The Tribune

By Ian Ferguson

It’s Back to School week, and students, parents, teachers and school officials have made the necessary preparations for a successful year. Classrooms are ready, goals have been created, uniforms have been purchased, books have been bought and the curriculum has been set. There exists in most homes an excitement, a freshness that comes as a result of the new school term, with the hope of great accomplishments.

Surely you have seen the commercial activity surrounding the start of the school year. Large numbers of businesses have capitalised on parents and teachers’ huge appetite for things new. Yet still in the midst of all this preparation, there exists a cry from the business community claiming that the results of our labour in readying students falls short of their expectations. Most business owners agree that there is a steady decline in the level and calibre of students leaving our system on a yearly basis. More is spent and invested on school preparation each year, yet the gap between industry’s expectations and what schools produce seems to be widening.

Research has indicated that positive reinforcement, and students rewards, are one of the most powerful tools in producing great students who are able to make meaningful contributions to society. Parents must learn to give praise, teachers are trained to give praise, and our community must also join in affirming students’ success. This community includes our business community.

There are any number of local businesses that have moved out of the complaining corner and have aggressively begun to support education and training efforts. While these efforts are regarded as long-term ones, companies must look to the future in their support of child and youth development. Here are a few examples of corporate social responsibility at work in the support of educational achievement:

* Support the A’s: Some companies have begun to celebrate the success of their employees’ children by giving monetary rewards for every A (or in some cases, B) at the end of the school term. This simple gesture goes a long way in motivating the parents to get involved in the student’s life as well as promoting success among children.

“Donating furniture and computers to schools and community educational centres: Companies are oftentimes so focused on the bottom line they try to get a few dollars from used but otherwise good systems, when much greater value could be gained in giving these learning tools to young people. In this simple act, children get the opportunity to use business instruments vital for a more smooth transition into the workforce.

“Teacher discounts and teacher’s appreciation days: Educators need motivation, too. We must seize every opportunity we get to honour teachers who make a difference. The business community must join in and play an important role. We have clich�d the term: ‘Teachers shape lives’. We must encourage teachers to take their role more seriously in shaping our business community’s future and the future of our nation. Celebrating excellence in education wherever it exists is one critical step every company must explore this year.

Remember, an educated workforce is a productive workforce. The greater our success in education, the greater our success in business!

• NB: Ian R. Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having worked in both the public and private sector locally and regionally providing interventions and solutions for promoting business and service excellence. He was educated at the College of the Bahamas, the University of the West Indies, St. Johns University and holds a Masters of Science Degree from the University of Miami.