Education in Focus – Part II The Innovator’s Dilemma

By:  Delene Bharat


The landscape that is ‘Secondary Education in most Caribbean islands offers a potent microcosmic vision that mirrors the society at large. It is here that governmental influence, enactment of policy, administrative capability; effective pedagogy and most importantly, youth development manifest their successes. Education systems are not only charged with fostering or instilling knowledge but also bear the responsibility helping an individual to become a productive member of society.

At present, Trinidad and Tobago faces an ongoing heated social debate in relation to issues surrounding ‘indiscipline’ and ‘misconduct’ amongst its adolescents. The blurred lines as to what is acceptable in terms of disciplinary action vary when one’s role is that of parent as opposed to a school teacher or other authority figure. When we speak of education in our present day Caribbean context, we allude to a quality that transcends intellectual, moral and social instruction. The school system is at the heart of the matter as it has become increasingly apparent that not only is its primary function that of producing certification and academic qualifications failing, but also its ability to effect positive development in the personality of youths.

What have emerged are a growing sense of disillusionment and a lack of basic respect amongst a vast majority of adolescents towards any commitment to academic success and far less towards adhering to rules. It is difficult to offer a single diagnosis of the problem that plagues the education sector. However, it is not coincidental that any society that experiences an unbalanced or rocky era in its leadership will portray an equally unsettling upheaval amongst its youngest members. What the country as well as many other islands lack, is a cohesive and grounded vision of success. This vision would do well to clarify the highest potential of each social institution and thereby foster inspiration amongst its youth.

In a recent interview with the teaching service commission of Trinidad and Tobago I was asked by one interviewer what I believed I could bring to the table as a new teacher that no other person in my field could offer. Or, in other words, how could I singlehandedly make any positive impact in the lives of the students I would meet or the schools that I would be employed by. The question called for a deep search into one’s resources of innovation and creativity as it was clear that the well experienced interviewers were equipped to refute any generic or lackluster theoretical answer that could be uttered. In this context and in our society at large, there is an unspoken understanding that the issues surrounding the treatment of indiscipline and student de-motivation cannot be tackled by a textbook type approach. Each individual student is a unique story in and of him/herself.

In a newspaper interview, a spokesperson for the Adult Literacy Tutors Association of Trinidad and Tobago (ALTA) commented that the organization’s classroom experience is “very different to school”, adding that they have “created an environment of mutual respect and nurturing of the spirit”. What then makes our public schools unworthy or incapable of providing this same measure of service?

Teachers at every level contend with a basic problem of large student numbers per classroom, students who vary in socioeconomic status, gender, motivation, personal interests, ability/disability and more. For decades the debate about differentiated instruction and assessment has attempted to address how all students in a classroom can learn effectively regardless of the differences in their learning ability or other personal situation. The theories are there, the studies on effective pedagogy are all there, however, issues such as these remain an uphill climb for educators and parents alike. Perhaps it is time that programmes to provide psychological counseling and mentoring camps during vacation time be made compulsory for all students and not a select few that appear to exhibit severe signs of delinquency. What is certain is that students at the Secondary School level need a deeply focused and united effort to be forged in the tackling of the issues that are intrinsic to their age group.

The Secondary School environment of present day Caribbean societies plays a crucial role in shaping the future successes of individual nations at every level. Each citizen and institution, the communications media, the school and the family all hold a responsibility to become innovators in their own right and to articulate a vision of positivity for young persons.

As we continue to argue our stance on societal issues like crime, juvenile delinquency, gender inequality, child abuse, sexual education in the classroom and so on, we must be mindful that concerted action is a prerequisite for meaningful change. The time to transcend theory into action, in the Education Sector has never been more urgent than the present.