As we begin a new academic year, parents were busy
getting things for their children for back to school. There was be a rush for
books, pencils, uniforms, shoes etc. Parents have to get all the necessities in
this tough economic time. I can imagine that there were very tight budgets
and parents were seeking to cut down on costs by whatever means necessarily. It
is against this background that I want to bring our attention to the Education
Minister’s master book list.
This book list was created on the premise that parents are
complaining that they are spending so much money buying books that are never
used. But we educators, though we understand the tough economic times we live
in, I must say that the minister’s master book list is impractical. I wrote an
article in this blog supporting the Minister and one of my colleagues read it
and shared that she disagrees. Consequently, I asked her to justify her
disagreement and she brought to my attention something most persons are
oblivious about.
My colleague has been teaching for quite a few years, and
she expressed that books that will work for students at Campion College, will
not necessarily work for students at Bustamante High School. This is solely
based on the differences in cognitive levels of students that attend both
schools. As such, the books that are used at various schools have to be
carefully selected, depending on careful examination of various factors.
Dr. Dick, a Gleaner columnist, stated that, “Obviously, some
persons will make the judgement call of what is the appropriate textbook and it
cannot be each teacher at each school selecting the textbook. Concerning the
prescribed texts, it could be that a group of experts should make the decision
and all schools, and ultimately all students, use the same texts. In other
words, all the Jamaican children should benefit from a similar education no
matter which high school the person attends.”
I am a student at Church Teachers’ College going into third
year few weeks from now, and, I have done many theories in learning. I am not
sure as to what area Dr. Dick did his PH.D in, but if he had been to Teachers’
College, he would have known why the aforementioned perspective is impractical.
In second year, I did a course titled ‘Literacy Across the Curriculum’. In that
course, one learnt about readability of text and readability levels of
students. There are three readability levels, instructional, frustration and
independent. As such, it is the teacher’s responsibility to evaluate the
readability of the text, and therefore determine if the text is appropriate as
it relates to the readability levels of students.
This type of evaluation cannot be done by a ‘group of
experts.’ Though they might be able to determine the readability of the text,
it is not possible to determine the readability levels of students, bearing in
mind that the readability of students varies according to schools, class and
grade. Therefore, not all students can use the ‘same text.’ So, with this in
mind, it has to be each teacher at each school selecting the textbook. I
understand the background of which the minister decides to create the master
book list, but the minister cannot do such being ignorant of fundamental principles
in teaching and learning.
Kenroy Davis is a commentator on social issues with a special focus on those relating to education. Email feedback to: kenroy.davis20@gmail.com
