Dominica has been told that it should reconsider its teaching techniques particularly in the area of mathematics in order to enhance students’ performance.
St. Jean said Dominica must also harness its resources to provide for the development of the human resource capacity, needed to make the country competitive within the region.
He was addressing the finals of the National Bank of Dominica/Ministry of Education Maths Power Contest yesterday.
According to him, it has been proven that students learn best in environments where learning is relevant and contextualized.
“This represents another step towards improving and refining the quality of education that we deliver to our students,” he said.
Meantime, the Portsmouth Secondary School won the Secondary School Math Power Contest, St. Mary’s Academy placed second and the Orion Academy placed third.
Mr.St jean,
Listen to yourself:
“Records of national assessment and CXC results feels that the majority of or students writing the exams experience difficulties and the lack of mathematics skills and knowledge needed. Simultaneously, the 2009 national assessment found that only 34 percent of students have been found to be working at or about the school level,” he said.
St. Jean also noted that less than 35 percent of primary school teachers in Dominica have certification in mathematics.
“Our numeracy results are particularly disturbing. A significant number of our students are being pushed through the system without being able to master numerously in the appropriate grade and form in the primary and secondary school,” he added.
Mr St Jean, that was your Report Card !
If our students are failing, it means that the Minister of Education is failing.
mr. St jean, the buck stops with the Minister. you are the CEO.
Stop passing the buck. In case you were not told, your job is to ensure that Dominica’s education
system performs at the highest level.
You sound like you are blaming someone else for your failure.
Do a self assessment. Ask yourself two questions;
(1). What kind of Manager am I ?
Answer: (a) a complainer (b) an administrator or (c) a Team Leader ?
(2) Since being appointed to the job of Minister of Education, what kind of on the job training have I
done to improve my Skills set for the job ?
Answer: (a) None (b) little or (c) Doing an intensive course in Education Policy and managment
Remember, no cheating on this Test.
Admit the truth. Did you you score straight “(a)”s in the above Test?
Then isnt’ it logical that your job performance is low ?
Mr. St Jean, shouldn’t give your boss (the Dominican People) give you a “warning letter” ?
One love.
The truth will set you free.
Hon. Norris Prevost
MP. Roseau Central.
Many of the teachers in the classroom should not be there. Many of the primary teachers are weak at math and science and so they do not teach it and as he said technology is the key to development and technology hinges on math and science. We do not choose the brightest and best to be our teachers, we choose those who support the government but we are creating a monster that will come back to haunt us when we get older. I can say with authority that many primary teachers are weak in SCIENCE but we do not remove them from the classroom. They stay there and spoil our children, well not mine. I will pay what I have to to get them a proper education. This world is a global village.
The problem with the education system in dominica has been prolonged mainly by the very people who are elected to resolve it…..(minister) as well as the P s and the chief and assitant chief education officer. They go out there, get their fancy degrees and then get some pie in the sky idea that what they learnt in theory from books can be applied in a dominica classroom…RUBBISH!!! Their new ideas and methods have been tried and proven to be a FAILURE!!! case in point UNIVERSAL SECONDARY EDUCATION……so tell st. jean, as wck say…HUSH YOUR MOUTH, U DOH KNOW WHAT U TALKING ABOUT!!!
Mr Minister, I am in total agreement with your statement. Firstly, the ministry of education has to look into the heavy school bags that the children has to carry to school. this bags are filled with useless books that are not being used. So even if the teachers has new teaching techniques it makes no sense as the children are always tired and remembering that heavy school bag. Mr Minister it is only when we have a country with person suffering from back pain and slip disc that the ministry will put it into consideration. Children can’t learn if the teachers always criticize the BOYS especially, encourage them to do better. Some schools are to divided, some schools has computers and the children are having the use of these computers. What is really happening at our schools? Mr Minister if something is not done , God help our children and save our schools.
The officials must stop seating in there air condition offices and pay an unofficial visit to our schools. They would be surprised to see.
I really think that the administration is putting the cart before the horse or leaping before looking. When you want to train only secondary school teachers in the teaching of math, what do you expect from the primary schools? The best thing to do would be to also train primary teachers so that the students are exposed to math skills at an early age. The secondary teachers can then come in to complement what was done at primary school. Just my observation.
update our teaching tools so we can engage the children’s interest. our children are tech savy and that’s sometimes the only way to reach them. min. of edu says change teaching style, but what of the teaching tools? chalk and talk still. invest in making our schools IT ready.
These same people are the ones creating all these problems when they keep sending all their dunce supporters to teach people children. AND THEY KNOW THAT but will give you all other sorts of reasons .
Mr. St. Jean it is time you get back to the business of GAINING YOUR SOUL AND LOOSING THE WORLD. You have forgotten everything of your Godly Christian principles that I first knew you for.
You Mr. St.Jean know after every summer vacation there is a serious shuffling around when staffing time for the schools arrive and you know that YOUR administration just selects most of the time the people whom you all perceive to be your supporters even if you all know that they will not be capable of doing a good job.
I have known instances where teachers are employed by YOUR administration with 4s and 5s in basic math. So what do you expect that our children will do well in math?
To you LABOURITES out there do you think that it is UWP supporters children alone that is being affected by all this nepotism and partisan politics? For example when someone who is incompetent is given the job to teach doesn’t that teacher teach your kids too?
Aren’t you concerned about the QUALITY of education that your child receives or you all leaving that up to your PARL-REP?
Trust me Mr. St. Jean knows very well what is quality education after all, he kept back his son in primary school after he got a pass in common entrance exams, so that by the next time he did the exams he got a scholarship.
Mr. St.Jean knows the quality education that he use to deliver to people’s children when he was a teacher. He knows what is required to be a good teacher but at the same time he will allow his associates and operatives to manipulate the selection process mandated to carry out by the education officers.
So what do you expect? That your child will be a success at school?
So even if we change our teaching technics but still keep on filtering unprepared, weak individuals into our classrooms NOTHING WILL CHANGE
@ Bad vibes, Mr St. Jean doesn’t have a clue what the problem is. As a former teacher, the problem has nothing to do with teaching technique. The heart of the matter is the students mindset towards education. Do they value education? If they do and have discipline they will learn. However we see many of them uninterested in learning and school.
Secondly, our curriculum is not preparing our students for the 21st century. We do not manufacture enough thus we have a serious trade deficit. We are not teaching our students how to manufacture or secondary production enough.
The teaching technique at primary school is what that should be revised . If Students develop a dislike towards maths, or any subject for that matter, at primary school how do you expect them to improve when they get to high school or college . Government say they can’t send qualified teachers to primary school , BS I say . We wait till we cant fix the problem then try to fix it knowing damm well it might be too late ,
I agree!! In this place to say that you’re a qualified teacher almost means nothing- ’cause if the next person is friend/family to someone in the office and doesn’t know a thing about teaching…..so the same people who are trying to “solve” the problem…ARE the problem..this nonsense needs to stop…our children are paying for it.
I believe the curriculum is too complicated, even teachers are having difficulty understanding and teaching from the guides. More innovative ways needs to be established and explored and too many of the text books which students do not even use.
lol
Everyone can’t be lawyers or doctors,I am an accountant but we should reserve the bath estate residents to be sanitary engineers ,a big word for you all
What is it with your sarcasm, can’t you one day make a sensible comment without being sarcastic
and or trying to ridicule people, is that how you seek attention.
Only now we realize that!! After how may years!!! what a shame!!
The Good thing is that we now Know what the problem is fortunately, let’s see what happens?