est. 2007

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Minister Jones Prefers L Class

Submitted by Anthony Davis Methinks that the Minister of Education should step down because he’s not showing any good traits when it comes to his outbursts. Anyone who can only be screaming at the top of his voice when, according to him, something’s wrong needs anger-management instructions. Persons who continually shout are nothing but bullies…

Submitted by Anthony Davis
Hon Ronald Jones, Minister of Education

Methinks that the Minister of Education should step down because he’s not showing any good traits when it comes to his outbursts. Anyone who can only be screaming at the top of his voice when, according to him, something’s wrong needs anger-management instructions. Persons who continually shout are nothing but bullies trying to impose their ideas on other people, and that doesn’t augur well for Barbados when we have a Minister of Education who continually displays such traits.

What examples is he setting?

How does he expect pupils to behave when they see the head of the Education Ministry trying to bully others by shouting?

What example does it set for the outside world when every now and then he’s all over the Internet screaming at the top of his voice?

The journalists have a job to do, and he can rant and rave as much as he likes, they should be allowed to carry it out without let or hindrance.

Didn’t the journalists show the students during the rioting in England some years ago?

Did you hear the relative minister behave the way you behaved after the fighting of the students here?

The minister over there would have known better than to do what you did.

Barbados deserves much better.

We need a Minister of Education who can keep his cool in almost any situation, not losing it every time something goes wrong!

34 responses to “Minister Jones Prefers L Class”

  1. Well Well & Consequences Observing Blogger Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences Observing Blogger

    Lower Class Animal.

  2. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    Each time I hear Ronald Jones speak and pronounce certain words, I’m appalled to think he has been Minister of EDUCATION for the past 9 years.

    Other than bullying the government when he was president of the teachers’ union and teachers since he became Education Minister, what has Jones done to enhance Barbados’ education system?

  3. David Avatar
    David

    What has changed in the school system post promotion exams in our secondary schools that children are not being taught or directed in any constructive way? Children in many of our secondary schools are in the main operating on the lose. It seems to be prevalent in the primary school system as well. Back in the day do not recall …

  4. Gabriel Avatar
    Gabriel

    I tired tellin wunna dat yuh can’t mek silk outa a sows ear.Uncouth,ill-bred,unmannerly Dems cannot change.Stuart say he has to deal de cards he get,once he win and he get to drive in he Benz he en kay eider.

  5. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    The serious trend in education / schooling is that whereas public schooling once provided opportunity for advancement by students regardless of station in life or material well being, increasingly that advancement will only be available to those with money.

    While this trend did not start with the present administration, it has accelerated under Mr Jones’ tenure as Minister of Education and may now be irreversible.

    The result is a division of the citizenry into two unequal groups. A minority who because of parental insight or serendipity acquired the wherewithal to be able to participate in the developing economy and a majority who are so deficient of the necessary attitudes, skills and capabilities that they are condemned to social and economic marginalization relieved only by occasional Government succor.

  6. David Avatar
    David

    Of concern to BU is the 24/7 combative or non existent relationship between important stakeholders in education…unions, ministry, docile principal’s body, passive PTAs

  7. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Ping Pong
    Thanks boss…
    Good to see you bring your touch of class to the refinement of the definition of the concept of brass bowlery….

    The only real issue now relates to those of us who still think that it is purely coincidental …that Barbados could have been overtaken by such low-class, brass-bowl, political morons – after having come so far …and so quickly …between 1950 and 1980.

    The truth is even more frightening than Jones’ behaviour….. cause the battle is NOT against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places…..
    …and the Stuart-built monument at the Garrison only serves to reinforce (and accelerate) the dark danger which we face as a country….

  8. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    Didn’t Barbados do well in a recent quality assessment of its Education system relative to some “First World” nations? Is that because of Jones or in spite of him? If it is the former he has done his job if it is the latter whatever systems we have in place have held up well despite his tenure.

    On the other hand, some of these studies aint worth what “Paddy shot at”.

  9. Gabriel Avatar
    Gabriel

    Observe those who march,sit-in,insist on town-halls,adopt an in- your- face posture all of which make the politicians cringe with fear of losing their influence in the back rooms.In Europe,the U.K. and the USA,its the middle class and those enlightened working class folk.Capitalism breeds two classes….the rich or well to do and the poor.The middle class is the result of enlightened social measures adopted by a forward thinking leadership of law makers.Barbados was well served by the latter so that people like Stuart could benefit from 2 state sponsored first degrees and one post graduate degree,all ‘reading’ degrees,in other words his training called for no calculations.Forsooth,he might have failed.So Stuart having stepped up the social ladder compliments of state sponsored education did the ‘black’,thing and promptly kicked down the proverbial ladder,so that no one else might join him unless he paid through his nose.Then he made sure by his policies that the middle class cease to benefit by all the various tax measures which they took for granted.Result? An eroded middle class compliments of a working class PM.Like many in the Americas,Barbados is worse off for all intents and purposes joining many of the countries of Central and South America where the rich and the poor are the only two classes known.Barbados is being led back to the turn of the 20th century when the plantation mentality reigned supreme.

  10. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    Wunna aint see nothing yet!! Wait until the private secondary schools overtake HC etc.

  11. David Avatar
    David

    An impassioned interrogation by Cyntihia Forde of the MoE on the talk show today -why was Alma Parris closed without proper disclosure. What will happen now to these children who are ‘challenged’ in the normal setup.

  12. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Sargeant
    As Bushie explained before…
    That study concluded that Barbados has one of the very best Education ‘SYSTEMS’ in the world. A fact that is obvious to even people of the ilk of angela and Alvin.

    That ‘SYSTEM’ features universal COMPULSORY, free, state-sanctioned education from age 4 to 16; A well funded and organised administration system for that ‘education’; a long history of successful implementation of the SYSTEM, and a national commitment to its continuation.

    This is an unbeatable SYSTEM …that was conceptualised some 60 years ago by geniuses…

    The PROBLEM is that that system has since been hijacked by a bunch of clueless neanderthals, shiite-hounds, and brass bowl ‘nothinarians’ …who have converted it into an EDDYKAASHUN system – best suited for filling the ‘blocks’ and the ZR workers vacancies.

    The system as conceptualised is brilliant….
    The actualisation of it is the ultimate in brass bowlery…

  13. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    Bushie

    Must agree with your above observation…..for the last 50 years we have not transformed any of our inherited systems……..stagnation does not a society build.

    David

    Alma Parris’ closure is a national disgrace……but what can one expect from a poor rakey bunch.

  14. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    @Enuff
    I admire your economy of language re your 10:45 post.

  15. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    @Ping Pong

    I am not here to prove whether I know nuff words, big words or bright. Pithy is my favourite word. lol.

  16. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @Bush Tea
    According to your reasoning the Education is unbeatable as in “ This is an unbeatable SYSTEM …that was conceptualised some 60 years ago by geniuses…”

    Which was followed by “The PROBLEM is that that system has since been hijacked by a bunch of clueless neanderthals, shiite-hounds, and brass bowl ‘nothinarians’ …who have converted it into an EDDYKAASHUN system – best suited for filling the ‘blocks’ and the ZR workers vacancies”
    ++++++++++

    So what is it? You can’t have your cake and eat it too. In effect you are saying that the conclusion of the study is correct if based on the past and has nothing to do with today. E.G a 50 year old home which was state of the art when it was built is given a bill of health by the Home inspector despite crumbling foundation, peeling paint, faulty wiring and leaky plumbing.

  17. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    “clean bill of health”

  18. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    LOL @ Sargeant
    Sorry Boss … forgot that you were just an NCO and would have needed a different level of explanation…

    We are talking about two completely different things…

    The ‘EDUCATION SYSTEM’ as contemplated in the study looked at the macro. national methodology used in order to transfer past and current knowledge and learning to new generations in the society.

    A worse case may be a society that has no system for formally doing this transfer – and where it is left up to families and individuals to fend for themselves.

    In many cases, there is a rudimentary system at the primary level and then – often due to the costs involved, older children are lucky to be included in a formal educational setting.

    In yet other cases, decisions are left up to families to choose between educating children – or putting them to work to earn family income.

    A system such as ours (conceptualised back when we were poor as church mice) where education was made MANDATORY by national law, to age 16 – and fully funded by government (even including school meals) HAS to be out of the top drawer.

    Once the children are captured in the system however, what we ACTUALLY teach them… is quite another story… that is the ‘Eddykaashun’ part of it.

    Perhaps you can now deduce why we see the situation in Barbados where graduates from societies where only less than 40% of children get exposed to formal education are able to come to a society (where 98% are exposed – FREE OF COST,) and dominate the landscape in all spheres of activity from banking, to retail, to hospitality to insurance.

    Good SYSTEM.
    Piss poor execution.

    If you still don’t get it… Bushie will call on angela to reach out to ya……
    ha ha ha ha

  19. Bajan Free Party/CUP/.Violet Beckles Plantation Deeds from 1926-2017 land tax bills and no Deeds,BLPand DLP Massive land Fruad and PONZI Avatar
    Bajan Free Party/CUP/.Violet Beckles Plantation Deeds from 1926-2017 land tax bills and no Deeds,BLPand DLP Massive land Fruad and PONZI

    Last Class

  20. GreenMonkey Avatar
    GreenMonkey

    What about Minister Jones proposal to allow greater use of cell phones in school class rooms? Will it help make students smarter or dumber?

    Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity

    Adrian F. Ward, Kristen Duke, Ayelet Gneezy, and Maarten W. Bos

    Abstract

    Our smartphones enable—and encourage—constant connection to information, entertainment, and each other. They put the world at our fingertips, and rarely leave our sides. Although these devices have immense potential to improve welfare, their persistent presence may come at a cognitive cost. In this research, we test the “brain drain” hypothesis that the mere presence of one’s own smartphone may occupy limited-capacity cognitive resources, thereby leaving fewer resources available for other tasks and undercutting cognitive performance. Results from two experiments indicate that even when people are successful at maintaining sustained attention—as when avoiding the temptation to check their phones—the mere presence of these devices reduces available cognitive capacity. Moreover, these cognitive costs are highest for those highest in smartphone dependence. We conclude by discussing the practical implications of this smartphone-induced brain drain for consumer decision-making and consumer welfare.

    http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/691462

  21. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @Anthony Davis “What examples is he setting?”

    No sensible person looks to politicians for examples.

  22. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @David June 29, 2017 at 10:49 AM “An impassioned interrogation by Cynthia Forde of the Ministry of Education on the talk show today, why was the Alma Parris School at Speightstown closed without proper disclosure?”

    You can be sure that the Ministry of Education would not dare to close Harrison College, or Lord forbid Combermere School unless there was first extensive consultation with “stake holders”

    According to M.P. Cynthia Forde on Brasstacks on Thursday, the teachers and the principal were informed about the school’s closure after 2 p.m. on Monday. It seems that the students were informed on Tuesday morning, and that the parents like the rest of us heard about the school’s closure on VOB’s 12:30 p.m. news on Tuesday afternoon. This is not good enough.

    Was this a hasty decision? When did the Chief Education Officer first hear of the closure? When did the School Board hear? When did Cabinet hear? Was the Chief Education Officer consulted about the closure? Or was she simply told? Was the School’s Board consulted about the closure or was the Board simply informed? Was Cabinet consulted about about the closure or was Cabinet presented with the Cabinet paper regarding the school’s closure only at their Thursday morning meeting?

    Is the school’s closure a part of the Ministry of Education’s clumsy attempts to deal with declining enrollment because of declining birth rates? And if so why Alma Parris? Is it not true that the parents of Alma Parris students have more that done their patriotic duty by producing more than the average number of children unlike those demographically unpatriotic parents who have produces a single child for Combermere or Harrison College.

    This school’s closure means that these special needs students will be separated from their peers, siblings, cousins etc. come September. Changing schools is stressful for even the best of students, for these students the change will be even more stressful, and will increase the likelihood that these students will withdraw from school.

    The truth is that when it comes to special needs students we never treat them as well as we treat the “bright’ ones.

    A society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable “mene, mene, tekel, upharsin (Daniel 5:25)”

    We will be weighed in the balance and found wanting.

  23. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    I may have missed something, but up to now the Ministry has not made a public statement or spoken to the media to inform the public about the school’s closure and its plans for the 150 students.

  24. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    If one wants an example of what is missing in the education and training of our people, one need look no further than this story in the online Nation News.

    http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/98247/university-exeter-students-tour-light-power-plants

    I have never read or heard of UWI students undertaking any such tours yet UWI is facilitating a tour by British students of Barbados Light and Power generating plants.

  25. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    I am not a UWI alumni, but I must defend UWI here. UWI receives international students, and offers international exchange opportunities to Barbadian and Caribbean students to nearly one hundred university in almost two dozen foreign countries including: Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Curacao, Denmark, Dominion Republic, Finland, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Martinique and Guadaloupe, Morocco, Netherlands. Panama, Portugal, Costa Rico, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the USA, as well as inter-campus exchanges with Trinidad and Jamaica.
    http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/international/partners.aspx

    The University of the West Indies is proud to be the home away from home to many international students from over 10 countries.
    http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/international/international-students.aspx

    http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/international/current-students.aspx
    The Student Exchange Programme allows students to spend a semester or academic year at one of our 50 partners around the world. Study abroad broadens your view, horizon, and experience. You will expand and deepen your academic studies, explore the world, and make new friends and connections that will last a lifetime–all through studying abroad!

    Students with disabilities are encouraged to apply to study abroad. Some destinations are more suitable than others so it would be useful to investigate options at an early stage with the International Office.

  26. David Avatar
    David

    The national PTA association has sided with the ministry in the closure of the Alma Parris school. What has changed since the opening of the school?

    https://www.barbadostoday.bb/2017/06/30/gibbs-supports-alma-parris-move/

  27. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    A nice song for Crop Over.

  28. David Avatar
    David

    https://www.facebook.com/1672606826381050/videos/1675172569457809/

  29. Vincent Haynes Avatar
    Vincent Haynes

    David

    The reasoning of the NPTA President is suspect after his rant on an unsubstantiated report on the LGBT President the other day…….I can see no grounds for closing the school,move it or change the head for cause is not a problem but not obliterating a school in one fell swoop from the face of the earth.

  30. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @Barbados Today “Following that announcement, Minister of Education Ronald Jones Friday confirmed that the Alma Parris School will be closed, pointing out, as he delivered the ruling Democratic Labour Party’s lunchtime lecture, that it only had 60 students…”

    Why is the Minister saying that the Alma Parris school has only 6 students, and why is Shone Gibbs saying that it has 60+ students, when in fact the school has 143 students?

    Just asking a simple question.

  31. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    Ask anybody who has reason to be in Speightstown regularly.

  32. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    Either somebody has misled the Minister or…

  33. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    A Minister would NEVER mislead the people, right?

  34. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @Barbados Today quoting Shone Gibbs of the National Council of Parent Teacher Associations “to be integrated into the regular system and catered for and there would be constant mentoring of those students to ensure that they realign and be integrated back into the system and realigned with their purpose,” he said.”

    I always get real, real nervous when I hear goobledegook.

    What exactly in PLAIN ENGLISH is Mr. Gibbs trying to tell those of us parents who have children at the Alma Parris School?

    Can somebody please translate for us. Thanks.

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