THE EDITOR, Sir:
A lot has been said about the current state of our education system recently. While the system is flawed and does not in most cases allow students to optimise their potentials, I think that focus in the current debate, is to a large extent on the outcome and not the process.
From my observations, the sorry state of students' achievement in Jamaica is due more to the conditions of students' lives outside of school than it is to what takes place at school.
The truth is, outside of school, a large number of students are not living in an environment which is conducive to learning. The fundamental crisis in morals, values and family structure is a major contributing factor. Today's high illegitimacy rate cannot be blamed on slavery. A generation ago there was marginally a lower percentage of out of wedlock births than currently obtains. Single parenting and particularly the lack of involved fathers represents a more pressing threat to educational progress than is being recognised. Our progress as a nation is a function of our progress in education.
FAMILY BREAKDOWN
Widespread family breakdown, families not forming in the first place and unplanned parenthood, have isolated pathogens that are an integral part of today's urban landscape. The high crime rates, and the atmosphere of violence in areas where young men are raised without fathers and oftentimes incompetent mothers, have promoted cultural values based on violence, predatory sex and instant gratification. With the influence of the drug barons, dancehall DJs and area dons, those values are the dominant male adolescent values of many urban and sub-urban communities. This has also spread to some middle class communities. A situation now prevails where a large number of parents, inclusive of all classes, are essentially "disengaged" from educating, socialising and disciplining their children.
PRIVATE PREPARATORY SCHOOLS
What parents have sought is to enrol their children in private preparatory schools with the hope that the teachers will be able to somehow make some magical transformation. It's interesting to note that the fees at these schools are in some cases greater than tertiary institution fees.
Parents must play a greater role in the education of their children. It is the parents who must take the lead role and provide a catalytic transformation in students' attitude of learning. In my view, one of the failures of the education authorities in their attempts to reverse the decline in student achievement rests in their failure to grasp a full appreciation of the dynamics of out of school activities and their impact on what happens in the classrooms. As a result the emphasis is on reforming schools, changing names from Comprehensive High School to High School, while disregarding the contributing force of activities outside of school, which are probably more influential.
I am, etc.,
MAURICE W. DRYSDALE
St. Thomas
