Is the Caribbean Education System Dumbing Down Kids?

As the new school year begins in many Caribbean territories today, blogger Guyana-Gyal, who writes in local parlance, questions the new direction education is taking throughout the region. From the practice of making children tote heavy backpacks instead of simply asking them to bring to class only the books they will be using, to the popular trend of “extra lessons” and increased amounts of homework, the blogger challenges the concept that greater testing results in smarter children:

Why aren't children allowed to play during school-term while they're studying? Why can they play only during the holidays? What kinda ignorant parents they breeding now […] They never hear that play is one of the most important ways to discover? To learn? To think? […]

And! Passing so many exams gon prove what? That they can sweat the books really well…and…what else? It gon make them more articulate, wiser, more creative, inventive, more thinking, more analytic? Really?

2 comments

  • PESEDE

    In my view it s important for young children, especially in primary or elimentary school to focus on discovering and acting instead of only learning for tests…Grade systems make them feel to learn for the results instead of the interests…one might ask whatfor we want children to go to school? Additionaly creative ideas get destroyed when you only have to look in the heavy books instead of searching for own ideas via emotions, games etc…
    One might think punishment in form of extra-lessons might lead to discipline of the children but it does only in school while experiencing emotions and talking bout it without punishment leads to unforgettable moments that can help the children in any situation of life later I suppose!

  • sohle183057@mail.ru

    You are now at the
    forefront of another academic milestone as you plan to pursue advanced
    studies. Whether you intend to pursue graduate studies in a local school or
    abroad, you will have to undergo a rigid admission process, which will
    require you to submit various application documents, foremost of which is the
    Personal Statement.

Join the conversation

Authors, please log in »

Guidelines

  • All comments are reviewed by a moderator. Do not submit your comment more than once or it may be identified as spam.
  • Please treat others with respect. Comments containing hate speech, obscenity, and personal attacks will not be approved.