Education in Jamaica

[Wahalla]

so the table earlier is not quite right.. look like Hampton allows earlier sitting of Maths and English at CXC ... (unlike Glenmuir who makes them resit) and is inovative... I still think that the table that was presented was nessesary....


THE EDITOR, Sir:
As many students at Hampton School who wish may register for any subject in grade 10, and we only encourage resits where necessary. If the student secures ones in English and math, they are allowed to take up other subjects in grade 11, resulting in 35.1% graduating with nine or more subjects, 44.5% with eight, and only 21.4% with seven or less in 2012.
Also, in 2012, of our 191 grade 11 cohorts, 186, or 97.4%, achieved five or more subjects with English and/or math (as used in theeducatejamaica.org ranking). Overall pass rate of 23 subjects for the cohort was 96%, with 100% in 12 of the 23.
Although we recognise that rankings are important, we educate for life and not for rankings, so we place no barriers on our students. Hence, this experiment we started over 20 years ago has now blossomed to the point where Hampton is graduating a larger pool of well-rounded young ladies, the majority of whom return to sixth form, at the end of which they have been achieving 100% matriculation for tertiary institutions for well over 10 years.
We invite all rating agencies to visit Hampton, examine our records, and observe our students at work. It will help them understand why raw exam data cannot be used to evaluate a school.
I salute our exemplary team, led by our phenomenal headmistress, Hamptonian Heather Murray, supported by a faculty of academic, administrative and associate staff, second to none. Second to none also are our 1,200-plus very focused young ladies and their supportive parents, who make the sacrifice for their daughters to receive an outstanding education.
Finally, to Hampton Old Girls' Association (HOGA), for its strong support of its alma mater in scholarships, bursaries, the frequent motivational sessions in which current students are encouraged to make best use of their opportunities. Every school needs an alumni like HOGA.
TREVOR L.A. BLAKE
Board Chairman
Hampton School

[blugiant]

this is one reason striking reason why i do not support addition of Patwa as a language to the school curriculum.

wat dat affii doo widd passinn exams? moas aff da stude show bilingual yuths ar smarter. tink itt affii do usinn more aff da brain

y peeps focus pon yuths failinn exams instead da xxxams dat so manee yuths fail?

[RichD]

wat dat affii doo widd passinn exams? moas aff da stude show bilingual yuths ar smarter. tink itt affii do usinn more aff da brain

y peeps focus pon yuths failinn exams instead da xxxams dat so manee yuths fail?

any studies show that yuths who have not mastered their primary language excel in a second language?

[Tropicana]

iff miseducatesham inn jamaica was da cure awl, ow cum da povertee rate neva drapped significantlee widd more peeps gittinn miseducated

Well for one thing a lot of people migrated.

I am surprised that Jamaica College has not made the list of top schools. What is going on? Oh and what about Priory?

RichD, we agree on the patois language ting. I have a discussion in the parenting section on the impact when children migrate:

http://www.jamaicans.com/forums/showthread.php?73496-Patois-and-Parenting-Argument-Again

I love patois for informal confirmation, theatre, music, etc. but as long as so many children are migrating, they do need to master English and master it well. I also had another discussion about this issue a while back....perhaps the 2 threads should be merged.

http://www.jamaicans.com/forums/showthread.php?54688-Stop-This-Teach-Patois-Nonsense!

Except for RichD and I, Jamaican children at home and abroad seem to be mastering patois just fine.( Emperah, for example, wasn't even born in Jamaica. He was raised in Canada but listen to his patois. He has also mastered English/ There are many like him in Canada. In the UK, let me point to Maxi Priest as another example). With today's young people, it is a different story. Things have changed. It is in English and their other subjects that they are underachieving.....at home and abroad.

Used to be that Jamaican students excelled in the Canadian school system by the way but that was when they migrated speaking English. See you in the parenting section to discuss that.

[blugiant]

my point is that I know of guys who pulled them selves up by boot straps based on education....who made a transgenerational leap out of poverty. I am one, I dont claim poverty , I claim a twenty year cash flow problem! the simple thing is that they "passed" 5 or more cxc including maths and english...this means that they were placed in high schools at age 12......and there is something I know... in fact I reconnected to another of them on skype last week and we had a long conversation on this issue.. Not just the leap forward but also the price we paid emotionaly to do it as we survived institutions that the majority came from a middle class environment...

I know no one leap out of poverty who has done this based on agriculture, sport or music... I know people who did it based on Marijuana though and others by seasonal work in Kanada...alot more by migration, but migration does not happen from the really poor.... But of the local options education attainment to this standard IMHO does seem to

Dont get me wrong this may be ancedotal.. but looking at the basis of the leap is that u get 5 cxc including maths and english...Jamaica does not educated enough people to this standard... So yes the education system does perpetuate this poverty cycle..but by failing to train Jamaicans to this standard..

72 % of Jamaica does not meet this standard... if we moved this to 50 % continuously would there be a lift out of poverty by it self ???

I think there is a pHD to be researched here on this issue!

know wan yawdee yuths woo knew da materials bettar dan moas but imm didd poorlee pon xxams cah aff test anxiety. mii didd research pon itt ann mii was able fe sumwat help imm. dem use fe gitt pon mii case dat mii allowed yuths fe play games widd thyme limit even dough dat wan da way fe help yuths. blakk yuths ave more test anxiety dan oyinbo yuths.

mii knew latt aff yawdee woo made itt out aff povertee cah aff music even dough mii knew sum woo tunn fool widd dem dj money. sport mii awlway wandar y deer iss natt more programs inn ja fe develop baseball players

da argument against education is dat more jamaicans ar gittinn miseducated wild more gettinn poorer. educatesham impoverish sum jamaicans cah familee affii spend so much money fe miseducate dem yuths. latest studee show dat yuths woo use laptop inn da classroom doo wurst pon test dan yuths woo use pens pencils ann paper butt jamaica iss forcinn parents fe buy dem yuths laptops fe classroom us. jamaicans need fe look at misedukkaysham system as an investment ann seereeuslee cansidar da rate aff return. de mount aff money blakk peeps spend pon miseducation ann da poor return dem gittinn show educateshan as itt structure is a badd investment

[Wahalla]

know wan yawdee yuths woo knew da materials bettar dan moas but imm didd poorlee pon xxams cah aff test anxiety. mii didd research pon itt ann mii was able fe sumwat help imm. dem use fe gitt pon mii case dat mii allowed yuths fe play games widd thyme limit even dough dat wan da way fe help yuths. blakk yuths ave more test anxiety dan oyinbo yuths.

mii knew latt aff yawdee woo made itt out aff povertee cah aff music even dough mii knew sum woo tunn fool widd dem dj money. sport mii awlway wandar y deer iss natt more programs inn ja fe develop baseball players

da argument against education is dat more jamaicans ar gittinn miseducated wild more gettinn poorer. educatesham impoverish sum jamaicans cah familee affii spend so much money fe miseducate dem yuths. latest studee show dat yuths woo use laptop inn da classroom doo wurst pon test dan yuths woo use pens pencils ann paper butt jamaica iss forcinn parents fe buy dem yuths laptops fe classroom us. jamaicans need fe look at misedukkaysham system as an investment ann seereeuslee cansidar da rate aff return. de mount aff money blakk peeps spend pon miseducation ann da poor return dem gittinn show educateshan as itt structure is a badd investment

Jamaica under perfoms in this exam compared with its peers in the carribean is my understanding...I see no reason Y 80 % of the cohort cannot get 5 subjects including maths and english...

This is not mis education.... it is incompetence.. it is failure of teaching. Jamaica underperforms. it makes poor use of resources.. its teachers are badly educated....seem focused on the wrong thing... Thwaites made the same point as to poor rate of return...I beleive that after debt servinc the MOE has the highest share of resources in Jamaica and if at teh intermidiate level of education we have 72 % below the most basic level..

I am saying that 5 CXC including maths and English means that these are trainable and are morelike than not to make a leap out of poverty.... and given that the most musician that buss in a year is 20....then I am certain that more than 20 youth from the urban sink communities acheive that standard and move on up and out every year...This is an opnion.. that seems more inuative... Call that standard mis educatioon if u wish... I beleie that each year 85 doctors matruiculate at UWI, and earlier this week 69 doctors were trained in Cuba.... some among these must have attained the greater than the standard I mention must have been from up from poverty....

[blugiant]

Jamaica under perfoms in this exam compared with its peers in the carribean is my understanding...I see no reason Y 80 % of the cohort cannot get 5 subjects including maths and english...

This is not mis education.... it is incompetence.. it is failure of teaching. Jamaica underperforms

dread fimi yuths scored well above da average babylon checked itt out.

y yuh tink oyinbo inn a latt aff da iighest perfarminn school doan lowe dem fe test dem yuths like lower perfarminn yuths? miseducatesham system based pon xxams ann preparinn fe xxams iss a way dem miseducate blakk yuths

[Wahalla]

dread fimi yuths scored well above da average babylon checked itt out.

y yuh tink oyinbo inn a latt aff da iighest perfarminn school doan lowe dem fe test dem yuths like lower perfarminn yuths? miseducatesham system based pon xxams ann preparinn fe xxams iss a way dem miseducate blakk yuths

Exams are a method of ensuring competency... I for one want my doctors, teachers, engineers to have competency through exams...Exams are not simply a method of demonstrating competency in subject matter but a test of teh ability to operate under pressure....

I dont know of your youth..by which I assume u mean ur charges at school.. not your children.... But I assumed u were teach in Yankidom not Yard... Yanki dom is not my concern....(I dont want to invade ur privacy!)

[Tropicana]

dread fimi yuths scored well above da average babylon checked itt out.

I am sure despite how you write on here..... your children are proficient in English.

y yuh tink oyinbo inn a latt aff da iighest perfarminn school doan lowe dem fe test dem yuths like lower perfarminn yuths? miseducatesham system based pon xxams ann preparinn fe xxams iss a way dem miseducate blakk yuths

Whether we like it or not the system is the system and unfortunately, Black young people are behind the 8th ball in our public school systems. Why do you think I drive and old broken down car? I sent my son to private school and ensured that he was in structured sporting activities. Fought years of homework wars too. It wasn't easy. Hopefully, when he is completely finished and earning a nice living he will buy me the Lamborghini he promised me when he was 3. Could use a new wardrobe while he is at it for that matter.

[Wahalla]

As cold as this is I dont care about education in Kanada or US... if u cant get educated with the resources available then resources is not the issue..

Once again the JTA President does his usual behaviour.... I never see report the JTA develop strategies to improve the education result... Thwaites is talking about it....trying to build bridges...Teachers seem simply interested in treasure....


Thwaites Says Sorry To Teachers

Published: Thursday | August 22, 20136 Comments




Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer
Ocho Rios, St Ann:
Education Minister Ronald Thwaites made it clear it was education first and foremost, as he addressed the Jamaica Teachers' Association's (JTA) 49th annual conference at Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios, St Ann, yesterday.
The minister acknowledged a difficult past few months between the teachers' union and his ministry, during which, he admitted, he might have said sharp words that hurt feelings.
"I've come to make peace and say I am sorry," said Thwaites. "It is not a time for throwing words at each other."
He added, later in his presentation: "If we fall to quarrelling, how can we expect children to do otherwise?"
Thwaites asked for "a respectful working relationship" between his ministry and the JTA going forward.
But when called upon to move the vote of thanks at the end of the session, President-Elect Doran Dixon deviated, saying he was going "to make a few comments because I feel pressured into doing so".
In his comments, Dixon said, among other things, that as an employee of the Ministry of Education, it was the duty of his employer to seek to treat with his welfare issues in an honest and open way.
As he continued, newly installed President Dr Mark Nicely intervened.
Nicely said: "Excuse me please, Mr P.E. (President-Elect), with respect, I think we are at the point of vote of thanks."
Responded Dixon: "I'm doing the vote of thanks, Mr President."
Said Nicely: "Well, I'm going to ask you to restrict your vote of thanks to a vote of thanks."
TEACHERS OFFENDED
However, Dixon continued on his original course before giving the vote of thanks in a terse manner.
Dixon said: "At the insistence of the president, I want to thank the ministry team for having visited with us this morning, and I want to thank you, my colleagues, for having participated in this process."
Later, some teachers spoke openly of the incident, saying they had been offended by Dixon's behaviour.
"When he said he was going to make a few comments, I thought he was going to say 'sorry', as the minister did, so we could move on. But this was embarrassing," one teacher told The Gleaner.
Weeks before being voted in as president-elect, Dixon came under fire for likening the minister to a mongrel dog.
[email protected]

[Tuff Gong]

Once again the JTA President does his usual behaviour.... I never see report the JTA develop strategies to improve the education result... Thwaites is talking about it....trying to build bridges...Teachers seem simply interested in treasure....

Thwaites Says Sorry To Teachers

Hehehe!

[Wahalla]

Education In Shambles - Exam Results Just Symptomnts



Thwaites




By Jaevion Nelson
It's that time of the year again when the nation gets in a frenzy about the shambolic state of our education system. Suddenly, we realise we are far behind in ensuring that 'Jamaicans are empowered to achieve their fullest potential' through 'world-class education and training' (Vision 2030 Goal 1, Outcome 2).
I am deeply concerned about our (mis)use of CXC exams to assess students' aptitude. Core issues that plague our education system are routinely overlooked because of our preoccupation with passes and school rankings. Wile onggl aaf a di pikni dem we du CXC tek di mount a sobjek we yuunivorsiti a aax fa. Out a demde, a onggl aaf a dem paas. Wat a prekkeh duo iihn? A toti gran edikieshan wi a gi Jamiekan pikni? Dis nuh luk laik werl class eddiecayshan.
I attended Clarendon College and so, too, did one of my sisters. Sonya matriculated to the sixth-form programme with nine subjects, including mathematics and English, for which she obtained grades three and one, respectively.
Sonya, like so many other students, was not recommended to sit mathematics. Many schools call this 'screening'. She was also screened out of social studies and was informed she could pay for both subjects at the school's evening institute while still attending daytime classes.
How very considerate of them! Does this make sense to you? I interpreted it as a moneymaking venture. I understand that this practice has ended at my alma mater pursuant to recommendations from the former minister of education.
Why are teachers allowed to decide if a student will pass a subject? Do our teachers' colleges now teach the gift of prophecy? Screening is done six months prior to the actual exam. Since students have ample time to prepare for it, shouldn't parents and academic mentors who are knowledgeable about their ambitions have more control over what subjects they sit? Do we realise we are screening our children out of a tertiary education and other opportunities such as employment?
A colleague of mine tried to defend this practice as a necessary evil. This reminds me of a conversation I had with the former principal of Ardenne High School, Esther Tyson, on the same matter and how she faced much opposition in abolishing the practice.
Screening only ignores the inadequacies of the education system, which includes lack of adequate resources and well-trained teachers, and explicitly tells students they are failures. A Gleaner report on August 19, 2013 revealed that in the last five years, more than 220,000 students did not sit mathematics and English exams. I suppose they, too, may have been screened out.
I remember some of my classmates pleading to teachers to give them a chance. The teachers basked in their privilege knowing our fate was in their hands. Given our social and economic reality and the national development plan, it should be mandatory for all students to sit no less than six subjects. In any case, we need to decide whether one exam taken at the end of grade 11 reflects all the learning that takes places during five years of secondary education.
EXTRA LESSONS NORMALISED
The other problem I have is that we have normalised this ridiculous practice of 'extra lessons' as the (only?) way to be successful academically. If the curriculum cannot be covered in regular classtime, the solution isn't to overwhelm students with more classes! Who does extra lessons really benefit when it's treated as a necessity, the student or teacher?
What saddens me is that already poorer students go to the least-equipped schools - sometimes with the lowest cadre of teachers - and we expect them to succeed in CXC? Many of them would have come from schools where the 40 per cent of teachers who do not have a pass in CXC mathematics populate. Preposterous! Unless there will be a miracle, some students will be left behind. And then we pretend poor people are just uninterested in becoming qualified like the rest of us (see 'Poverty has no bearing on students', Gleaner, April 23, 2013).
One of my cousins is the top GSAT student at his school. His mother could hardly afford to send him to extra lessons. Luckily for him, my mother helped out when she could. I can't help but wonder if he would have been the top student if he hadn't attended extra lessons.
At the end of the day we should all agree that a child's education should not be dependent on the teacher and school's ego for high passes and ranking.
Jaevion Nelson is a youth development, HIV and human rights advocate. Email feedback to [email protected] and [email protected].

[blugiant]

I am sure despite how you write on here..... your children are proficient in English.



Whether we like it or not the system is the system and unfortunately, Black young people are behind the 8th ball in our public school systems. Why do you think I drive and old broken down car? I sent my son to private school and ensured that he was in structured sporting activities. Fought years of homework wars too. It wasn't easy. Hopefully, when he is completely finished and earning a nice living he will buy me the Lamborghini he promised me when he was 3. Could use a new wardrobe while he is at it for that matter.

da system iss natt da system inn merikka deer ar sum publikk school dat outparfarm private school ann da reason y more public school doan out parfarm iss cah blakk parents ar too saft ann doan bunn more fiyah fe force dem fe educate blakk yuths cah oyinbo doan waan fe compete.

yuh kno tropi itt too badd soo manee blakks doan see oww addar kulchas use dem language gitt a certain degree ann unitee ann cohesion fe dem advancement. latino peeps kno oww fe use spanish but blakks attakk addar blakks woo chat patwah ann ebonic cah dem feel awl blakks need fe be proefficent inn oyinbo toungue innglish widdout askinn y. da slave massa took away languages ann forced da enslaved afrikkans to speak imm language ann brainwashed blakks fe defend imm intarests by mekkinn dem judge addar blakks woo ar natt proefficent inn oyinbo languages.

so tropi yuh pushinn generational povertee ting deny yuhself now inn da hope yuh son will return da favor ann tekk care aff yuh like yuh did fe imm. tropi mii dawtah graduate college at 19 ann tartinn grad school inn september wild mii still av sintinn widdout lookinn fe sintinn fram ar.

[Wahalla]

da system iss natt da system inn merikka deer ar sum publikk school dat outparfarm private school ann da reason y more public school doan out parfarm iss cah blakk parents ar too saft ann doan bunn more fiyah fe force dem fe educate blakk yuths cah oyinbo doan waan fe compete.

yuh kno tropi itt too badd soo manee blakks doan see oww addar kulchas use dem language gitt a certain degree ann unitee ann cohesion fe dem advancement. latino peeps kno oww fe use spanish but blakks attakk addar blakks woo chat patwah ann ebonic cah dem feel awl blakks need fe be proefficent inn oyinbo toungue innglish widdout askinn y. da slave massa took away languages ann forced da enslaved afrikkans to speak imm language ann brainwashed blakks fe defend imm intarests by mekkinn dem judge addar blakks woo ar natt proefficent inn oyinbo languages.

so tropi yuh pushinn generational povertee ting deny yuhself now inn da hope yuh son will return da favor ann tekk care aff yuh like yuh did fe imm. tropi mii dawtah graduate college at 19 ann tartinn grad school inn september wild mii still av sintinn widdout lookinn fe sintinn fram ar.

Congrats to ur daughter... and I confess I like ur attitude... of how u veiw ur daughters attainment.... the idea of entitlement of the parents for making sacrifices for the child is crass and demonstrates ego.. Please pass on my heart felt acknowledgement to her for her achievements....

[Wahalla]

The education ministry must be held accountable too, says JTA head

BY RENAE DIXON Observer staff reporter [email protected]
Thursday, August 22, 2013




OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Newly installed president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), Dr Mark Nicely, says a system must be put in place to determine to what extent the Ministry of Education is achieving its goals.
"In this era of accountability and transparency the ministry, too, must be called on to account for its stewardship of the education sector," Dr Nicely said Monday night following his installation at a ceremony at the Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios, where the association's annual conference was being held.

Newly installed president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, Dr Mark Nicely, addressing the association’s 49th annual at the Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios, St Ann, on Monday. (PHOTO: RENAE DIXON) 1/1

"I challenge the Ministry of Education to move away from the confines of the narrow funnel, which says to you it is all the teachers' fault and articulate to this nation a plan of action aimed at addressing the multiple problems facing the education sector, many of which do not relate to the teachers," he said.
He said the ministry should present its plans regarding the assignment of social workers to regional offices; to treat the high level of truancy among students; to minimise the high level of violence against children resulting in premature deaths; to provide schools with the necessary resources; to screen all children entering grade one and to make information available to schools.
He said the JTA is prepared to work with the ministry to ensure problems in the system are addressed, but asked that there be an end to the belief that when children do not do well, it is the fault of the teacher.
The new JTA president said the organisation believes in teachers' accountability, but that the realities of the failing home, failing parents, a failing community, a failing ministry and a failing economy should be considered.
"The reality is that is that any failure in the education sector is as a result of all those who have a role to play in education," he said.
He also highlighted the need for focus to be placed on special education in all institutions. Children with special needs, he said, should no longer be overlooked or lost in the system but should be identified and referred to for special attention.
"As a nation, we must desist from using education in Jamaica as a perennial football from which one can gain cheap publicity and score cheap political points," Dr Nicely stressed, noting that education is serious business and should not be "trivialised and medialised."
He also emphasised that the teachers' union will continue the fight to protect the welfare of its members.
"If ever there was a time when teachers' income needed protection, that time is now. If ever there was a time when safeguarding the benefits of our nation's teachers is relevant, that time is now; and if ever there was a time of safeguarding the future of our nation's teachers, that time is now," he said.
"Any change in the benefits that teachers now enjoy would be a breach of international industrial relations practice and would make null and void the recent wage restraint document signed between the Jamaica Teachers' Association and the Ministry of Finance," he added.
Meanwhile, he also said that the JTA's position against the transfer of teachers remain as this could lead to instability in the system. He argued that such transfers would create a system of inequality, primarily to the poor -- likening it to the placement system for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).
"What the Government will then seek to do as they do [with the] GSAT placement is to select the best and send the best to the best. Teacher deployment would then be no different from what we see with GSAT placements," he said.
"The policy might then be to send the best where my interest lies or give a school the best students through GSAT, give that school the best ratio of one to 20 and to top it all off, give that school the best teachers, assess the school and call that school the best school," he said.
"The teachers of Jamaica will not be subjected to a GSAT model of deployed teachers," he pointed out.



Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/regio...#ixzz2cmFPdYDL