Mr. Jones...When is Christ Coming Back?

In response to the question, "When will the Alexandra School impasse be resolved?" The Minister of Education, Mr. Ronald Jones is quoted in a Friday newspaper as saying, "If I was able to tell you that, I will be able to tell you when Christ is coming back."

I have reached a stage in my life where very little upsets me but this statement pissed me off. Here is the Minister of Education, the de facto Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados, publicly admitting that he is powerless to put teachers at Alexandra School to teach my daughter!

I purposely did not write this article immediately after reading this comment but forced myself to wait until today , Errol Barrow Day, in the hope that time would allow me to see the situation in a different perspective. I was hoping that the PTA would disclose the substance of the meeting held with Mr. Jones and that some resolution would have been in sight by the start of classes on Monday. However, instead I received the following letter from the president of the PTA in an email on Saturday, 21 January at 6:34 pm.

Dear Parents & Guardians

In the last 24 hours, we have received a large number of emails relating to the Executive meeting with the Officials of the Ministry of Education and there seems to be much dissatisfaction over the lack of details given. As a responsible body chosen to represent you, we are sure that you would wish that we would respect any accepted protocols related to such meetings with the representative groups involved in this matter. Any such breach could result in an immediate halt in the type of reception which we have received to date.

After a meeting at which the Ministry of Education considered several positive proposals put forward by The PTA Executive, many encouraging decisions, which would place our children back in a ‘classroom teaching’ setting, were made. However, as with most matters of such a serious nature, the Ministry requested that we give them a short but reasonable period of time to prove their good faith by putting measures in place to accommodate our requests. In the interim, we agreed not to disclose any matters that had been decided at the said meeting and as such we are unable to provide you with any further details as this may impact on the implementation of any of the said measures that were decided upon.

We are also sure that you are aware that the Hon. Prime Minister of Barbados met with the BSTU and the Minister of Education met with BAPPS yesterday. These meetings are in line with the objectives that we are trying to achieve - the teaching of all students in a class environment on or before Wednesday this week. We have been promised by the Officials of the Ministry of Education that firm decisions will be made by Tuesday latest.

We sincerely hope that this would give you a clearer understanding that we have no choice but to wait until the Government's position is made clear within the next 72 hours.

We encourage you as parents to continue to stand together on this matter and to retain your passion for the mandatory education/teaching of our children in a classroom setting. We are unchanged in our resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder on this but we plead with you to respect the protocol of information distribution. Should our requests prove to have fallen on deaf ears, we will resort to our earlier plans of picketing and anything else which is necessary to achieve our goals on behalf of our children.

We encourage persons to forward the information to any parent not copied in this email.

Please note that the next general meeting of the parent body will be held either Tuesday or Wednesday depending on when we have received correspondence from the Ministry. We shall provide confirmation of the date, time and venue using the media, email and telephone.

Thank you.

Regards

Carl Benskin

PTA President

I have all respect for Mr. Benskin and his expediency in this matter but I am still pissed off! This Government to date has not impressed upon the people of Barbados that they are particularly adept at making the tough decisions and taking decisive action. If it was concerning a less important issue than the futures of the over 800 students at Alexandra School, I, like Mr. Benskin, would take the diplomatic approach and say let's wait and see what they do. Maybe just maybe, Mr. Jones and Mr. Stuart will, "grow a pair", between them and bring an end to this travesty. However, history teaches to be wary of politicians and their promises.

This situation has gone beyond the realms of diplomacy. A case must be stated for decisive action to be taken now. While it was Mr. Jones's comment that was the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back", the thing that really got my blood boiling was an issue brought to my attention by my daughter, a student of Alexandra. She showed me some comments that were made on Facebook by a member of the current teaching staff at Alexandra, in response to comments by a student. This has further incensed the already frustrated student body.

Please judge for yourself. (Lets hope she is not an English Teacher!)

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Debra Springer-Bryan <http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1007903941>  What a shameful thing to do. Shoot all ya nasty arrows at ya teachers but look at the ones pointing back at u. Call out the students who skip classes, call out the students who refuse to submit home work, call out the students who cuss teachers, call out the students ............ I have been teaching long and know the same people who help ya up do not help ya down. These same students will say to a teacher today that this teacher does this and the next and in the next breath say the same thing about the same teacher they were complaining to. What goes around comes around. We all have short comings and they complain to us about ALL. Encourage them to do right but be careful how u do it. Where do teachers assemble and where do students assemble? Examine facts, take your position but do it right. I always say to my students have a voice but when u step on the rude side i will side step. U do not have to like me the person but u should respect me the person.
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Debra Springer-Bryan <http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1007903941>  When that student wrote his article i hope that ALL teachers should note that although he gave some praise to those who are still at school, he included them in all his NASTY remarks becuase there are some who we know he also mean who are still at the school. Since students are so good to write (i a m very happy to c this) go and read the article again. Stop letting someone attach your name to what they have written. I hope that when debates start we are not straved for students. Do not ever bite off the hand that feeds u. Ask this 1 question. Who brought the students into this? Who are the ones using the students to rally the cause? I have no plan in using Fb to trash and scandalise any person name. However, some past students have been using BB to rally the cause but who do u call and which teachers names do u use when u try to get on the school compound and u r denied entry by who? becuase u did not make an appointment? Also the same students who r missing work have u worked on your SBA so that when teachers return they do not have to put u on a list because u have nothing to submit. Presently, only 3 English teachers are not at school and there are 7 teachers in the department with two at the top who can teach and then 2 more who have been retained in other areas in the school. Do the math. Oh, I am sorry the school is not being taught so it will not work out that English classes should be well covered.
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I must ask. "Is this the kind of remarks that a teacher should be making on a forum like Facebook? Mr. Jones, do you consider this appropriate behaviour for a member of your teaching staff? Ms. Redman is this acceptable to the BSTU? Facebook is the province of the children. They live there. My daughter and her over 1500 friends, mainly from schools across the length and breath of Barbados, were not amused. "Do not ever bite off the hand that feed u?". Are you serious Debra? Saying that to your students? My daughter, and I would assume, other Alexandra students take this as an open threat to keep their mouths shut or be victimized by the teachers when they return to school.

Debra, you have the unmitigated gall to ask who brought the students into this? I will not dignify the asininity of that question with a  comment.

It is scary to know that you, "have been teaching long." (Is that a new subject?)

Mr. Jones, as a parent I am not comfortable with a teacher, (whose salary is paid by my tax dollars), making veiled threats to students and especially not to my child! I await whatever actions you decide to take before Wednesday this week but I will like to put you on notice that I am not comfortable with the teachers that are currently on strike being allowed to return to Alexandra to be responsible for my daughter's education and I expect some action to be taken against the likes of Debra Springer-Bryan. Enough said for now.

The BSTU has consistently demonstrated that they are willing to support any action of a member of their union regardless of the levels of incompetence or ineptitude shown. However, it has been alleged a striking member of the teaching staff at Alexandra has taken the opportunity of the ongoing strike to attend classes at the Erdiston Teachers Training College. Ms. Redman, please tell me that this is not so!
In the words of my daughter, "That is a FAIL!! We are not being taught but she is going back to school. They really don't care nothing about us!"

Is this the kind of behaviour that the  BSTU  condones?

Mr. Jones, if you are aware of the comments of a teacher on Facebook and the actions of a teacher neglecting her students to further her own education, how in the name of all that is right and decent can you tell me that you do not know when this impasse will end?

YOU NEED TO END IT NOW!

Following the tennis game of back and forth between you and the Prime Minister is giving the country a stiff neck. You were elected to represent the people's interest and we the people demand action NOW!
Get new teachers into Alexandra! Even if you have to pull them from other schools, DO IT NOW! Forget the protocols and the red tape. Take action now and deal with the fallout later. It is not like Governments in this country do not have a history of taken action first and enacting legislation to legitimize their activities later.

Secondly, deal with the delinquent teachers. I  honestly believe that it is not in the best interest of the students of Alexandra to have the teachers currently off the job return to that school. However, I will wait until after Wednesday next week to comment further.

In every term of office there is an incident, the handling of which determines how that administration is judged in the eyes of the public.This is it for Mr. Stuart's team. We eagerly await Tuesday or Wednesday next week. I leave you with this quote:-

"Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."  Sydney J. Harris

The BSTU needs to read Sun Tzu

I have often been accused of having a regimental mind. I believe one should live their lives according to a set of rules and naturally my early exposure to military discipline have shaped my view of the world.  Now having said that let me continue my assessment of the current situation at the Alexandra School.  I was tempted to approach this article as a parent of a child preparing for CXC at the Alexandra School and use this space as a forum for venting the frustrations I feel at the current situation. However, that ever present discipline kicked in and I am going to fore go emotion for logical observation.

I must ask. "Was I the only person not surprised by the fact that the BSTU embarrassed the Prime Minister by refusing to meet with his appointed committee to try to bring a resolution to this affair?"

From the start of this impasse the Barbados Secondary Teachers Union, (BSTU), has taken the position to withdraw the labour of their members from the school until the current principal is "separated" from the school. This was their position and by taking that position I immediate saw that this was going to be a problem. Thirteen (13) days ago I called for the Minister of Education to intervene because I saw that the approach the BSTU was taking was fundamentally flawed if the required result was a amicable resolution of perceived differences. As a trained military strategist I saw that the BSTU was not entering into a negotiation as is the case with most industrial relations disputes, they were going to WAR!

As trade unionist the BSTU would have been familiar with the collective bargaining process which comprises of five core steps:

Preparation: This phase involves composition of a negotiation team. The negotiation team should consist of representatives of both the parties with adequate knowledge and skills for negotiation. In this phase both sides examine their own situation in order to develop the issues that they believe will be most important. The first thing to be done is to determine whether there is actually any reason to negotiate at all. A correct understanding of the main issues to be covered and intimate knowledge of operations, working conditions, production norms and other relevant conditions is required.

Discussion: Here, the parties decide the ground rules that will guide the negotiations. A process well begun is half done and this is no less true in case of collective bargaining. An environment of mutual trust and understanding is also created so that the collective bargaining agreement would be reached.

Proposition: This phase involves the initial opening statements and the possible options that exist to resolve them. In a word, this phase could be described as ‘brainstorming’. The exchange of messages takes place and opinion of both the parties is sought.

Bargaining: negotiations are easy if a problem solving attitude is adopted. This stage comprises the time when ‘what ifs’ and ‘supposals’ are set forth and the drafting of agreements take place.

Settlement: Once the parties are through with the bargaining process, a consensual agreement is reached upon wherein both the parties agree to a common decision regarding the problem or the issue. This stage is described as consisting of effective joint implementation of the agreement through shared visions, strategic planning and negotiated change.

The BSTU decided to bypass the first four(4) of these stages so how can we expect them to reach stage Five(5)?

By stating their non-negotiable position they effectively declared war. However, since they were not trained in the strategies of war they made a few fundamental mistakes. They ignored the following principles as espoused by Sun Tzu in his definitive work, "The Art of War."

"To a surrounded enemy, you must leave a way of escape." Sun Tzu

"Confront them with annihilation, and they will then survive; plunge them into a deadly situation, and they will then live. When people fall into danger, they are then able to strive for victory." Sun Tzu

Issuing ultimatums leave no room for negotiation. It only means that you are forcing the other party to fight for their lives and they will thus respond by fighting even harder that they would have done if given a choice. The Principal was forced to rally his supporters and gather his forces in preparation for a fight to the death, thereby resulting in the stand off we see today. For there to be a hope of a settlement all parties must be willing to negotiate. The BSTU obviously never had any intention of negotiating. However, it is obvious that  they have no clearly defined battle strategy and their tactics appear to be one of laying siege to the education system in Barbados.

"The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, 

with the result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege." 

Sun Tzu

Unfortunately, the ones that will suffer most in these circumstances is the children and we as a society cannot and should not allow this to happen. The BSTU, by declaring war against the, "inability of the Ministry of Education to address their concerns,"  have declared war on the Trade Union Movement of Barbados, the Government of Barbados and more importantly on the Children of Barbados. The BSTU were obviously not aware of the following:- 

"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win." Sun Tzu

My major concern regarding the effect of this war on our children was highlighted by my daughter, a student of Alexandra. She feels betrayed by the actions of the teachers and it is the general consensus among her peers that the absent teachers' blatant disregard for the effect their actions will have on their education and consequently their future is an unforgivable act and that they will never be able to relate in the same way to these teachers again.  The powers that be are now faced with the fact that neither the students or the parents have any confidence in the ability of the striking teachers to act in the best interest of the children at Alexandra School. Even if this impasse was to finish tomorrow, I for one would be uncomfortable with these teachers being again put in charge of my child.

Where do we go from here?

Mr. Prime Minister as Commander in Chief , on one hand you are faced with a General, (Minister of Education) who has just lost the Battle of Constitution Road to a mutinous band of renegades, (the BSTU), and is in retreat. The BSTU, who you thought was under your command, has launched a vicious attack on the most vulnerable members of society and your people are under siege.  What is your next move?

Sun Tzu said: The art of war recognises nine varieties of ground: (1) Dispersive ground; (2) facile ground; (3) contentious ground; (4) open ground; (5) ground of intersecting highways; (6) serious ground; (7) difficult ground; (8) hemmed-in ground; (9) desperate ground. Mr. Prime Minister in December you were on serious ground, you have now passed through difficult to hemmed-in ground and you can see desperate ground in the near distance. 

What should your strategy be?

Sun Tzu teaches that on hemmed-in ground, resort to stratagem.  Mr. Prime Minister, it is time to get creative. The Art of War states in regards to hemmed-ground :-

"In such a position, some scheme must be devised which will suit the circumstances, and if we can succeed in deluding the enemy, the peril may be escaped." This is exactly what happened on the famous occasion when Hannibal was hemmed in among the mountains on the road to Casilinum, and to all appearances entrapped by the dictator Fabius.  When night came on, bundles of twigs were fastened to the horns of some 2000 oxen and set on fire, the terrified animals being then quickly driven along the mountain side towards the passes which were beset by the enemy. The strange spectacle of these rapidly moving lights so alarmed and discomfited the Romans that they withdrew from their position, and Hannibal's army passed safely through.

The lesson here is simple. Something decisive and dramatic needs to be done. Mr. Prime Minister, I listened to your "heads will role speech" last year and I am still waiting for the guillotine to fall. At the  St. Lucy Parish Church, during a service of thanksgiving in honour of the Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow, I listened to you described the teachers’ strike at the Alexandra Secondary School as, "a lot of unnecessary controversy." You went on to say, “I want to assure you that I am going to give this matter my immediate attention.” 

“I have been hearing the arguments for and against what has been going on at that school. I have been hearing who is right and who is wrong. However, I know who are not wrong – the students of Alexandra School are not wrong,”  you stated.

“However, our children have been left at a disadvantage, as we await the appropriate processes to work,” you said.

“The situation at Alexandra will be put to an end. This adolescent exhibition of immaturity has to be brought to an end.” 

Nice words but why does the following quote come to mind?

...... but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5

It is indeed ironic that. Mr. Patrick Frost, the esteemed gentleman and teacher who first taught me to appreciate the beauty of words like these whilst I was his student at the Lodge School,  should have his name adorn the building wherein this present flawed strategy was conceptualised  by the BSTU. However, I digress.

Desperate ground is on the horizon, Mr. Prime Minister. Sun Tzu teaches:-

On desperate ground, fight.  Sun Tzu

Those who were called skillful leaders of old knew how to drive a wedge between the enemy's front and rear to prevent co-operation between his large and small divisions, to hinder the good troops from rescuing the bad, the officers from rallying their men. When the enemy's men were united, they managed to keep them in disorder. If asked how to cope with a great host of the enemy in orderly array and on the point of marching to the attack, I should say: "Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will." 

Rapidity is the essence of war.  Sun Tzu

I will only say to you Mr. Prime Minister, that a job is is a dear possession in these difficult times and there must be some consequence for refusing to do it when ordered to by your employers. Carpe Diem Mr. Prime Minister, the next move is yours. We are watching. I leave you with this quote by another famous Chinese General :-

"Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive. Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack. It would be hard to find a better epitome of the root-principle of war." Chang Yu 

Can We Keep the Donkey in 2012 or Will We have to Sell our Ass?

As I sat here reflecting on the past year and contemplating 2012 the chorus of Popsicle's song, "Don't Sell Cornwell", kept repeating itself in my head.  No matter how hard I tried I could not get the donkey out of my head so thus assified I started to write. (Yes, it is a word the Urban Dictionary defines "assified" as "to be made ass, by something that is already ass in state or being", I kid you not!)

It dawned on me that the Globe Cinema that had played such a major part of my young life was no more. I can still vividly remember the many Wednesday afternoons when I would join my fellow truant Lodge School students as we met with like minded Combermere boys and the occasional Harrison College deviant, for the 12:30 show in the pit to see the latest Kung Fu flick. The next three hours we would be entertained by the exploits of the Silver Fox, Cheng Sing or Chung Li as we discussed the merits of the Snake, Mantis, Crane, Tiger and Drunken Master techniques.

And who can forget the Saturday afternoons. This time at 4:30 in the House with your sweetheart or, (if you were really trying to impress and hoped to spend some quality time in Queen's Park afterwards), in the Balcony. I would take the memories of watching Endless Love and the Blue Lagoon in the Globe (with my darling of the time), to my grave as some of the fondest memories of my teenage life.
My wish is that some entity would realise the value a 1000 plus seat venue could be to the performing arts in Barbados and lease or purchase the property before it follows the Empire Cinema into infamy. This is one donkey we want to keep in 2012.

As I was thinking about jackasses my mind somehow, inexplicably, swung towards the current DLP government. 2011 ended in a flurry with rumours of attempted coups and denials of conspiracies and a leader insinuating that there will be consequences for actions planned, however badly executed. The year has started and the Prime Minister has stuck to his usual modis operandi, epitomising the premise that Silence is Golden. The belief that  keeping quiet and being thought an ass, is better than opening your mouth and removing all doubt, might be useful for some members of our current government but is not what we expect from our leaders. Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task." Mr. Prime Minister, if you cannot garner the support of your colleagues, how can you hope to command the support of voters later this year? Mr. Prime Minister, I don't know who you have advising you and how much you are paying them but I am going to offer you some free advice.  This is not an original concept. It was given to all, "future leaders", as we graduated from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. It is as follows:- "You must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. Also, note that it is the followers, not the leader or someone else who determines if the leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader, then they will be uninspired. To be successful you have to convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed." As my primary school teacher used to say, "A word to the wise is sufficient." You can decide if you are going to "keep the donkey or sell your ass this election year."

It seems that 2012 is definitely going to be the year of the donkey. The Barbados Secondary Teachers Union in their wisdom has decided that 2012 is the year that they should try to remove Principal Jeff Broome from the Alexandra School. My daughter is in the Fourth Form at Alexandra and I am therefore paying very close attention to the situation as it unfolds. What annoys me most about the BSTU and their issues with Mr. Broome is the timing of their protests. Mr. Broome made his latest "offending" comments before the start of the Christmas break. If the point of the current protest was to demonstrate to the Ministry of Education that efforts must be made to somehow censor Mr. Broome for his comments, the protest should had been immediate. If the teachers of Alexandra School had spent their Christmas holidays picketing the Ministry Of Education, I would have been impressed. But to take the asinine approach of waiting until school restarts so as to disrupt the education of the students proves that Mr. Broome's comments about the commitment of some teachers were more than justified. Mr. Minister of Education, how long will you allow this travesty to continue. Mr.Broome has the backing of the parents and I hope that of your ministry. No one can question his commitment to the education of the children in his charge. Can the same be said about the teachers that have withdrawn their services?

Mr. Minister, since 2012 seems to have put me in the mood for given unsolicited advice I will remind you of a phrase popularly used to describe the British Infantry of World War I. That is. "Lions led by Donkeys."
However, as a student of history you will no doubt know that the origins of the phrase pre-date the First World War. During the Crimean War a letter was reportedly sent home by a British soldier quoting a Russian officer who had said that British soldiers were ‘lions commanded by asses'. This was immediately after the failed attempt to storm the fortress of Sevastopol. My advice to you, Mr. Minister is this, "Do not let this phrase describe the relationship between your ministry,our principals and our teachers." Just so you know, I consider Mr. Broome to be a lion.
My friends, all that remains is for me to leave you with this quote:-

“If one man says to thee, ''Thou art a donkey',' pay no heed. If two speak thus, purchase a saddle.” The Talmud