THE EDITOR, Sir:
SOLUTIONS TO major social problems have always been controversial and education is no different. Dr. Ralph Thompson's article on the CXC results analysed some of the poor performances, but his solutions with the exception of putting more resources in early childhood education, remain very simplistic and will do very little to improve performances at the CXC level.
I agree with Dr. Thompson that teacher-education needs improvement, but having all teachers with a master's degree in education will not help the unmotivated, distracted teenager achieve educational success. Proficiency in the English language will also not guarantee success. If Dr. Thompson has any doubts, he can study my family experiences.
There are those who have excellent command of the English language and are academic failures and others who are less proficient, but have achieved some modest level of educational success. Those are the motivated ones who value education and see it as a way out of poverty. English must be taught in school and children should be able to express themselves in this language. It does not however, guarantee, educational success and we are fooling ourselves when we put forward this argument in discussing education.
Character, motivation and the environment in which a child lives are far more important in determining educational success than a person's ability to speak English. I am not saying that English is not important but we should not use this as a solution to our educational difficulties. It is a weak argument in a society where there are so many misplaced values which have a greater impact on educational success.
Academic success comes when a community understands the importance of education and inculcates in its children this value. The Asian community in America does well in school because they understand the value of education and link this to future economic success. Their English is no better than the average Jamaican's, but this does not become an obstacle in the learning process.
I am, etc.,
DENNIS FRANCIS
Denafranco55@hotmail.com
Via Go-Jamaica
