Minister: stop making children of Haitian parentage 'scapegoats'
By ALISON LOWE
Tribune Staff Reporter
alowe@tribunemedia.net:
BAHAMIAN parents who are not living up to their responsibility to provide the support their children need to achieve their potential must focus on doing this rather than making children of Haitian parentage "scapegoats" in the education system, according to the Minister of Education.
Pointing out that there are children of both Bahamian and Haitian parentage who are excelling in their schools, Minister of Education Desmond Bannister chalked this up to the supportive environment these children's parents have provided for them and said that as Minister of Education one of his priorities is "trying to create an awareness of the need for Bahamian parents to pay attention to the education needs of our children."
"We have many success stories - if you see the high level of attainment we had this year it has given me a problem because I have to find funding for scholarships at a level we have never seen before, even though we put $7 million for scholarships this year it is still not enough, (because) so many of our children who are getting parental support who are doing magnificently in school.
"What I am concerned about those parents not spending time with kids whose kids are engaging in anti-social conduct and who are not doing well, and who are using children of Haitian origin as scapegoats. We don't need that in our country. We need all of our children to do well," said the Minister.
Mr Bannister was speaking on Island FM's Parliament Street radio talk show yesterday afternoon.
In response to a question from host Dr Sophia Rolle in which she asked him to respond to "some of your detractors who would be overly concerned about the number of foreign students in the Bahamian school system", Mr Bannister said: "This issue is very explosive in The Bahamas. Extremely explosive."
He noted how he had been the subject of "some really nasty remarks" after The Tribune printed an article in July in which he was quoted as acknowledging the impressive achievements of many Haitian children in Bahamian public schools and said that The Bahamas has an obligation to ensure every child is educated.
He also commented at that time on the fact that many Haitian parents take a very active interest in their child's education, which was enabling them to excel in school.
Speaking yesterday Mr Bannister said: "Since then people have attributed all kinds of remarks to me which are not true. What I am trying to create in The Bahamas is an awareness of the need for Bahamian parents to pay attention to the education needs of our children.
"Too many parents have dropped the ball in terms of spending the time that is required to help their children achieve success in education so children of Haitian abstraction will always be a focus of discontent because so many of them are doing well, and so many of our parents - many are doing good jobs - but some who are not doing a good job are going to utilise (children of Haitian parentage) as scapegoats when the reality is got to focus on what our children are doing."
Illustrating the role that parenting plays in creating the environment which can allow a child to excel, Mr Bannister noted the example of a friend who home-schooled his son.
"He called me the other day so gratified we helped his son take his BGCSEs. His son got eight A's in the BGCSEs. He's put everything into this child, so of course that meant sacrifices at home, that meant someone staying at home, less income for the family, but the child did extremely well."
Meanwhile, he spoke of two girls born in the Bahamas, each of whom has one or more parents of Haitian origin, who are both valedictorians at their respective public high schools in New Providence.
"They are no more intelligent than any other child who is in the school, they are entitled to be in our system, but the reality is that the parents are spending the time with them and they are excelling.
Someone called me from Grand Bahama and someone called me from Abaco and they told me the same story and it's not that anyone is any smarter than any of our children but it's time for us to appreciate children will excel when they get parental support.
"If you get up in the morning and don't pay attention to your children, don't make sure they get breakfast, that they're prepared for school, if you stay out late at night and don't help them with their homework if you are not putting time into their lives they are not going to see what these children (the ones who do well at school) see," said Mr Bannister.
August 23, 2010
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