The Tribune

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

LAST week saw the return of students to face-to-face learning, and while there remain concerns about whether that will lead to greater spread of COVID-19, it was heartwarming to see children getting back to some form of normality.

Too many will have fallen behind during remote learning, whether through difficulty accessing the education platform, or simply struggling without a more direct involvement.

Ahead of the return, Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin laid out the importance of getting back to school, saying: “Our children must be all that they can be. This is not about me. This is about the children. This is about the next generation. I know that many parents are anxious and even worried about what the future holds for their children. We must partner to ensure that your children are given the best opportunity possible. We pledge to do all that we can to achieve positive and even outstanding results for your children.”

Getting back to normal also brought another return – disputes between the government and teachers.

That disruption seems to be a regular feature of any return to school, but not without good reason. For example, at TA Thompson School, teachers staged a sit-in due to the inadequate conditions there. Those are conditions that affect the teachers, the staff and the students too – and given we are now at the end of January, goodness knows what the state of the school would have been back in September when children would have been returning in a world without a pandemic.

Reportedly, the main teaching block at TA Thompson could not be used, forcing staff to work from another block on the campus – which only had one working bathroom for 200 students, and where some classrooms did not have proper ventilation. These things shouldn’t be happening at the best of times, let alone this far into a school year.

There is a good part of this conflict, however – and that each side is pushing for an outcome that will benefit students. This isn’t just about pay and promotions – though that can often be a feature in such disputes – but about the environment our children have for their education. Improving that can only help them. So when Mrs Hanna Martin talks of the need to partner, doing the same with teachers can improve matters all around.

The past week saw another moment we should reflect on when it comes to education in The Bahamas – the death on Friday of the Rev Charles W Saunders at the age of 91.

Some of the children returning to school will have done so at the school named after him for his efforts in improving education in the country.

Seeing a need to extend secondary education for all young people in The Bahamas regardless of social class or colour, he was the first president of the Bahamas Baptist College when it was formed in 1988.

Its doors were opened on October 3 of that year, with 75 students under his leadership. Later, in 1992, came the primary school on the same campus, then later again Rev Saunders saw the need to form a tertiary level institution, the Bahamas Baptist Community College - with the high school being renamed in his honour.

Our education system does need improvement, absolutely. We should always have a restless need to improve and do better – and we should do so inspired by the likes of Rev Saunders, reaching out to all our children and not simply favouring those who are advantaged economically, through class or through colour of their skin.

We may offer criticism of aspects of our education system – but we should also see the achievements that have been secured, and celebrate those who have emerged from our education system to become leading lights in their profession.

There are those such as Nicolette Bethel, one of our foremost scholars and now a lecturer in social studies at the University of The Bahamas. There are people such as Dr Ian Strachan, a prominent candidate to become the next president of the university. There are artists and journalists, scholars and teachers, there is even Dr Patrice Pinder who went from being taught at CI Gibson Secondary School to working with NASA on a programme to bring a love of science to the next generation.

We don’t need to look far – we have role models all around us, people who have been through the Bahamian education system and are now leaders in the community, in business and beyond.

As Dr Pinder said last year: “Those of us with world-class expertise can only help The Bahamas”.

As tributes are paid to Rev Saunders this week, the example he showed is that things can improve if we put in the effort. He didn’t get there alone – he got there with the help of those around him. That same kind of partnership – involving teachers, parents, officials and our brightest and best – can help to improve things again.

It’s easy to say we need to do better – but we have made things better in the past, so we know it can be done. We need to live up to the achievements of those who have gone before us to give the best opportunity to those who will come after us. It’s our turn to carry the baton, and let us make sure, with Rev Saunders as our inspiration, that we do so for the benefit of all of our children.

Too many will have fallen behind during remote learning, whether through difficulty accessing the education platform, or simply struggling without a more direct involvement.

Ahead of the return, Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin laid out the importance of getting back to school, saying: “Our children must be all that they can be. This is not about me. This is about the children. This is about the next generation. I know that many parents are anxious and even worried about what the future holds for their children. We must partner to ensure that your children are given the best opportunity possible. We pledge to do all that we can to achieve positive and even outstanding results for your children.”

Getting back to normal also brought another return – disputes between the government and teachers.

That disruption seems to be a regular feature of any return to school, but not without good reason. For example, at TA Thompson School, teachers staged a sit-in due to the inadequate conditions there. Those are conditions that affect the teachers, the staff and the students too – and given we are now at the end of January, goodness knows what the state of the school would have been back in September when children would have been returning in a world without a pandemic.

Reportedly, the main teaching block at TA Thompson could not be used, forcing staff to work from another block on the campus – which only had one working bathroom for 200 students, and where some classrooms did not have proper ventilation. These things shouldn’t be happening at the best of times, let alone this far into a school year.

There is a good part of this conflict, however – and that each side is pushing for an outcome that will benefit students. This isn’t just about pay and promotions – though that can often be a feature in such disputes – but about the environment our children have for their education. Improving that can only help them. So when Mrs Hanna Martin talks of the need to partner, doing the same with teachers can improve matters all around.

The past week saw another moment we should reflect on when it comes to education in The Bahamas – the death on Friday of the Rev Charles W Saunders at the age of 91.

Some of the children returning to school will have done so at the school named after him for his efforts in improving education in the country.

Seeing a need to extend secondary education for all young people in The Bahamas regardless of social class or colour, he was the first president of the Bahamas Baptist College when it was formed in 1988.

Its doors were opened on October 3 of that year, with 75 students under his leadership. Later, in 1992, came the primary school on the same campus, then later again Rev Saunders saw the need to form a tertiary level institution, the Bahamas Baptist Community College - with the high school being renamed in his honour.

Our education system does need improvement, absolutely. We should always have a restless need to improve and do better – and we should do so inspired by the likes of Rev Saunders, reaching out to all our children and not simply favouring those who are advantaged economically, through class or through colour of their skin.

We may offer criticism of aspects of our education system – but we should also see the achievements that have been secured, and celebrate those who have emerged from our education system to become leading lights in their profession.

There are those such as Nicolette Bethel, one of our foremost scholars and now a lecturer in social studies at the University of The Bahamas. There are people such as Dr Ian Strachan, a prominent candidate to become the next president of the university. There are artists and journalists, scholars and teachers, there is even Dr Patrice Pinder who went from being taught at CI Gibson Secondary School to working with NASA on a programme to bring a love of science to the next generation.

We don’t need to look far – we have role models all around us, people who have been through the Bahamian education system and are now leaders in the community, in business and beyond.

As Dr Pinder said last year: “Those of us with world-class expertise can only help The Bahamas”.

As tributes are paid to Rev Saunders this week, the example he showed is that things can improve if we put in the effort. He didn’t get there alone – he got there with the help of those around him. That same kind of partnership – involving teachers, parents, officials and our brightest and best – can help to improve things again.

It’s easy to say we need to do better – but we have made things better in the past, so we know it can be done. We need to live up to the achievements of those who have gone before us to give the best opportunity to those who will come after us. It’s our turn to carry the baton, and let us make sure, with Rev Saunders as our inspiration, that we do so for the benefit of all of our children.