COMMENTARY: When stone masons were architects, artists engineers and poets politicians

When stone masons were architects, artists engineers and poets politicians.

A recent comment on Dominica News on Line posed the question: are we becoming an Academic Elitist Society. I share the writer’s concern for in my experience we loose rather than gain from an overload of academic qualifications and specialization.

As we haven’t yet quite reached the dubious distinction of a “graduate in every home” and as 15% of West Indians are – like me – dyslexic, my own slant on the academic vs the practical may be relevant. Academic qualifications have a place in the overall scheme of things. We do need highly qualified doctors, lawyers and accountants. But at the same time we need skilled artisans and the current imbalance may be one reason why we are not moving forward as we should.

Whereas it is the norm for academic subjects to be encouraged from a very early age, skills, with the exception of sports, receive virtually no attention at all. The artisan relies on the coordination between hand and eye and for this to develop it must be practiced from an early age.

Five hundred years ago, at the age of twelve, Michelangelo was considered too old to begin learning the trade of a sculptor. Leonardo da Vinci served his apprenticeship as a painter and had no formal schooling in architecture, science and engineering. Thomas Telford, the godfather of civil engineering, was raised in poverty and at the age of thirteen began his apprenticeship as a stone mason. Andrew Marvell, the most lyrical of all 17th century poets, was a politician.

Our means of recognizing and measuring intelligence is flawed. Examinations cannot measure creativity and innovative thinking. Such attributes are not on the set answer sheet. Neither can they measure manual dexterity. The skilled carpenter’s eye is his gauge to measure beauty by.

One Dominican that I would rank in the realms of genius did poorly at school and you won’t find him behind an office desk or sat on a committee. Yet companies and government departments with a score of graduates on their pay roll depend on his knowledge and skills when their equipment breaks down.

Sixty-five years ago I failed miserably the Eleven Plus – the UK forerunner of our Common Entrance Examination. Yet in the same year I designed and built a model aircraft that could fly the length of a football field. Needless to say, that achievement counted for naught.

The school that I was sent to was labeled, “sink secondary modern”, meaning failing. Many years later, when my engineering studies put me alongside ex-grammar school students, I realized that my “sink” school had better prepared me for my life’s work than theirs had. At my school the boys had a fully equipped wood and metal workshop and the girls, a sewing room and kitchen. We had an art room and music room and inspirational, non graduate teachers. All of the subjects were compulsory. Many of my classmates became high achievers in diverse fields. And that was from what were perceived to be failing pupils and a failing school.

Incidentally, I honed my skills as an artist, not at college, but on the pavements of France with a wife and nine month old baby in tow.

Granted, here in Dominica, we have made some attempt to include non-academic subjects in school syllabuses but at all levels we fall far short of a balance between the practical and theoretical. As one headmistress told me when I was offering free Saturday morning classes for students with an interest in art: my girls do not have time for that sort of thing. And most parents have a similar mind set. Thus, Dominica falls short of its human resource potential.

The illustration is taken from my book “Caribbean Sketches”

 

Copyright 2012 Dominica News Online, DURAVISION INC. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.

Disclaimer: The comments posted do not necessarily reflect the views of DominicaNewsOnline.com and its parent company or any individual staff member. All comments are posted subject to approval by DominicaNewsOnline.com. We never censor based on political or ideological points of view, but we do try to maintain a sensible balance between free speech and responsible moderating.

We will delete comments that:

  • contain any material which violates or infringes the rights of any person, are defamatory or harassing or are purely ad hominem attacks
  • a reasonable person would consider abusive or profane
  • contain material which violates or encourages others to violate any applicable law
  • promote prejudice or prejudicial hatred of any kind
  • refer to people arrested or charged with a crime as though they had been found guilty
  • contain links to "chain letters", pornographic or obscene movies or graphic images
  • are off-topic and/or excessively long

See our full comment/user policy/agreement.

8 Comments

  1. Looking on
    March 7, 2018

    As I said before, I will blame the education system. What has the eucation minustry put in place to ensure that a variety of skills training are available to our students. So many high school dropnouts. Something drastic needs to be done. This could have been done through the J,S.P. Since the ‘everybody’ going to high school’came about there is a lack of motivation among our students for learning. Many parents have the same attitude too.

  2. UDOHREADYET
    March 7, 2018

    I’ve learned the key to achievement is the responsibility of the individual… wanting to be the best at what you do, whatever it may be is what drives people to success.
    Im educated in the Caribbean and the US, in the Caribbean others ( society) drove me to pursue education versus the US where I had to develop the drive to want to further my education.
    In the Caribbean once some have achieved basic academic goals feel instantly entitled to high paying jobs. in the US you have apprenticeships, internships, part time employment while in school to help gain real world work ethic that cultivates a professional mindset. managing money, buying goods, understanding project management, Local Businesses big and small (shopkeepers, bakers, carpentry, construction, Banks, Telecommunications, utility companies, tourism, hotels. its beneficial to the students (experience) and the businesses (qualified candidates). National productivity increases with skilled workforce. future will be…

  3. Hello
    March 6, 2018

    That’s a good read! Though I’m an academic myself, I look forward to the day when “technical studies” will be as its name suggests “technical”. Too many of our students reach a point of frustration trying to fit into the academic realm – sometimes this frustration also stems from the home.

    • anonymous2
      March 7, 2018

      In Europe, there are 2 ways to go for students…….academic or vocational and that starts by high school. So that when they graduate, they are ready to apprentice and work. Dominica needs more vocational oriented curriculums in the schools. That may help some of the non-academically oriented students progressing toward a positive goal and employment.

  4. Daily Bugle
    March 6, 2018

    A Degree is just an accumulation of general knowledge. Man has taken all his experiences and coded it into different categories. For example Technical Drawing, Auto-Mechanic, Accounting, Business Studies, Medical studies, Geography, Computer Science etc. The thing is knowledge by itself is nothing however the application of that knowledge to bring forth prosperity and innovations is what is key. This article spoke of skills like painting which requires training at a tender age. I believe every society needs to give its citizens the chance to hone these types of skills for those who are gifted in those skills rather than simply fitting them only in general studies. Who knows a Picasso may be in your home right now, practicing drawing on your table cloth. We must always remember education comes from educco meaning to draw form within. I will end with a line from Chef Gusteau in ‘Ratatouille’. Anyone can cook.

    • winston warrington
      March 6, 2018

      At some point in the evolution of our society the need arose for us to make our own decisions. That opportunity had been denied us up to the Colonial era during which descendants of slaves were not expected to become professionals or change status through upward mobility. With the establishment of secondary schools a pathway was established to tertiary and professional education. It thius became the dream of concerned parents that their kids were given the opportunity to escape the rigors of corporeal toil that earned them neither riches nor respect . The success at Common Entrance exams resulted in fewer hands for the family farm and tradeshop ; and as clerical and professional fields became saturated, the demand for labor and skill trades returned. More emphasis must be placed on vocational training , not for one year , but for a period of apprenticeship consistent with international requirements.

      • Roger Burnett
        March 7, 2018

        Winston, I agree with your perception. As you say, in the past corporeal toil earned neither riches nor respect. Regrettably, the same holds true today. This has to change if we are to expect future generations to take the time and effort to become highly skilled rather than semi skilled.

  5. LifeandDeath
    March 6, 2018

    Hmm-mm..Roger Burnett. Good Read!!..Re-Education is necessary from the highest to lowest level..such an Up-Hill climb.

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

:) :-D :wink: :( 8-O :lol: :-| :cry: 8) :-? :-P :-x :?: :oops: :twisted: :mrgreen: more »

 characters available