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by Walter Edey
Before inventors connected the axle to the wheel in a useful way, they answered many questions. Their challenge was to perfect the lever’s operation. Having found a way to minimise friction and energy consumption, lifting loads and transporting people were immediate, and easy.
Today, wheelbarrows, screwdrivers, vehicles, and electric drills are commonplace. The wheel and axle system is alive, and well. Efficiency and human effort reduction are the benefactors.
An education system also moves knowledge, reduces effort and is efficient albeit in different ways. Like the creation of the wheel and axle system and its operation, overcoming resistance and minimising effort are also challenging, but not impossible.
Here are four examples of conflict in the education reform process in Barbados:
(1) In 1962, by decree, the late Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow removed secondary school fees. By this action, he turned the knob on poverty and unlocked new doors.
Poor families welcomed the lower cost of schooling. But by confronting inequality, Barrow sparked political tensions. The counter argument was cost. An empowerment tool was branded and politicized as a free ride. That’s not all. He lit other fires.
One of them appeared as an objection on the front page of the Barbados Advocate. Penned by the late Sir K R Hunte, and accompanied by a picture of primary school kids the headline asked: “Where will these kids go?”
Over time, primary school graduates – and some private school students, transferred to government-run secondary schools instead of going into the work force. School construction increased. Indeed, the UWI Cave Hill campus was also a beneficiary of Barrow’s reform decision. Efficient and effective reform decisions increase access to knowledge and cause structures to evolve even in the midst of tension.
(2) Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, Barbados’ fourth Prime Minister, and a Minister of Education, in the interest of efficiency and economies of scale, proposed a Sixth Form College. He challenged the status quo, bias and self-interest. Unable to soften the resistance he became the proverbial little boy on a burning deck. His idea succumbed and later resurfaced as a community college.
(3) In 1982, an Education Act transferring the authority of governing bodies and principals of the old grammar schools to the Minister of Education, became law, with school boards acting on the Minister’s behalf in defined areas. A principal challenged the methodology of the change. The union matter ended up in court. After four years, that headmaster still lived in the school’s residence.
(4) In the early seventies, the Shorey report noted the poor quality of comprehension in primary schools. It underscored its importance and recommended immediate attention. The report went further.
The late Dr. Shorey recommended the abolition of the Common Entrance exam. Sixty years later, the Common Entrance Exam is alive and well. And its results confirm that comprehension has gotten worse rather than better.
However, without a study, one shout cannot not conclude that the delay is the sole reason for the decline. There are several factors that sustain comprehension.
Notwithstanding the above, some reformers can and do generate conflict and resistance. Some get excited about their goals and aspirations, and forget that, for good reasons, shareholders may lack their enthusiasm.
Reformers should be mindful that mistrust, reluctance to accept a novel idea, a lack of confidence in leadership, fear of failure, and unrealistic timeframes are real. Known forms of human resistance. Perhaps the major cause of human resistance is challenging cherished beliefs and sacred cows.
Furthermore, if reformers see reform only from their point of view, the idea will not move. The mind of others becomes rigid. Defensive blinds are formed. And the reinvigorated mind remains ice cold, as complacency and resignation set in.
Revolutions of human progress arise every time someone has challenged some time-honoured belief or tradition. But the new way of doing things, must add value, while honouring ethical and moral standards. As such, a commitment to remaining open and inquisitive is key. Deep and sustained questioning is hard. But it prevents reinvention of the
wheel and axle.
C Trevor Clarke, an exemplar of the system, in chapter 59 (Leading BET) of his Biography My Fourth Job, shares how he preempted resistance and conflict:
“I believe that management is a team sport. It is hard and probably impossible for a leader to succeed without the support of a senior team…
“Although not formally a member of senior management team. I have always attached the highest professional importance to listening to the sensitive voices of my secretaries… As the face of the company; it is also critical that every senior manager also makes important connections externally. “
So here’s a Zen question for education reformers in Barbados. If tomorrow you were required to teach a class, parent a child from a poor family, get up at 5:30 a.m. and travel three hours to school by bus, how long will you last? Would it be fun? Listening, not telling, is the best pathway of reform excellence.
Walter Edey is a retired math and science educator in Barbados and New York.
