The disruptions and adjustments brought on by the year-long global pandemic and compounded by the recent volcanic ashfall, have taken such a toll on teachers and students that president of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), Pedro Shepherd says they don’t need summer school, they need a break.
During an address this evening Shepherd noted it was for this reason that his union has rejected the Ministry of Education’s proposed Bounce Back Summer School programme. In response, Government invited educators (retired and present) to volunteer their services for the summer school which is intended to help primary school students from Infants A through to Class 3 catch up on learning they have lost. It is expected to be held daily from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from July 12 to 30 (students in Infants A and B); and for students in Classes 1,2 and 3 from August 9 to 27.
Characterising the initiative as “inconsiderate and ill-conceived”, Shepherd maintained that learning deficits were not unique to the system and he charged that it was unfair to place the blame at the feet of COVID, the ashfall, teachers or the online teaching. Rather, he contended that the deficiencies would be better addressed by putting a better system in place after identifying them rather than asking already overworked teachers to engage drained children.
“How would three weeks of summer school resolve the deficits for students who are already mentally tired, exhausted, stressed and worn out by the vagaries of the lockdowns, curfews, protocols, alphabet system, etc. caused by the pandemic? Some consideration and greater compassion need to be shown to these students and their mental health challenges which they would have endured during this crisis.
“Students really need the summer to play, to rest, relax and to recharge. This is therefore an opportunity for them to further develop their social skills. It is the view of the Barbados Union of Teachers that this proposal will lead to significant burnout of the students. Any deficits can be accounted for in the upcoming school year,” he said.
The union leader lamented that teachers were physically and mentally exhausted from the tremendous sacrifices which they have made over the last year.
“Teachers have answered the call for online teaching with the requisite training and have ensured that the students of Barbados have not been left behind. However, the long hours of preparation for online teaching, long hours of screen time, the mental strain of the occupation itself and the stresses of the lockdowns have all affected us. This is clearly not an appropriate time for this proposal. Like the students, our teachers need a break to rest, relax and recharge so that we all return to our classrooms energised, willing and raring to get to the task of educating the nation’s children in September.”
In addition, Shepherd charged that by extending the school year with summer school, Government was setting a dangerous precedent by blatantly attempting to change the terms and conditions of teachers. According to him, the proposal actually stretches the year way beyond its customary 38 weeks to 44 weeks.
On another note, Shepherd queried whether Government has given consideration to the annual summer school repair programme, which in itself has been long plagued with its own issues. He concluded that given the summer school proposal there would either be no such programme this year or there would be a clash of events on some school grounds.
“Has consideration been given to the group of workers, principals and ancillary staff and when they will be provided with a vacation? When will this cohort be able to prepare the schools for the new school year starting in September 2021? Has this been carefully thought out?” he asked. (KC)
