Education officials are deeply concerned about literacy issues among school-aged children.
Assistant Director of Education Ineta Francis noted that some primary-level students struggle with acceptable English proficiency.
Francis highlighted that both local students and those who speak other languages face significant challenges.
Recently, there was a 6 percent decrease in students achieving acceptable grades in the Grade Six National Assessment, with literacy being the most concerning area.
Francis mentioned that Math and Social Studies performance remained relatively stable.
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This is expected when kids are glued to screens all day. Parents are too busy to parent nowadays. Everyday I thank god my parents limited my screen time and would make sure I kept busy helping with chores and learning how to be the responsible woman I am today. I was told I had to go play outside and when I was bored I would entertain myself with a BOOK. Reading is very important for development. As a teacher I see the decline. Parents expect us to do it all but we can’t. This starts in the home with parents. Instead of giving your child a screen to shut them up, try reading to them from birth to peak their interest in books and they will grow. Be a present parent and equip them with skills that will ensure they succeed. Help your children with homework and take a keen interest in their education. We need to do better.
Alarmed? Shmmmm school age children as young as 7 smoking marijuana……..are they still alarmed?
Firstly, kids need people within their household who stresses reading and education as a priority. Too often families are more focused on survival needs rather than children’s education. Parents and guardians need to stress the importance of reading.
Today, kids have limited access to books other than their text books. Library and library skills are not even a part of every school curriculum today. Libraries in schools are almost extinct and obsolete. Social media has practically wiped out kids and even adults desire to read books. We spend hours each week on Facebook and other sites instead of meaningful engagement in reading. And parents must reinforce the need for children to speak proper English at home by setting the example. Kids today are struggling with stringing together sentences in a proper and cohesive manner, instead, they are writing just as they speak. We need to stop expecting teachers to make miracles of children who have little or no home training and discipline. If you look at those very successful students, the one commonality – an engaged and active parents every step of their children’s lives.
The children of today aren’t being monitor and raise properly because parents busy out there hustling to make ends meets, some out partying every night and I’m very sorry to say this but we have too many unqualified teacher in our primary school system
The Ministry of Education needs to do more monitoring of the teachers in those grades. Progress reports and content and dispensing of the content monitoring are crucial if there will be improvement. You cannot improve what you do not monitor/observe. Also not all teachers are equal.
How about this holiday, instead of paying money for a carnival costume or a summer camp, why not invest in a good tutor who would help to teach your child to learn the basics?
Who knows? Maybe he/she might go back to school a bit more literate and numerically capable.
Just asking
Maybe it is because the educational system is outdated. These young people live in a different world and need to be trained accordingly.
@ wadad 1
There is nothing outdated about learning to read and write and count.
Until the exams they are writing to get ahead in this world are done on a smart phone screen and they do not have to retain anything, nor learn to to read, spell, count because they have a spell checker, etc. right there on the phone, then they have to know the basics.
BTW, the world they live in now still demands those things.
Since everyone knows that children are watching videos, playing games etc. more than reading these days, schools should do more to encourage literacy e.g. have a classroom library or reading corner, having a reading hour or half hour each week where students read a book together taking turns or each read quietly at their desk, have students borrow a book each week from the school library and report on it verbally or in writing each week or month or term etc. etc. etc. They could also play reading games on school computers etc. They are more likely to want to do these things at school with their classmates than at home.
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