DEAN OF the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Professor Barry Chevannes, has urged schools in Western Kingston and Southern St. Andrew to turn to non-traditional teaching tools such as folk tales as part of the effort to curb truancy, curb misbehaviour and cut school dropout rates.
Referring to the "big boy" jokes and "riddle me dis", Professor Chevannes pointed out that students were taught valuable lessons in social interaction and grammar, among them the use of wit and rhyming.
"Whether you teach them or not, they are growing up associating words with sound and learn word art ... and knowing this can help you focus your relationship with them," he told about 400 educators who attended the Western Kingston and Southern St. Andrew (WESKA) Principals Association's annual conference, last Friday at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.
Professor Chevannes told the educators that the environment in which students live and the meanings attached to certain events and actions should be used in lessons to make the classroom come alive. Education officials agreed, stating that problems such as truancy, misbehaviour and dropouts were partially caused by students' failure to understand taught material because they were turned off by some traditional teaching methods.
"Children, especially boys, don't like traditional things. They like things that are 'way out', so anything that is different from the regular classroom will help," said education officer for primary schools, James Spencer.
Referring to a class of 44 students, WESKA's president, Ancel Thomas, told The Gleaner that up to 20 per cent on average may not understand what is taught, depending on their initial academic ability and many WESKA schools teach remedial classes.
"Some cultural forms, for example folk songs and stories, can be used to motivate the students. Teachers ... can use different stories from our culture to teach topics (and) to help with the planning of lessons," said Tanya Campbell, a teacher at the Cockburn Primary and Junior High.
Professor Chevannes said more field trips were needed because Jamaica provided a host of historical sites that could be used to illustrate a point or teach history. Two sites often overlooked were cemeteries and the downtown market district, the largest in the English-speaking Caribbean, he said. "Every vendor down there has a horse eye in their thread bag. You want to know why? So the money can stay in there," he said.
