The unveiling of the building sites for the three new high schools on Grand Cayman was certainly welcomed Thursday.
It’s a concrete move that proves we are in fact going to get three new schools to alleviate overcrowding.
While we welcome the new teaching facilities, we all know that new schools don’t equal quality education.
A quality education comes from good teachers.
That’s why it is so important for Government to ensure those who take teaching jobs in the Cayman Islands are treated and paid well.
A good teacher is a person that can grab the attention of a person or class and keep it. Their words will be remembered years from now. A good student is one with a desire to learn.
There are many good teachers already in the Cayman Islands educational system making a positive difference in children’s lives.
One of the problems with education in the Cayman Islands is that students are promoted socially rather than being tested to prove they have learned subjects before they are advanced to the next grade.
Not every child is going to be a candidate for college and pursue classes that advance their knowledge.
No student should be allowed to graduate from high school just because they are old enough.
They should be held accountable as should the educators teaching them.
The new schools will be a welcomed addition to the education of our children in the Cayman Islands.
But they are only a beginning to ensuring each and every child is educated to their fullest potential.
We can’t help but go back to businessman Conor O’Dea’s warning to education officials in 2005.
As a businessman he told Cayman’s education professionals and government that many students leaving school today just plain aren’t a good investment.
He was telling all of us that many of our children who go through the government education programme aren’t worth hiring.
That has to change.
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