Thursday, September 11, 2008

Brains in Short Supply

Hear ye, hear ye.....what is our educational system coming to? It is so scary to me to see that we have teachers educating our youth who have not clue as to what they are teaching. I recently tried to dissect a teachers instructions on a student I tutor's homework and not only was the grammar terrible, but the directions made no sense. In the end I had to take an educated guess.

If a well educated (at least I think I am) person cannot figure out a Std 1 homework assignment then something is amiss, somewhere.

This is not letting local secondary and tertiary level educational systems off the hook either. We are graduating a bunch on idiots basically. I know. I interview them everyday with their "we was" and "I dus do it"....Oh the horror. Then I have to try to communicate to these people once they have landed themselves a cushy job elsewhere that swells the head. Why did they get that job? Well, there is no one else to hire, so employers take the best of the bad apples.

Part of the problem also lies in the fact that we even have lecturers teaching at 6th form and UB who are teaching stuff they are not qualified to teach. Accountants teaching biology and economists teaching art are but a few.

People wonder why businessmen like the "lord" seem to outsmart us at every turn. The answer lies in the fundamentals of our once vaunted educational system.

So come on everyone. Lets get some decent teachers. Let's train them properly. Let them help us turn the corner to become a first world country. But we don't want our students to be reciting jabberwocky, we want them to be independent thinkers. They should be taught to learn one new fact every day. I do, even if the last thing before I go home..

Readers are plentiful. Thinkers are rare. And from now on I will try to leave you with one common misconstrued fact per post that I will attempt to correct. 

Common Falsehood: There are three states of matter.
Truth: There are four: Solid, Liquid, Gas, and Plasma


Unsilent said...

Aside from the substandard graduating classes, there is also an issue with what these graduates feel they are entitled to. The attitude in interviews that they have gotten their Bachelor Degrees etc. but have nothing to offer in the form of experience or willingness to learn and grow.

There is a chasm between what is being taught along with their expectations and what is the reality in the job market. So graduates walk around with their egos on their shoulders and a piece of paper in their pocket and expect to waltz into a cushy job and when asked direct questions about what else they offer other than the paper, get offended because they "deserve" the job.

My dad always said he is hiring an individual, not credentials. Many don't see that importance.

Anonymous said...

In these days we have many students who pay their way through their schooling life with out a single clue as to what is expected of them on the outside world. We also have individuals that call themselves teachers and they don't even know how to do a lesson plan. they call themselves teachers because they have a piece of paper that states that they have successfully completed their course of studies.

insipid writer said...

The problem with Belize's education system lies not only with the students or the teachers but will all of society's attitude. It is dictated that to make it anywhere you need to attain an Associates or Bachelor Degree. I will admit that teacher today are not train to be teachers and that's one of their greatest problems.

We can't expect to have trained teachers when we make the profession so unattractive and under appreciated. When I told my grandfather I wanted to be a teacher, he told me that it didn't pay enough. He told me to find a better profession. He told me I would hate it. Of course I still want to be a teacher and working hard towards that goal. How many students today want this?

As it goes for employment, most students have never worked a day in their lives and expect the big job. It is an unreal dream that we push into their heads failing to warn them of the reality of humility and starting at the bottom. We also need to understand everyone has to have first job so take it easy on us grads or for me future grad.

Trazidex said...

Not only that, but the piece of paper comes from institutions that have not a clue about the real world and lead by administrators and teachers who are ill taught themselves.

We also have a secondary school system that forces students to do business or sciences. It does not show them the way to other valuable careers such as those in the arts. Do you know what one of the most high paying jobs is in Australia? CABINET MAKING!

Every year when I do the rounds during Career Days, I am always surprised with the lack of vision these students have. 'I didn't know that career existed" is very common to hear....from the students AND the teachers.

In fact as a qualified professional offered to teach an evening class for free just to promote my field. I was told, we already have a teacher. That teacher did not even have a degree in the subject.

Welcome to the world of ignorance.