Omicron and the Opening of Schools
The omicron variant of the Corona virus is spreading across the globe like wild fire. However, up to this point we have not heard from the health authorities whether this new and virulent variant has been discovered in SVG. Given what is currently known about Omicron, it is safe to assume that it is already here and we should act accordingly.
My major concern is the anticipated spike in cases and what it might mean for the resumption of school in a face-to-face setting. Online education has been a failure for many despite the sterling efforts made by students, teachers, parents and the authorities. For me, a return to online school is utterly and completely out of the question. Therefore, we must learn to live, work and play with the virus even as Omicron rages.
I listen to the experts. In so doing, I learn a lot. For instance, despite the virulence of variants such as Omicron, the world is much better armed to put up a fight against the pandemic than we were in the early months of its emergence. The public health protocols, the emerging therapeutics and, yes, the vaccines have all put us in a position to effectively combat and defeat Omicron. However, to arrive at this point, it requires global solidarity, national unity and personal responsibility.
As long as we are prepared to do what is required, face-to-face school can and must resume indefinitely. To do so safely and thus minimize outbreaks of Omicron, all concerned must adhere to the following:
1. Regular sanitization of hands and surfaces;
2. Wearing masks in the appropriate settings.
3. Observing social distancing as far as practicable;
4. Conducting regular testing for COVID-19 among all school personnel; and
5. Vaccinating ALL who are eligible including students.
The pandemic forced us to make some serious adjustments to life and work. Some of them made sense, others have turned out to be nonsensical. Online school was nonsensical. Even as Omicron rages, keep our school doors open. Let’s beat the pandemic by following the science.
What’s up with these school fees?
Is it possible to have the shadow person in the Opposition ask the Minister of Education at the next sitting of Parliament about these registration and other fees such as PTA fee, student data system fee, security fee (imagine that) etc which public and assisted secondary schools are charging pupils in SVG?
It appears according to The Education Act Cap 202 of the Revised Laws of St Vincent and the Grenadines 2009, Act no 34 of 2006 that as per Section 16 some of these fees are illegal. The Education Act makes it clear that any costs for “specialised services” and “other items” charged to students “MUST” be specified by the Minister of Education and Gazetted.
We need to know if these specialised and other fees these schools are charging are approved by the Minister and Gazetted. I propose (subject to correction) that they aren’t as empirical evidence suggests that.
If the school is sourcing ties and PE shirts etc for pupils to use it is fine for the school to pass these costs, without profit, onto students as parents would have had to buy them from private entities anyway but all operational costs charged are illegal if not gazetted.
We need an answer to this question or we may have to sort it via the courts namely – Jane Doe – V – XYZ School, The Minister of Education, The Chief Education Officer and The Attorney General.
Thank you.
Guevara Leacock
Ranting English Teacher
We could have extended the school year, made a national decision to delay CSEC until next year. We could have but we didn’t. Why? Ask the brilliant minds at the Ministry of Education.
A few years ago a gentleman at a business place asked me, how could students get Grade 1s for English but be unable to speak Standard English. I said, “That’s easy!” I explained to him that English teachers are told to concentrate on content. At times we are allowed to subtract marks for grammar, spelling etc. but that’s an everyday cuss out now. I no longer take away points for poorly written short answer responses. I used to paint books red, point out every error, and make suggestions. It’s the way my teacher’s did it. I wasn’t traumatized. Now? I do things the ‘modern way’. English teachers should not upset students by highlighting all errors, it’s intimidating. So it becomes hard to remember which error you focused on last time and at times children would say, “But Miss I wrote that before.” I would then smile and put it down as human error and reinforce the correction.
Some children don’t read, and many can’t read… so English and ‘notes subject suffer’.
Anyways I am digressing.
Our Fifth Form students are going to come back with lots of Grade 1s. They are going in with passing SBAs and will only do a multiple choice. Every year I have a Form 5 class I relax a bit once all students start scoring 45/60 or above. The lowest should be 40/60. Right now English teachers are simply drilling rules and giving practice. We have stopped focusing on writing exhausting pieces. No one wants to be the teacher who did not give enough practice questions. You see CSEC brings back the same multiple choice questions year after year. The more past papers we hunt down the more likely it is for our students to ace the multiple choice.
I am writing all this to say the next few years when these children from last year and this year go off to colleges, universities and or start working it is all going to be interesting… but who cares.
Our education system was a mess before COVID-19 and the lack of foresight and interest at the Ministry of Education has only made things worse.
Not sure if this makes sense to you… Sometimes my finger is faster than my mind…
Adriana King
Dismiss teachers who refuse to vaccinate!
A concerned colleague messaged me with this question, “Persons are saying we will be dismissed if we don’t vaccinate, is this true?” Without hesitation, I responded with these words:
“That is absolutely NOT true. While the Ministry is encouraging teachers to be vaccinated, they are also quick to point out that it is not mandatory. Further, there is nothing in law or applicable regulations which states that failure to vaccinate is among grounds for dismissal. That would be discriminatory and unconstitutional. I have taken the first dose of the vaccine, NOT because I was forced to, but because, I believe in the efficacy of vaccines in general. I suggest that you inform yourself and make your choice accordingly.”
My colleague’s anxiety is just a reflection of the chaos, confusion and concerns engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation has become even more intense as the authorities promote vaccination for all eligible groups including teachers. Thanks to the virulence of the anti-vax movement, vaccine hesitance stands as a potentially insurmountable obstacle in the way of getting all teachers vaccinated.
The Ministry of Education is strongly encouraging all teachers to become vaccinated. Thus, they have joined with the Ministry of Health to undertake a series of consultations aimed at educating teachers about the process. Despite these efforts, a significant number of teachers continue to show hesitancy and even express outright rejection of vaccines and the vaccination initiatives on which the authorities have embarked. In the face of such opposition from teachers, how should the Ministry of Education respond?
According to Permanent Secretary Myccle Burke, “The primary concern of the Ministry of Education is for students and teachers to operate in a conducive environment, where all students are able to experience the benefits of quality education.” This is definitely not the case as hoped for through online teaching and learning. There have been significant deficiencies in the provision of “quality education” since the suspension of face to face instruction. Online engagement, despite all of its promises, can be termed as a failure in many respects. Hence, the cries for a “return to school” have reached crescendo levels in some quarters and the authorities are listening.
So, face to face classes are tentatively set to resume on April 12, 2021. And, as the Ministry has pointed out, this will be done with a “focus on health and safety”. Along with the already established COVID-19 protocols, vaccination has been adopted as one of the weapons in the fight against the pandemic. Accordingly, the Ministry of Health is set to “deploy teams to all schools to facilitate the vaccination of teachers”.
The Ministry of Education has since issued a memo which states that: “All teachers are encouraged to vaccinate in an effort to mitigate against the pandemic.” Now, the question is: What should the authorities do about teachers who refuse to vaccinate? Should they be threatened with dismissal? I cannot speak for the authorities. But, let me restate, in part, my response to my anxious colleague:
“…there is nothing in law or applicable regulations which states that failure to vaccinate is among grounds for dismissal. That would be discriminatory and unconstitutional. I have taken the first dose of the vaccine, NOT because I was forced to, but because, I believe in the efficacy of vaccines in general. I suggest that you inform yourself and make your choice accordingly.”
Teachers, don’t procrastinate, vaccinate!
Philbert J A John
March 13, 2021
Catching a Fowl Cock for the Old Year’s Night Cook
So, I gave an acquaintance a ride on my way to work this morning. It turned out that she was headed to the supermarket to pick up a few things in preparation for Old Year’s Night. I was curious so I inquired. Didn’t she buy enough for the season? During the conversation my passenger let out that she was really looking for a “whole fowl” to cook on Old Year’s Night. It was then I realized how far we have come as a society. Back in my days as a child, finding a fowl to cook on Old Year’s night was significantly more challenging and more fun than it is today!
Back in those days, every yard was populated with any number of uncaged chickens at varying stages of development. These chickens, or “yard fowls” were a popular source of protein derived from the eggs and the meat. Finding the eggs was easy since the laying hen tended to announce their arrival with long, loud and annoying cackling. After that, it was just a matter of picking up the eggs. However, turning these yard fowls into meat was a bit more challenging. Thus, strategies had to be devised and deployed to capture that chosen fowl which, in most cases, tended to be a cock. I vividly recall five of those strategies. I now take the time to share them with you.
1. Drunk the Fowl: This required summoning the fowls in the yard to be fed. Once gathered, their favourite food soaked in strong rum was tossed out. The food was then eagerly eaten by the fowls so gathered. In a few minutes they fell to the ground in a drunken stupor. The chosen cock was then picked up to be turned into meat. This strategy was effective but wasteful. First, it was expensive. No one wanted to use up their rum in that fashion. Second, there was no guarantee that the remaining fowls would recover from the involuntary inebriation. And third, the chosen cock was often smart enough to avoid that party. I don’t think I could recall that strategy ever being put to use in my household.
2. Feed and Snatch: As with the first strategy, the fowls were summoned under the impression that they were about to be fed. As they crowded around the food, someone sneaked up and grabbed the selected cock by the feet. It was quite an effective strategy that required stealth, agility and dexterity to make it work. The problem was, these skills were often absent or deficient at best. And, as with the first strategy, the chosen cock often found a way to avoid the gathering.
3. Chase and Stone: The chosen cock was chased all through the neighbourhood while being pelted with good size stones. The thing was, it often took much more than one stone to disable the cock after several misses! Later, as said cock is stripped, one encountered fractured bones, lacerations and bloodshot marks all over the meat. For us as kids, the chase was fun! As I reflect now, however, it was truly a cruel way to catch a fowl cock.
4. Canine Assisted Capture: Every yard had a dog. With or without invitation, this dog was often willing to assist in the hunt and capture of the designated cock. The main advantage of being assisted by the dog was its ability to sniff out the cock from its hiding place. Sometimes though, the hunt ended in disaster. It was either the dog did not want to hand over the fowl, or worse yet, all that remained were blood and feathers by the time you caught up with dog and prey. One had to be very cautious when employing canine assistance in apprehending the chosen cock.
5. Chase and Pick Up: This involved chasing the fowl cock all through the neighbourhood. The objective was to run it out of breath. No matter where it went, we followed. Up the road; down the road; across the field; behind the latrine; on top the pig pen; wherever, we kept following. Eventually, the cock was completely out of breath. As a result, it sat motionless, unable to move. At this stage, we just walked up to this wayward fowl and simply picked it up. Although it called for persistence, speed and stamina it was definitely my favourite strategy. And, compared to strategies three and four, it was not painful to the cock.
We have come a long way! I doubt very much that anyone has to put in this amount of time and effort in procuring a fowl cock to cook on Old Year’s Night. Frozen dead cocks are available in abundance. Just do like my passenger and go to the supermarket. It’s easy, convenient and safe. But, is it fun? You tell me!
A Happy and prosperous 2020 to you and yours!
SchoolTalk 