Stephen VasciannieTHERE IS a certain predictability about back-to-school time. The Ministry of Education will issue a statement to the effect that most schools are ready to proceed. Some schools will indicate that promises to repair plumbing and other facilities have not been met. The president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association will highlight a number of problems that gain national attention. And almost everyone will point out that violence in schools is a reflection of the broader state of national incorrigibility.
Some parents will join the fray, complaining about the cost of books, or about the fact that some books are unavailable. Children, upon return to school in the first week of September, will be asked to write compositions about 'How I spent my summer holidays'. Sales of bun and cheese and other snacks, new shoes, khaki clothes, blue tunics and related items will rise, but not much will be made of this increase in commercial activity. Many primary school teachers will intone, "This is the worst class I have ever had." Grandparents will express regret at the passing of 'asham' as a dietary treat.
The fact that back-to-school matters are part of annual cycle should not, however prompt us to adopt a superior air of familiarity. Many of the problems in the educational sector are real, even though they have been with us for a long time, and although many have made academic progress against the odds, we should all be keen to identify methods of solving our perennial difficulties.
BOOK PRICES
Take the matter of books and book prices. A recent report in the media indicated that Isaac Dookhan's A Post-Emanci-pation History of the West Indies was being sold for something in the region of $450 in one week, but that, one week later, the price had escalated to over $800. As always, price inflation makes us feel old. My copy of Dookhan's Post-Emancipation History of the West Indies book still carries the price of $2.60, pencilled in about 25 years ago. It is not as dog-eared as my copy of The Making of the West Indies by Augier et al, or as well-used as the second-hand copy of Douglas Hall's Free Jamaica which I purchased from Donovan Belnavis's big sister in 1976 for less than $3, I note in passing.
BOOK DEPRIVATION
When books are priced beyond the reach of most parents, this has the immediate effect of placing poorer students at a disadvantage in the quest for a sound education. In the short run, the student is de-prived of access to items of information that may be essential to the particular syllabus being followed.
More significantly, in the long run, the student who has generally worked without ready access to books may not develop the habit of independently pursuing issues and ideas. That student will tend to watch the teacher's lips for falling pearls of wisdom, but may be flustered by the thought of sitting behind a book for hours on end; that student will not know what it means to be engaged by, but willing to challenge, the perspective of the writer.
In short, the book-deprived student may not properly develop his or her capacity for critical thinking, and may not fully understand how others have developed this capacity. I can still see Professor Al Francis reminding us that the answers for some of his econometrics problems would be discerned only by students prepared to read Johnstone's text; to make progress we would have to 'read the book'.
Generally, this should be old hat to anyone who has passed through the gates of a good primary school. I am increasingly coming to the view, however, that book-deprivation is probably one of the key factors in explaining our lacklustre performance in public examinations.
ADVANCED LEVEL
In my experience, the point in one's school career in Jamaica when the habit of independent reading and analysis becomes most important is at the Advanced Level stage (A' Levels or 'CAPE'). Prior to that, the student who has developed the reading habit will obviously have an advantage over others; but, in our current structure of examinations, a good teacher with a keen eye on the syllabus, should be able to bring home most students in the CXC (CSec) largely without requiring students to undertake 'tons' of independent reading.
At the Advanced Level stage, however, this is not likely to happen. At this stage the level designed mainly to identify students ready for university work the teacher can be a guide, but independent thought assumes prominence in most subjects. Admittedly, at a few schools, excellent teaching still makes a critical difference even at the A' level stage, but an indispensable component of this excellent teaching must be the inculcation of the value of private reading and analysis by students.
In some places, this is not fully realised, and the result is that, almost every year, the gnashing of teeth by A' level students is a part of the pattern of predictability that begins in the first week of September.
Stephen Vasciannie is Professor of International Law and Head of the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies, Mona, and consultant in the Attorney-General's chambers.
