“The
only thing harder than letting go is moving on.”
We have tried to identify Who’s the Enemy in our Education Systems
in Belize Belize ’s
cities, towns, and rural areas.
Employment for professionals is not available on a competitive basis,
but rather only to the few who (whose families) are lucky enough to have the
right “political connections”. The fact
remains, though, that even if our Education systems do not meet all the
challenges that confront an Independent nation, teachers in Belize remain grossly underpaid, undervalued, and
unappreciated by too many. I extend
kudos to BNTU and to all educators who are bravely fighting (the government)
and trying to improve this unjustifiable and unfair condition.
Most students and educators in Belize know well that since our Independence in 1981 the country's Education Systems are due for a
total revamping and upgrade. Outdated
and ineffective Colonial Systems of Education that we (Government and Church)
insist on maintaining and following no
longer meet all our nation’s pressing needs in this global and digital
Age. If indeed they do meet all our
nation’s needs, then where is the growing network of successful vocational,
technical, and scientific professionals “educated in Belize ”? Where are the dozens of successful “educated
in Belize ” entrepreneurs who
continue to receive every incentive possible from the government to build and
boost the nation’s economy, year after year?
Why don’t we have enough tax revenues from successful industries pouring into government coffers to
be able to provide free education up through university level to all our
Youth? Where is that thriving network of
“home-educated and prepared” business professionals in the financial field who
are steering Belize toward
becoming an exemplary “success story” in the Caribbean ? Where are the professionals, “educated in Belize ”, who maintain a thriving Industrial Base
in this jewel of ours? Where are the
local graduates of Technical and Vocational Schools throughout Belize who everyday build, fortify, and enhance
our growing cities and communities in all six Districts, from North to South and East to West? As an Independent nation we ourselves, not
only immigrants and foreigners, must be able to build, support, and invest in
our communities -- business wise and in every other way. An abundance of legal professionals
trained and educated abroad and working in our midst is not enough to steer us into
prosperity.
Teachers could work much more
effectively in classrooms everyday (Primary or Secondary) if they did not feel that they had to coerce students to memorize Math and Science sections of a
government-mandated or Commonwealth-copied curriculum, just long enough so the
students might pass government-required examinations. Moreover, students may be able to memorize lessons
just long enough so they can pass exams, but many of them do not understand or
“learn”. Worst of all, even though we
can now boast of having our very own institutions of higher learning,
universities in Belize ,
hundreds of their graduates each year cannot enter (find work) into the
country’s workforce of professionals.
So, where can/do they each go after graduation? University Degrees are not awarded only to be
framed! Our young people work very hard
and incur many debts to be able to obtain a quality/higher education -- they
want and need to work and use that education “in Belize ”.
Beyond the profound issue of Learned Helplessness being perpetuated
by non-changing Colonial and Commonwealth-copied Systems of Education in
Belize, no one wants to live within the confines of a sluggish economy, a
staggeringly expensive health care system, and growing unemployment. We want and need Education
Systems that can deliver and produce graduates who are eager, ready, and
qualified to take over the reins of the country. On the other hand, those who have controlled
those reins (or still do) also need to hand them over to qualified and
home-educated Belizeans! Those of us,
especially the policymakers in government, who have grown used to accepting
hand-outs, must also realize that no one will hand us on a platter: neatly typed,
fully explained, and ready-to-use Education systems to match many of the needs
of Independent Belize today. We must first want such systems and then work
hard together to create them! We
parents, educators, the government and Church policymakers have to break free
from that Colonial mindset of learned helplessness that perpetuates the belief
that only “Massah’, or someone from abroad, has all the answers. Let’s not continue to live hopelessly
out-of-touch and blinded to the truth that we are now “on our own” -- simply
because it’s convenient to remain idle!
No country ever achieves success by copying and pasting another
country’s (someone else’s) version of success, whether in Politics, Economics,
or in Education. So, yes, it’s time to
let go of any old Colonial ways that no longer serve us; but let’s not then
hopelessly and pitifully wait for someone else to move us on. Only we can move ourselves forward!
While I worked as a teacher and
Vocational Guidance Counselor in both American and Belizean high schools, at
the beginning of each school year I encouraged each student to set SMART goals
for himself/herself: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Oriented,
Time-Bound. No one simply hands out
success to a student; rather, he/she must first set himself/herself on a path
to success and then work steadily to achieve each goal set -- no giving up
no matter how rough the school year may get.
Likewise, no one will simply deliver productive Systems of Education to Belize ’s policymakers, administrators, and
educators. First, we must want systems
that are fully functional and able to produce the educated and professional
citizens we need to support and develop the nation. Second, we proceed to create working systems
by gathering input from everyone, including parents and educators, not only
from the government, church, or professionals in the field of Education. Third, we put the systems in effect, work with our students and
continue to learn and grow with them, and finally we amend them as often as we
may need. Let us, today not tomorrow,
take the next steps to strengthen our obsolete and cut-in-stone Systems of Education
so they can serve us much more effectively and productively.
Author’s Note:
These articles are not intended
to be comprehensive or complete. They
are written and contributed in an effort to provide a “starting point” for
valuable discussion amongst educators, students, and the community. If we discuss and review students’ learning
capabilities and the ways in which we currently try to educate them, then we
can learn from our mistakes as well as success.
Way to go, fellow educators!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou have brought us another article that truly touches on issues and decisions Belize faces daily. At this point we all as Belizeans face the same fork in the road, we all must ask ourselves what do we do next? Unless you have been living under a rock, we all know what the issues are that are affecting us are and we all know what to do about them. The problem however is that most people do not want to take the risk to do even a small part to start the ball rolling.
ReplyDeleteI posted once about “Not my job”:
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got upset about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.
One of the main things that is needed in Belize to bring our Education system into the current times and start to prepare our students for the future is to stop creating robots by making students memorize things and go through school in a linear path where there is no room for anything other than what you are told. Second we need to remove Education system from being ran by international organizations that may never have set foot in Belize as well as to refrain from copy/pasting manuals and other materials. Next we need to invest in modern technology in schools.
On a whole people need to step up and start self educating, but they prefer to be on Facebook or reading noise online (like which celebrity is having an affair and such). Until the people themselves become willing to take that next step and change themselves and start to change their environment; nothing will change.
Very good article! Education here in Belize absolutely needs to take those "Next Steps!" For example, teachers need to "differentiate" their teaching and learning experiences in order to engage the students. This is something that I don't see happening in Belize. Educators and teachers should also "connect" their students to the school and community by building relationships, and teach students to READ and UNDERSTAND while ensuring digital literacy. Rote learning is a thing of the past and yes, we need to bring our Education system into current times. This is something that the author of this article has been saying over and over and it needs to be reminded over and over until the "cows come home!"
ReplyDeleteIt should the Government’s aim that the education system, from pre-school to higher education, ensures that all young people receive a high-quality education and a solid foundation for engaging in lifelong education. The education system should also contribute to fostering a learning culture that promotes creativity, independence and responsibility.