Out of Reach

 

 

Hi there Madam Chief,

I heard you used to teach

But what I heard you say today

Is clearly out of reach.

 

For your reform explanation

I give you an “A” for muddle,

Strugglers like me received an “F”

For we are puzzled.

 

I did a little teaching too

Maybe not as high up as you

But if I am lost re what I heard,

How will our children do?

 

You can pull this apart,

I have no doubt you would

But if you can’t explain this reform

This would do no good.

 

Excellence is not created

As in building a new school

Any more than being stubborn

Makes one a mule.

 

 

Excellence is crafted

Through effort and over time

By a teacher’s excellent pedagogy

To stimulate the mind.

 

Excellence is to be aimed for

Regardless of the school

And each school must be enabled

To find this groove.

 

Stop stereotyping children

Based on their local community,

These too are full of promise

And are a thing of beauty.

 

Made in the image of God

And created to succeed,

Like in the heights and terraces

All can believe.

 

Socio-economic circumstances

Need not have the final say

If we all come together

And show them the way.

 

 

Each one help one

Must be part of Education reform

And the upliftment of Barbados

Must become the norm.

 

So that “this is who we are”

May make sense to all

And not only to a privileged few

Who are the “chosen called”.

 

Out of reach, Madam Chief,

Bring it closer home,

This excellence you struggled with

Must be in all zones.

 

Stewart Russell © November 8, 2023

 

Blame It on COVID

 

 

Looking for an excuse

For some scheme that fell through?

Blame it on COVID!

That’s what you can do.

 

Want to send home workers

And make them redundant?

Blame it on COVID!

That’s a working solution.

 

Integrity legislation pending

But cannot now be passed?

Blame it on COVID!

Now that’s an easy task. 

Price gouging being aired

But they say it’s not really so?

Blame it on COVID

As though we didn’t know.

 

 

Most vulnerable students not in line

With the online approach?

Blame it on COVID!

It’s COVID that encroached.

 

Afraid to go online

Without wearing a mask?

Blame it on COVID

Then complete your task. 

 

Not enough in the Senate

To vote on a critical matter?

Blame it on COVID!

And stop unnecessary chatter.

 

Water shortage like before

And even getting worse?

Blame it on COVID!

For sure, COVID is the curse.

 

Different strokes for different folk

And money still talks?

Blame it on COVID!

And be careful where you walk.

 

Vaccines by appointment

But you can’t get an appointment?

Blame it on COVID!

On COVID you should vent.

 

More people dying now

Than were ever dying before?

Blame it on COVID!

There is likely to be more.

 

 

Gun violence on the increase

And more guns still coming in?

Blame it on COVID

And bear it with a grin.

                                                              

Church membership falling away

And offerings low?

Blame it on COVID!

That’s why this is so.

 

Trade Unions going silent

And their workers in despair?

Blame it on COVID

For COVID doesn’t care.

 

One Union being torn apart

And inside fighting, the glitch?

Blame it on COVID!

What a horrible sales pitch!

 

 

Fuel gone through the ceiling

And paying more at the pump?

Blame it on COVID!

COVID is making us grunt.

 

Some roads are getting repaired

While others are ignored?

Blame it on COVID!

COVID is an eye-sore.

 

CXC will likely get it wrong

For the second year on a stretch?

Blame it on COVID!

COVID is a wretch.

 

No Crop-Over jump-up this year

Or the celebration is mute?

Blame it on COVID!

COVID is surely a brute.

 

If we don’t become a Republic

By this coming Independence,

Blame it on COVID!

COVID is a nuisance.

 

 

No answers to the many questions

And more questions than answers?

Blame it on COVID!

It’s the new cancer.

 

You are failing at most things

Just like you failed before?

Blame it on COVID!

COVID is at the door.

 

You have run out of scapegoats

And have no one to blame?

COVID is ready and available

So just hop on that train.

 

Anything that goes wrong

And you think you are not the reason,

Blame it on COVID!

After all, it’s COVID season.

 

 

COVID is the scapegoat

For everything that’s going wrong

It’s no longer the devil,

We’ve found another clown.

 

Stewart Russell © June 16, 2021

 

The Common Entrance Trap

Trapped in a hole

Unable to get out

And in another couple of days

Another bout.

Of stresses and fears

Of disappointments and tears

Of selection and rejection

And dejected stares.

“D” day it is called

When this scourge comes around,

No bad schools all good schools

But disparities abound.

The crème de la crème

Guaranteed the top

And many of the less privileged

At the bottom left to rot.

A real trap it is

Can we not see it?

Maybe, a useful tool in the past

But should now exit.

Mixed abilities we advocate

In our primary schools

But bright ones here and others there

Via the Common Entrance tool.

No bad schools all good schools

Yet there’s a pecking order

And for every secondary school

There is a specific border.

From the top to the bottom

Determined by the scores

And secondly the choices of parents

Nothing less nothing more.

Whether perceived or real

A trap is a trap

And the Common Entrance is,

It’s definitely a trap.

  

It preempts best practice

Forcing teaching to the test

Where students with good memory

Always do the best.

It thwarts problem-solving skills

There’s so little time,

Formulas are memorized

And critical thinking is left behind.

Keeping those at the top

Which are off to a quick start

And maintaining the status quo

With which we dare not part.

After all, there is a tradition

And tradition must be maintained

And if you happen to be down

That too must be sustained.

“My Father went there

And I went there too,

That is surely the best school

And so must you.

“When I look in the tabloids

For the ten at the top

You must there my son/daughter

Right in that top spot.”

Education is about equality

But all are not equal,

No bad schools all good schools

But some for certain people.

Leaving no one behind

Has been a declared policy

But some schools have been left

What abject lunacy!

Perceived ‘good teachers’

Depends on where they teach,

The otherwise are blamed

For every rule their students breach.

Surely at certain schools

Such a problem will not occur,

Thereat are the ‘good teachers’

Whom nothing can deter.

A teacher feels victimized

If transferred to a certain school,

And this sometimes happens

When teachers flout the rules.

At both primary and secondary

The perception is rife,

Some schools are inherently good

While others are not so nice.

The Common Entrance is a trap

In the way that it is used,

While in itself it could be useful

Currently, it is abused.

Being the sole determinant

And premised on a single score

Makes it a high stakes exam

Fraught with problems galore.

It would be so much better

If the exam were used for teaching

Instead of the trap it now is

Here is where I end my preaching.

Stewart Russell © April 2019

First Day Back

 

Back to school

After the long one

Preparing to be early

Ever since dawn

Government buses scarce

Minibuses to the aid

ZR vans up and down

Also plying their chair

New classes, new forms

New schools too

New uniforms and bags

Everything new

New pupils with parents

Hovering close

Streets full of children

Quite a host

A few wails and screams

Among the new

Uncertainty and fear

Troubling a few

Terminals full of students

Some in a queue

The big ones getting ready

To push on through

The schools spruced up

Await each charge

A few teachers around

Looming large

A hive of activity

A cacophony of noise

Back to school

For our girls and boys

Here’s wishing them

A productive year

They are in our thoughts

And also our prayers

  

We wish them success

As they study hard

With the likelihood

Of a better report card

Stewart Russell © September 2018

Teaching Is the Best

A teacher is a tool

That uses his tools

To teach someone else

Not to be a fool

Don’t take a teacher lightly

Jesus was one

In fact he was the best

Since creation’s dawn

It is my belief

It is the best career

And making it a vocation

Requires thought and care

It’s not about taking

But more about giving

And at every step

It’s always about living

Everyone is a teacher

Each and every day

But it is the trained teacher

That truly leads the way

He must have a passion

But he also must be trained

As such he makes less mistakes

And causes us less pain

He must have a love

For the teaching career

And to each of his students

He must dedicate his care

Researching and studying

Evaluating and analyzing

And like the goodly doctor

Diagnosing before prescribing

It’s no guessing business

Or one cure fits all

For one to be a teacher

He should have had a call

  

So if you want to be teacher

Just to make some money

That’s the wrong profession

You will be sorry

And if you want to be a teacher

Because the hours appear short

Right now before you start

This is the time to abort

You will burn the midnight oil

And the candle at both ends

And beyond nine till three

You’ll be working hard, my friend

If you want to be a teacher

Because of the vacation time

You’ll need every single minute

For stress will cloud your mind

It’s not a lovely picture

But it’s a rewarding vocation

For at the end of the day

You would have built a nation

You’ll look back and you’ll see

The many you’ve helped to grow

And like the diligent farmer

Bless God for the seeds you sowed

The doctor and the lawyer

The artisan and the artist

Even the teacher and the dancer

Don’t forget the economist

There’s not a single profession

That you would not have touched

And many would shake your hand

In response for giving so much

So if you’re at the crossroads

And you’re wondering what to do

Teaching is a great option

That is my expert view

But only if you’ve considered

All I have said before

If with passion you pursue teaching

For you there’s much in store

Thank all of you for reading

And giving your cellphone a rest

I maintain my former position

Teaching is the best!

Stewart Russell © September 2018