Dear Editor,

In order to improve our education system for Jamaica to compete globally, we must build a solid foundation in all of our schools. Accordingly, we must embark on some serious social reconstruction. A researcher might define a good school by identifying those with higher achievement levels, lower absence rates, a good and productive educational climate and a good staff. The staffs of these schools are comparatively stable, even though it takes time for teachers and administrators to pull a school into shape. There should be a high level of communication among all staff members in these schools, via formal and informal meetings and memos. Morals should be good and the policies should be clearly written down and distributed to students, parents, teachers and school administrators.

The policies of the school regarding homework, attendance, lateness, grades, discipline and punishment should be well understood by all. Students, parents, and staff should trust one another, and extracurricular activities, which are vital and important, should be supported by students, staff and parents. At the high school level, especially, the principal should run the school with firm hands, but he or she should also engage in extensive consultation with teachers and parents, and to a lesser extent with students. This type of individual should have such traits as energy, intelligence, pride, morals, courage (willingness to stand up for what one believes is right), and should have a lively imagination.

Mathematics teachers, especially, should be given an incentive in order to assist failing students. If schools possessed adequate space and the required resources were available, if teachers were paid a reasonable salary, if parents could provide for and encourage their children, then Jamaica’s literacy rate would eventually increase and indiscipline would decrease gradually. A country with a high literacy rate tends to be successful because its citizens will more likely make wise decisions; have a better understanding of life and qualify for various professions. Having satisfied all of these criteria, I believe that Jamaica would eventually have an able and productive workforce which would promote upward mobility. Therefore, the government needs to invest in education seriously, rather than cutting education subsidies. Education is vital to a country’s survival.

Charles Brown

charliebrown1004@hotmail.com

Do not cut back on education