Pinnock urges volunteers to help students move from good to great
Published:Saturday | October 4, 2025 | 12:07 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Dr Michelle Pinnock, regional director for Region Four of the Ministry of Education, is urging Rotary Clubs and other volunteer groups to help students move beyond simply being “good” academically, warning that complacency has become a growing concern in schools.
Speaking at the Rotary Club of Montego Bay’s weekly luncheon on Tuesday, Pinnock said that as classrooms continue to evolve in a post-pandemic world, educators must push past their comfort zones, embrace innovation, and inspire students to achieve greatness.
“Sometimes good is our problem. If it is that we’re good, then we’re comfortable. And so, I want you to help me to get our young persons to understand the importance of moving from good to great,” she told the gathering.
Her remarks set the tone for a discussion on the changing dynamics of classrooms, where students learn differently and require more than traditional rote instruction.
“Things are certainly different,” Pinnock said. “What used to be a system whereby we were able to … we know that these children are a little bit different, and so we have to ensure that we organise our engagement a little differently.”
To illustrate her point, she led the group in a simple jigsaw puzzle activity that demonstrated how students thrive through collaboration, problem-solving and the use of digital tools.
“Notice, if you give a child a device, they find a game. They need no instruction. They are able to just jump in and really engage. We, on the other hand, want to know what the instructions are, what the end game is. But, when we approach our children, we have to understand that we’re catering to them, not us,” she said.
Pinnock also highlighted persistent gaps in student performance, pointing to 2024 Grade Four assessment results in St James. While literacy levels are improving, numeracy continues to lag.
In East Central St James, 646 students were assessed; Central St James, 743; West Central, 232; St James North western, 271; and Southern St James, 409.
“Language arts are doing a little better than math. And, for me personally, I believe that, really and truly, that is because of how we approach math,” she said.
Even where schools are meeting national literacy goals, she noted, more attention is needed across all constituencies.
“In St James, we are meeting the national goals in language arts overall, but we are having some issues in Southern St James, East Central, Central, West Central, and Northwestern. In other words, we’re having issues everywhere, because we want everybody to make a proficient, or even highly proficient, mark,” she explained.
Pinnock stressed that education goes beyond content.
“Education is not just about content. Education is a lot more. It’s not just cognition. We’re talking about some attitudes, we’re talking about some values, we’re talking about some skills,” she said, urging educators and volunteers to help nurture critical thinking, creativity and independent learning.
She also encouraged the use of free digital platforms such as Book Fusion, Toy Theatre and the Read Along app, which enable parents and students to engage interactively, even when parents cannot read.
“Even a parent who is not able to read is still able to engage their child,” she said. “We can really get our children to become lifelong learners. We want to be able to get our learners to be independent learners. And, of course, creativity, critical thinking, and we must ensure that, whatever we do, we are engaging our learners.”