When I decided to venture to Haiti this summer, I made the decision based on my desire to see firsthand what was going on in our sister island. It was six months after the earthquake and the news stories had ceased on CNN, CBS and NBC. Here in the Virgin Islands, as in all of the world, we saw the images of destruction and devastation as displayed on CNN and other stations. But I kept feeling that the national media was leaving things out. I have always been an individual that liked …the rest of the story. And that is exactly what I got when I arrived in Haiti. I flew out of St. Thomas with a connection in San Juan. The flight combination lasted about two and a half hours flying over the Dominican Republic into Port au Prince. The landscape was beautiful, the beaches and the mountains. I began to think of the natural disasters that had hit this dual nation island over the past 5 years and all the stories we had heard in the past, the hurricanes, the landslides and now the earthquake. But flying over the countryside, none of this was apparent, until the last five minutes of the flight, as we approached Port au Prince. I saw what was to me a familiar site, blue tarps; (tarpaulin- the heavy plastic sheeting that is used to cover roofs and structures after destruction). That was the roofing system on many homes in the Virgin Islands after Hurricanes Hugo and Marilyn. I could almost relate to what I was about to experience, or so I thought.
As much as I travel internationally, one would expect that I would have all the rules of entry embedded in my mind as not to make any mistakes in a foreign country. But as human as I am, when making arrangements for my arrival, I forgot an important element…my local address. The official at immigration told me that I must have one to enter the country. Of course my IPhone decided that this was not a good time to work. I would have to leave my passport as security and go outside to find someone who could get the address for me. (Can anyone say panic?) I did and got outside, asked someone to use their phone, got the information, went back in and completed the process. I was now legally entered into Haiti.
I was met by a young driver who speaks as much English as I speak Kreyol. But we got along with my limited English infused French. He was among the many people that I would come in contact with that would be amused by my combination of the languages of my childhood (French, Spanish, and English all spoken in one sentence) You may also laugh. For the next nine days I would meet some of the most wonderful people I have ever encountered in my many (I won’t tell) years of life. People who have seen so many changes to their beloved homeland and many who don’t have any idea what is to come. As I spent time with these people I would wonder what or who I would have become if I had been born on this side of the Caribbean.
I spoke to people who remember vividly what Haiti was like prior to the destruction that has taken place, and I am not referring to the earthquake of 2010. Much of the problems that I saw were pre-earthquake. . I am speaking about the political destruction that has caused devastation to the land that has lasted for over twenty years, how open spaces are now confined to concrete walls and gates around the communities and homes. Young parents spoke about being able to ride their bikes down the street to a neighbor’s house or run to the store, an experience that their children will never have. The corruption of the political system has done more to destroy this country than the quake did. The lack of a substantial government and the infrastructure to support the country caused many things to fall apart as the quake took its toll.
The political activist in me surfaced during many of these conversations, except for the lack of an accent, most onlookers or eavesdroppers could not tell I was an outsider. I listened, I shared and I discussed with them my opinion of the situation and what I believe could and should be the start of the solution. We have all agreed that there is much to be done in Haiti and that the next political leader will have a very difficult task ahead. There will be no easy way out of this for these people but there must be a start. It will be rough and for some of the people I have met, it will be dangerous but with the help of the Almighty I know these people will make it. They have proven time and time again that they are a resilient people and that cannot change. This nation has withstood European domination, American intervention and natural disasters and the people are still strong. The power of this nation is in the people and I see them rebuilding. It wont happen immediately and many Haitians don't believe it will happen in their lifetime but it will happen.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Charter Schools in the VI
I read in the Daily News online edition that there was a meeting held in St. Croix with representatives opening dialogue about charter schools. There is a definite need for us to take a look at what works and what does not work in our education system. But we must be mindful of making decisions based on presentations that are brought in to the territory. I believe that all options for improving our education system should be explored but I have to weigh in on what I think I KNOW about charter schools.
When touting the success of the charter school there are generally three points that are brought up continuously among some others .
1. Teacher Quality - Take a close look at the staff that are hired for the charter schools. The staff is made up primarily of the teachers that were previously employed at the same school that was labeled as a failing school. Even the presenter in St. Croix stated that at his school he retained 45% of the original staff. I can guarantee that of the remaining 55% most have also come from schools that were labeled as failing. I wonder if of the teachers that he did not rehire, how many were due primarily on poor performance in the classroom? In most cases the same teachers that they claimed were not productive in the public school are doing wonders in the charter school. The school administration can hand pick his/her entire staff based on those who have shared philosophy. Wow, talk about stacking the deck. Let's see. The schools are retrofitted with almost everything a teacher can use to make life easier, the principal (or owner) of the school has authority to spend the funds on anything he/she feels will be useful. I don't believe they have to go through the myriad of red tape that the public schools have to for purchases. Could that also influence how much a teacher can get done in the classroom if they have all the necessary tools at their disposal?
2. Parental Involvement - In most cases, at charter schools parental involvement is not voluntary it is compulsory. Not only are parents asked to sign and commit to a contract before the beginning of school, many of them are required to participate in some form of service to the school whether it is volunteering during the day or weekend activities. The parents are not allowed to sit back and let the school educate their children, they have a mandatory active role in the school life. Imagine what would happen in the public schools if parents felt obligated to assist the school in some form and imagine what would happen if they were required to. Most of the issues that confront our public school system would be eliminated.
3. High Achievement - Oh my, imagine a school that focuses on educating the students and preparing them for college. Imagine what would happen in the school if from the day they arrive on campus they were expected to perform and achieve and they have teachers that promote learning. That is what happens everyday on public school campuses everywhere. The difference with the charter school is that the teacher has the support of the principal (owner), the parents and in many cases the community. Back to my question, what do you think would happen if parents, community members and GOD forbid, the administration would support the teacher as he/she attempts to educate the student? The ultimate goal of any education institution is to prepare future members of our society, the present public school curriculum is geared toward test prep and not directed to college nor life preparation.
4. The Money - Lastly, you will hear the cost of educating a student in public school in comparison to the cost at a charter school. Things need to be put into perspective as we look at the cost factor. The charter school does have a lower overhead because of the limited administrative costs; principal, sometimes an assistant or two, office administrator and depending on the size there may be a financial person in place. This leaves budgetary decisions to one person. Those decisions include who to hire and who to fire, when and if to give a salary increase and how much should be spent on materials and supplies. Imagine if the administrator of the public school was given some of these privileges. Maybe things would be different if school based management could really be a reality. Maybe before we consider taking the money out of the public school, we look at ways to maximize the money that is spent, keeping the bulk of the money focused on the student and less on administrative costs.
*It is very good to open the conversation on ways to improve the education of our territory's students. We have several choices in place for parents of means. But we all know that the success of most privatized schools lies on the fact that the students are selected whereas the public schools have an open door policy where no one can be denied. I do believe that parents should be able to choose where and how to have their children educated and I have supported many of my friends and family who have opted to pay for that education. I have known people who have made tremendous sacrifices for this decision. I do not believe that public schools should be sacrificed for this decision. We should be open to all possibilities for improvement but not to the expense of the larger majority.
When touting the success of the charter school there are generally three points that are brought up continuously among some others .
1. Teacher Quality - Take a close look at the staff that are hired for the charter schools. The staff is made up primarily of the teachers that were previously employed at the same school that was labeled as a failing school. Even the presenter in St. Croix stated that at his school he retained 45% of the original staff. I can guarantee that of the remaining 55% most have also come from schools that were labeled as failing. I wonder if of the teachers that he did not rehire, how many were due primarily on poor performance in the classroom? In most cases the same teachers that they claimed were not productive in the public school are doing wonders in the charter school. The school administration can hand pick his/her entire staff based on those who have shared philosophy. Wow, talk about stacking the deck. Let's see. The schools are retrofitted with almost everything a teacher can use to make life easier, the principal (or owner) of the school has authority to spend the funds on anything he/she feels will be useful. I don't believe they have to go through the myriad of red tape that the public schools have to for purchases. Could that also influence how much a teacher can get done in the classroom if they have all the necessary tools at their disposal?
2. Parental Involvement - In most cases, at charter schools parental involvement is not voluntary it is compulsory. Not only are parents asked to sign and commit to a contract before the beginning of school, many of them are required to participate in some form of service to the school whether it is volunteering during the day or weekend activities. The parents are not allowed to sit back and let the school educate their children, they have a mandatory active role in the school life. Imagine what would happen in the public schools if parents felt obligated to assist the school in some form and imagine what would happen if they were required to. Most of the issues that confront our public school system would be eliminated.
3. High Achievement - Oh my, imagine a school that focuses on educating the students and preparing them for college. Imagine what would happen in the school if from the day they arrive on campus they were expected to perform and achieve and they have teachers that promote learning. That is what happens everyday on public school campuses everywhere. The difference with the charter school is that the teacher has the support of the principal (owner), the parents and in many cases the community. Back to my question, what do you think would happen if parents, community members and GOD forbid, the administration would support the teacher as he/she attempts to educate the student? The ultimate goal of any education institution is to prepare future members of our society, the present public school curriculum is geared toward test prep and not directed to college nor life preparation.
4. The Money - Lastly, you will hear the cost of educating a student in public school in comparison to the cost at a charter school. Things need to be put into perspective as we look at the cost factor. The charter school does have a lower overhead because of the limited administrative costs; principal, sometimes an assistant or two, office administrator and depending on the size there may be a financial person in place. This leaves budgetary decisions to one person. Those decisions include who to hire and who to fire, when and if to give a salary increase and how much should be spent on materials and supplies. Imagine if the administrator of the public school was given some of these privileges. Maybe things would be different if school based management could really be a reality. Maybe before we consider taking the money out of the public school, we look at ways to maximize the money that is spent, keeping the bulk of the money focused on the student and less on administrative costs.
*It is very good to open the conversation on ways to improve the education of our territory's students. We have several choices in place for parents of means. But we all know that the success of most privatized schools lies on the fact that the students are selected whereas the public schools have an open door policy where no one can be denied. I do believe that parents should be able to choose where and how to have their children educated and I have supported many of my friends and family who have opted to pay for that education. I have known people who have made tremendous sacrifices for this decision. I do not believe that public schools should be sacrificed for this decision. We should be open to all possibilities for improvement but not to the expense of the larger majority.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Life is what you make it
I am wondering how some people have not yet learned that their lives turn out how they direct it. Vacations are no exception to this rule. I am in the Bahamas on one of those package deals that you get when you agree to listen to a presentation from a timeshare or vacation plan. We arrived on Bahamas Celebration, a cruise ship that travels to and from Grand Bahama Island. It is a pretty okay ship, not one of the new mega ships that I have been on lately but no rinky dink job either. You can do a two day sail to the island and back or you have the option of spending a few days on the island. We chose to stay two nights. Check-in was not the easiest but with hundreds of people checking out and hundreds waiting to check in, I think they did a terrific job. We arived before 12 and check-in is at 3 so they sent us to the beach and gave us all the amenities to use until the rooms would be ready. Why were people complaining about having to wait to get a room instead of doing something to pass the time? Personally, I don't mind waiting for them to get my room ready. I prefer to wait for them to change the linens and clean the room rather than to rush and fluff the pillows and straingthen the bed and call my room ready. The kids (14 and 9) spent the entire time in the pool playing volleyball with their new 'friends', I went across the street to the shopping district. I didn't realize that it was 3:30 when I returned and the kids had no idea how long they had been in the water. I met the same people coming from their rooms complaining that they just got into their rooms and were not pleased with the wait time. I smiled my signature smile and told them that there is so much to do around the resort and they shouldn't miss another minute of it. I don't think they liked my response:) I subscribe to the adage, "Life is What You Make It" and those who know me know that I make the most of my life. See you next time.
Getting out of St. Thomas
I know some of you will find this humorous but remember before you laugh, it could happen to YOU. All week I have been on pins and needles waiting to hear if the Spirit strike will end before our scheduled departure on Friday. Everyday I check the news and the Spirit website to see if the planes will fly on Friday, each day they add another day to the cancelled list. Wednesday they tell me we should be fine because the flights will resume on Friday. I breathe a sigh of relief and focused on the closing of school.
Friday all the news reports say that the agreement is in place and the planes are flying. Talk about pushing it close, I have a flight at 4:00 so I have to be at the airport by 2:00. I leave our final faculty meeting early, of course after offering my apologies and best summer wishes. Went home, picked up the family, and somehow make it to the airport at 2:00 only to find out that our 4:00 flight is delayed and scheduled to leave at 6:00. In the back of my mind I say this is Karma at its best from my principal because I didn't wait to hear what he was going to say. We hung around outside for a while got something to eat and went in around 4 (for those who are familiar, CEK is one of the most passenger unfriendly airports in the world...there is absolutely nothing to do but watch TV) When we got to the gate area they made and annuncement that the flight has been delayed again and will leave FLL around 5:20 pushing our departure to 7:30. Needless to say, that did not happen. We're still unsure if it was a weather or mechanical delay but the flight did not arrive into St. Thomas until after 8:00 and we boarded and were scheduled to take off at 9:00. Why is it that when we were pushing back getting ready for take-off a torential rain came down? I was convinced that this trip was not meant to be. We sat on the runway for over a half hour waiting for the rain to ease up. Don't get me wrong, I was not complaining. I appreciated the fact that the pilots chose to wait rather than take off in the storm. We finally took off after 10. The ascent was a litle shaky with the clouds to go through but the rest of the flight was smooth and suprisingly quick. We arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 1:00, got the rental car and headed to the hotel. We thank GOD for his favor and look forward to a most enjoyable trip. Oh I forgot to share our itinerary. Tonight in FLL, tomorrow a one night sail to Grand Bahama Island, two nights on the island at a resort, one night sail back to Florida, two nights in Orlando, two nights in Fort Lauderdale and then home.
Friday all the news reports say that the agreement is in place and the planes are flying. Talk about pushing it close, I have a flight at 4:00 so I have to be at the airport by 2:00. I leave our final faculty meeting early, of course after offering my apologies and best summer wishes. Went home, picked up the family, and somehow make it to the airport at 2:00 only to find out that our 4:00 flight is delayed and scheduled to leave at 6:00. In the back of my mind I say this is Karma at its best from my principal because I didn't wait to hear what he was going to say. We hung around outside for a while got something to eat and went in around 4 (for those who are familiar, CEK is one of the most passenger unfriendly airports in the world...there is absolutely nothing to do but watch TV) When we got to the gate area they made and annuncement that the flight has been delayed again and will leave FLL around 5:20 pushing our departure to 7:30. Needless to say, that did not happen. We're still unsure if it was a weather or mechanical delay but the flight did not arrive into St. Thomas until after 8:00 and we boarded and were scheduled to take off at 9:00. Why is it that when we were pushing back getting ready for take-off a torential rain came down? I was convinced that this trip was not meant to be. We sat on the runway for over a half hour waiting for the rain to ease up. Don't get me wrong, I was not complaining. I appreciated the fact that the pilots chose to wait rather than take off in the storm. We finally took off after 10. The ascent was a litle shaky with the clouds to go through but the rest of the flight was smooth and suprisingly quick. We arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 1:00, got the rental car and headed to the hotel. We thank GOD for his favor and look forward to a most enjoyable trip. Oh I forgot to share our itinerary. Tonight in FLL, tomorrow a one night sail to Grand Bahama Island, two nights on the island at a resort, one night sail back to Florida, two nights in Orlando, two nights in Fort Lauderdale and then home.
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