Every child can learn, that is the belief
The Caribbean Heads of Government in 1997 unveiled a profile of the ideal Caribbean person that they had devised. This ideal Caribbean person will be created as a result of his/her ability to learn. She/he must learn to live together, learn to be, learn to do and learn to learn. Dr. Didacus Jules (2010), Registrar of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) in his post, Rethinking Education in the Caribbean on the CXC blog shared this insight with us while he pondered the way forward for education in the Caribbean. This is a real concern since, generally, the output from the education systems in the region is considered to be unsatisfactory.
I will be commenting on the issue of learning here. What is learning and how do we learn? Learning involves the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes for a purpose. It is an ongoing process. And, how do we learn? Educationists tell us that we have different learning styles - visual, kinesthetic and auditory. This is the simple explanation. So, some of us are visual learners. Some of us learn by responding to visual stimuli. Others are kinesthetic learners. They learn best by touching, literally and metaphorically speaking, the information. Others are auditory learners. They learn best by listening to information. See Wikipedia that may provide you with direction to reputable academic research on the subject).
If the Caribbean Heads of Government's vision of the ideal Caribbean person is to be realised, every teacher has a critical role to play in helping his/her student understand the virtue of learning as well as the "how" of learning. I have discovered from my years of teaching that before students can acquire any of the knowledge, attitudes and skills that the curricula prescribe I have to teach them how to learn. Teaching students to learn is a continuous, time consuming but rewarding process. I have to engage them in discussions where I try to get them to understand the purpose of learning particular topics. Oftentimes, they will disagree with my reasoning but at least they get the chance to think about the issue. Then, after they have thought about the issue, I have to provide them with the "how" of learning these things.
We who teach must realise that students come to the classroom with their own agendas. I have learnt from a number of students that they only attend school because their parents or bosses have insisted that they do so and not because they want to. During my long career in teaching I have learnt that many children and adults are not so different in their attitude to schooling. Therefore, I have learnt to use whatever means necessary to encourage them to give learning a chance and I have had some success in this endeavour.
I like the ideal of the Caribbean person that's been drawn up by the leadership of the Caribbean. It recognises the importance of learning directed towards achieving a particular goal. In whatever community we find ourselves, we must, indeed, learn to live together, learn to be, learn to do and, most importantly, I think, learn to learn. To do all this learning will require particular skills sets that every teacher has a role in helping the learner develop. We must realise that every child can, indeed, learn; every person can, indeed, learn. However, let us not lose sight of the fact that some will learn much more than others.
I will be commenting on the issue of learning here. What is learning and how do we learn? Learning involves the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes for a purpose. It is an ongoing process. And, how do we learn? Educationists tell us that we have different learning styles - visual, kinesthetic and auditory. This is the simple explanation. So, some of us are visual learners. Some of us learn by responding to visual stimuli. Others are kinesthetic learners. They learn best by touching, literally and metaphorically speaking, the information. Others are auditory learners. They learn best by listening to information. See Wikipedia that may provide you with direction to reputable academic research on the subject).
If the Caribbean Heads of Government's vision of the ideal Caribbean person is to be realised, every teacher has a critical role to play in helping his/her student understand the virtue of learning as well as the "how" of learning. I have discovered from my years of teaching that before students can acquire any of the knowledge, attitudes and skills that the curricula prescribe I have to teach them how to learn. Teaching students to learn is a continuous, time consuming but rewarding process. I have to engage them in discussions where I try to get them to understand the purpose of learning particular topics. Oftentimes, they will disagree with my reasoning but at least they get the chance to think about the issue. Then, after they have thought about the issue, I have to provide them with the "how" of learning these things.
We who teach must realise that students come to the classroom with their own agendas. I have learnt from a number of students that they only attend school because their parents or bosses have insisted that they do so and not because they want to. During my long career in teaching I have learnt that many children and adults are not so different in their attitude to schooling. Therefore, I have learnt to use whatever means necessary to encourage them to give learning a chance and I have had some success in this endeavour.
I like the ideal of the Caribbean person that's been drawn up by the leadership of the Caribbean. It recognises the importance of learning directed towards achieving a particular goal. In whatever community we find ourselves, we must, indeed, learn to live together, learn to be, learn to do and, most importantly, I think, learn to learn. To do all this learning will require particular skills sets that every teacher has a role in helping the learner develop. We must realise that every child can, indeed, learn; every person can, indeed, learn. However, let us not lose sight of the fact that some will learn much more than others.
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