School labs struggling to recover while students adapt

WESTERN BUREAU:

Several high schools in western Jamaica are still working to restore their hurricane-ravaged laboratories, some of which were completely destroyed and lost valuable equipment last October.

Muschett High School in Trelawny has its clothing and textile, and electrical science labs flooded and extensively damaged during the hurricane. Its motor vehicle was also badly damaged. The school’s metalwork, plumbing, and home economic labs are still undergoing renovation.

Patricia Gilling-Smith, head of the Industrial Arts Department, told The Gleaner that several books and tools in the affected labs suffered irreparable water damage, noting that this impacted the performance of her students.

“The books were damaged because they got caked together, and some of the tools are damaged. What I have done now is I’m mostly teaching theory and doing some revision for the students to recap, and I try to use different strategies in getting teaching and learning back to standard,” she said.

“The students’ grades have dropped, as their averages are lower compared to last year. Facing this situation at the school, as well as at home, has had a greater impact on their learning experience,” Gilling-Smith added.

At Herbert Morrison Technical High in St James, the school’s home economics lab was damaged by floodwaters from Melissa, while the industrial arts classroom and the electrical science room also suffered damage. The technical drawing room had to be transformed into a regular classroom space for the students, as 13 of the regular classrooms were badly damaged.

Nicola Watson-Morris, head of the Visual Arts and Music Department, told The Gleaner that several of her students’ school-based assessments (SBAs) for May/June exams hosted by the Caribbean Examinations Council and crucial tools, including a potter’s wheel, were damaged or lost due to floodwaters from Melissa. Despite this, however, she said her students were able to bounce back and score high marks.

“We had to start rebuilding resources, doing a lot more hands-on work and asking the students to search for information online. I am proud to say that we got 100 per cent passes in Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations in advanced art, both for Units One and Two,” said Watson-Morris. “It was very difficult at times because some of the students were displaced, but we worked together and even the slowest child did not fail the exam.”

Tevel Richards, a grade-12 student at Herbert Morrison and one of the school’s top CSEC performers, said that despite the loss of several critical tools from the school’s labs, he managed to complete his SBA in mechanical technology.

“It was a bit difficult for me because part of our SBAs in mechanical technology required us to do machining, and that required a few tools that we lost in Melissa. My parents supported me by providing some of the tools that I would need to complete my SBA, and I provided those tools to my classmates in order to help them complete their SBAs as well,” Richards said.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com