Dear Editor,
Reference is made to the letter titled, ‘Extra lessons cannot be stopped’ (SN, June 12). This was a wide lens and thoughtful effort from Mr Mohammed Saddam Hussain. I humbly disagree with the statement “It is impossible for extra lessons to be stopped….” My very nature and outlook rebel against such a posture. I counter.
Some recent developments underscore the art of the possible. A believed unconquerable political juggernaut has been stopped; some said the odds were insurmountable. A start to the dismantling of a formidable propaganda machine has been made; that, too, is a believed impossibility. Another start is underway emphasizing the restoration of Georgetown to its once pristine state; an impossibility along the lines of Sisyphus and his torturous, uphill, unrewarding task. But it is one that has commenced, and must be sustained. And there is Mrs Donna Brown-Harcourt, the mother of the fallen Courtney Crum-Ewing, who embarked upon, and will not cease her almost impossible quest for truth and justice. A one-time general (attorney) is now a private; the wheel turns.
The point in all of this is that when people stand up nothing is impossible. When they say “Enough” and “No more” and “Stop the nonsense” things happen, change occurs, no matter how painstakingly, how small.
It is my belief that the same can be realized in the distorted education arena. Parents who care, and are prepared to be involved, need to stand up, either individually or as a group, and challenge exploiting, non-performing teachers in their own lairs, and shed publicly the disinfectant of sunlight on their shenanigans and calculations. Identify them, draw them out, spotlight their institutions, pressure the Ministry of Education, and challenge the union, all in one sweep. Challenge self and others. It is not a one-off exercise, but a sustained mountainous undertaking. To the squeamish, I say observe Minister Simona Broomes.
Additionally, head teachers must manage their schools and school days better; their feet must be held to the fire. I have had the stupefying experience of interacting with a handful of these leaders. My most polite comment is that they should be nowhere close to a school, even in the capacity of a vendor. Indeed, some double as vendors on the premises. These heads must possess the mental clarity and intestinal valour to demand performance, and ensure delivery. Isolating self in office and retreating before rogue teachers should never be options, and solves nothing.
Further, the children, too, have to take a stand. Forget about 20 subjects, take 20 minutes and pursue what is due in the classroom, demand what is an enshrined right. There was a child who took 20 seconds and did just that elsewhere. It reached all the way to the US Supreme court in Minersville School District v Gobitis. That was in 1940, this is the 21st century.
Here is the lesson, the belief: If there is will, and immovable dedication to a cause, a noble purpose, then all things are possible.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
