removed because one of her members, a teacher at Foundation, sent in SBA’s for her students late and CXC did not accept them. Who the hell she think she is? is this not the same woman who caused a rocus at Lodge school some time ago? She is embarrassing the unions in this country.
One lesson that the Ministry should take and consider coming out of this debacle is this: All Principals, heads of departments (not just in schools) etc should be on contract say 3 years with renewal based on satisfactory service. Enough of this “lifetime” appointment of tenure.
@Ping Pong
The appointment of Broomes to Alexandra best explains the MOE’s non action but like Mr Frost stated on the news this evening there is precedent for making a decision outside of the existing job conditions.
Can anyone give a clear statement(s) as to the current grievance which the BSTU has?
WHERE is the Mouth of the South Mr. Ronald Jones and and his main man , the Sultan of Sloth ?
WHAT are their views on this issue???
IS it that they aint saying a ping nor pang ???
JUST ASKING
@David
to which precedent(s) do you refer and are they identical in nature to the current impasse?
@Ping Pong
“it suits the Ministry’s (nefarious?) purpose to have Broomes held to public ridicule.”
Would it be Broomes or Redman that will sees ridicule?
@Observing
Patrick Frost listed 4/5 names on the news bulletin this evening.
Scout! Redman didn’t cause the problem . lest you forget In another post regarding the “LETTER: you said :Where there is smoke there is Fire” but somehow for you it does not apply to Broomes and the allegations of the mistreatment of woman employees. Sufficient to say this man is a replica of Dr Jeykll and Mr. Hyde.
Caswell,
Thanks but I was not really dealing with the row per se, I was dealing with the general malaise in the Ministry of Education. Leadership starts at the top.
Chuckles,
Good for you, well done!
David King is rape a lot of women and get off scot free because of his connections ….
@David re the 4/5 names
Were the natures and progressions of the situations the same??
Hallam King was appointed too but the last administration still transferred him from CP to the Attorney General’s office until he retired.
Hallam King was also a casualty of the BSTU.
Prodigal Son
I agree that leadership starts at the top. However, the Ministry of Education is not at the top: it is somewhere in the middle. The Public Service Commission is at the top of this process, and it is really their responsibility to enforce discipline in the Public Service and the Teaching Service. To be fair to them, they only meet once per week, and the day to day administration of the service is done by the Personnel Administration Division headed by the Chief Personnel Officer. Unfortunately, and speaking from my experience, the work coming out of that department is nothing short of pathetic. The Commission cannot tell me that they are unaware of the disorder that characterises the administration of the Alexandra School. They should have taken the initiative to regularise the situation.
That said, I cannot heap all of the blame on the Public Service Commission. Each secondary school has a board of management that has responsibility for the smooth running of the school, except that they are not responsible for the teachers. What is the school’s board doing? The hybrid nature of the administration of secondary schools contributes to the chaos that pervades the administration of our education system. The Broomes/BSTU problem demonstrates the vital need for reform in the administration of schools. School boards are usually populated by party hacks who have no experience in education or anything else for that matter. And into this mess comes a maverick called Jeff Bromes. What do you expect?
@Observing
Frost used the examples in the context that in special/exceptional cases, like this one, there is precedent for the ministry to move away from the grievance procedure/agreement.
Jesus C’rist Caswell, you always get full marks from me when it comes to speaking about the public service and its rules and conventions and so on … You know nuff nuff … I gun lef it dey ..!
“He had ALF Padmore teaching English to CXC and ALF was also registered to take CXC English with his students the same year.”
But wait isn’t ALF Padmore now the PRO at sanitation?
What a comedyfest: ugly and emotional, chauvinism, sexism, sexual harassment, ‘wuk4wuk’, short skirts, asses too big, rum shops, politics, the lodge, Lodge, VoB, soucoyant, obeah, drunkard, nepotism, blocking, slander and more.
Never a dull moment on BU.
@ Caswell
Hacks like the Minister’s nephew? lol
@Friend of Alexandra | January 5, 2012 at 9:59 PM |
“Broomes’s cousin was a policeman who got a minor pregnant and had to leave the police force…He followed them to their car and continued to curse them until they got off the compound…Broomes employed his daughter’s boy friend to teach maths to CXC level but the man only has CXC Maths at grade 3..”
this sounds like pure gutter rated gossip. you are a ‘friend’ this means that you are going by what is reported to you. is all this correct? i think that all those teachers should be fired
Quoting Sandy S | January 6, 2012 at 3:43 PM ..”.It is all too clear to me an old scholar what is happening to Jeff Broomes at the Alexandra School. he never had a chance to put his vision for the school in motion. He took up the post as principal, a post which an old scholar acted as principal. That old scholar became his deputy.”
But isn’t Beverley the deputy older, and better qualified that Jeff? Isn’t she an excellent teacher and a good Christian woman?
Explain to me if you can, how Jeff Broome was leap-frogged over Beverley?
Do you know if it has anything to do with lodge memberships? Does it have anything to do with the fact that both he and Owen Arthur are Colridge & Parry old boys, since Owen was PM when Jeff was appointed?
Quoting Olivia “Alexandra is higly dominated by old scholars who believe that it is thier right to do as they please at their school. They do not like discipline”
But Olivia, what if it is the old scholars who have the best interest of the school (the children) at heart? What if those highly educated, highly competent lady old scholars want to protect the reputation and the integrity of their alma mater?
What if the teaching old scholars are right?
@David
Much thanks! It’s now left to be shown and proven that that this case is special/exceptional based on facts and merit, rather than on how the parties have allowed it to degrade and/or incompetency/inefficiency.
I heard in the news that the Ministry of Education has finally broken its silence on the the Alexandra dispute, and in so doing it sought to make the BSTU look incompetent. But it backfired because the statement only made the Ministry appear as though they are trying to avoid dealing with the problem and exposed their limited comprehension skills. They accused the BSTU of not following the Grievance Procedure rather than trying to solve the problem. If they read the Public Service Act with only primary school level comprehension skill they would realise that the Act does not mandate the union to follow the Grievance Procedure. Section 12 of the Act provides that the officer or employee MAY invoke the procedure with respect to grievance handling. Rather than try to resolve the problem in the interest of the students the Ministry is trying to avoid doing any work as usual.
as the teachers support gets stronger the MOE would have no alternative but to intervene as was evident by giving that half ass.ed response today. As they say “Time is longer than twine” and it is more likely than not that Jeff broomes time has run out> Teachers support must not waiver all fuh one one fuh all neva know when the next tyrant might show up at another school step. Bringing stability to a hostile learning environment one that does not include Broomes must be the main focus.
Dawn Rollins | January 4, 2012 at 10:19 PM |
This situation is quite disturbing, as it will definitely have a direct, negative impact on the pupils.
I have mixed feelings about this. My first concern is with the kids, the disruption of their education & this is through no fault of theirs’.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
What education are you thinking about Dawn? Certainly if the teachers were demoralised and trampled upon for the past few years obviously they could not be “engaged” employees as NISE is telling us about. Therefore it stands to reason those children were not getting a good education for a long time.
There are ways and means to deal with everyone in this situation.
If Principal Broomes is wrong and have done all the things we’ve been told, then he has failed miserably as a professional educator, as a mentor, as a leader as a human being as far as I am concerned. If this is the case he has an employer to answer to, with (supposedly) clearly defined, guidelines and ethics within which he must operate, if he can’t meet the grade, I think NIS does still be open.
If the Teachers, stay in that mess all these years and have no concrete evidence as to what they are spouting, have no basis, nothing that they can show the public as to why they behaving the way they are, or being treated the way they are, then they too have failed miserably, as teachers, mentors, as employees of the state, in other words people who does eat and drink off of my taxes that I pay. They too have an employer; are they not answerable to an employer?
If the Ministry of Education, is aware of this train wreckage, and have done nothing substantial and morally upright to put an end to it, then they have failed beyond measure. They have failed as an employer, as an arm of the state that is responsible for the training of the young hearts and minds and future leaders, they have no balls and because they can’t find their balls, our young people who would want to learn and garner a good education now have to ramble like leggo sheep pun the highway.
You know what I would like, I would like if it were possible – that all the parents at that school pull every single child out and put them in private schools and let Principal Broomes and the Teachers go back to work, let them run each other around the school, cuss and fight everyday for the rest of their careers.
People misunderstand/misuse the purpose of the Union, the Union is not to keep people employed in certain positions who should be drying ice at Millar’s Factory, The Union is to mediate, intercede work on behalf of those who need representation, not run off on some cat-hat agenda. When I heard that pompous woman on the radio the other morning, I said to myself she has already lost the war.
You know what I’m fed up with in this country, it is that nothing works the way it should. You see these things called colonialism, greed, foolish pride and ego, masonic lodge, old boys club and drinking buddies, causing this country to grind to a frikkin halt.
The teachers have not stop teaching every single day they are teaching how, dog can eat dog, how to be disgusting in behaviour and demeanour, how to egotistical, how to care only for oneself and trample everyone else underfoot, how to lie cheat, steal to get what you want, – by any means necessary, how to do wrong and feel that you are right, how to walk with a sense of entitlement that destroys everything and everyone in its reach, how to abuse power.
Nay. The teachers are still teaching.
@caswell
Did the bstu invoke a grievance regarding the speech day comments, hence starting the grievance process as outlined in the act??
How should the MOE go about “resolving” the specific or general issue?
so you MAY or you MAY NOT
Quoting “Random Thoughts” The school presently has a good reputation and an excellent standard of education thanks to the dedicated work of the principal. Before Alexandra was just a name of a school in the north. Now I am always hearing positive things publicly higlighted about Alexandra. Tell the jealous old women to take a back seat and get back to the government’s work for which they are paid. Mr. Broomes is highly qualified for the job, if the deputy is more qualified than him, then she should examine herself and ask why she interviewed for other post and came up wanting. It is not the amount of qualifications but the know-how that matters in getting the job done. They are so many people with qualifications some got them by the sweat of their brow and others by the seat of their backs, but whdn push comes to shove there is only the Best, forget about the Rest. Tell the deouty to go back to school and at least learn to conduct a good interview. Is Alexandra the only place she can work? Under the bosom of her comrades? When you are good you can work anywhere and under any situation,. Wherever there are challenges you can deliver and that is Mr. Broomes. He fouught the good fight and no doubt he will win the race. Old scholars get back to work you are only teachers not the principal- take your place.
Random Thoughts, Beverley Neblett got the papers but can’t deliver. Tell me how it is that she is so bright and has been to two interviews that I am aware of at the Lodge School and Coleridge & Parry and couldn’t make the grade. Somthing is wrong? Surely the papers aint working for her. She has been found wanting. She will retire as deputy. Sorry! Bright but not shining!
In agreement with “The Scout” Mary REdman always had an old face, but now she has aged more. Please your skin is red, don’t let those miserable teachers make you wrinkle more before your time. Look in the mirror at night, how do you feel about yourself. You look awful. I know that you are tryoing hard, but do not let the devil’s advocates take you down with them. You know that Mr. Broomes is the best thing that ever happened to Alexandra and let those disgruntled women get back to work. It woud do the country proud. they want the job which they are not qualifeid for and does not have the ability to do.
Ping Pong, I would put my neck on the block that Principal Broomes reported her to the ministry. He knows the regulations and what is required. Think about it, since her husband is deputy cheif education officer maybe he might be intercepting the mail. Think on that. LOL
chief, sorry a typo
Get the facts first before you pass judgement.
1. Broomes has friends in high places
2. Broomes is a master of PR
3. Talk to people who work there and find oit the truth
@ Scout. Why you have to go there? It is not a matter of if the woman ugly or not. LOL.
She should go after Farley too cause he is of no earthly use, when it comes to the education of the the children (surfs) given to him in his Kingdom. He is an arrogant botsy that want wiping.
I personally know of some of those thing that were spoken of regarding Principal Broome’s conduct, I know the alcohol and course behaviour is definitely true.
Will there ever be a law that persons will have to register as sex offenders in this country? I’m Just Asking – a question.