Six education goals targeted
Posted on Tue, 10/30/2012 - 16:33 in Local News
(CNS): The government is seeking input from the public at large on its new five year strategic plan, in which it has identified six goals for the future of local education. Launching the public consultation period on his policy, the education minister said he wanted to give everyone a voice in the education system. Officials explained that the strategic goals derive largely from current key priorities in education and are meant to sustain the progress made since the inception of the Education Stabilisation Plan. Leadership, early education, higher standards, skills for learning, life and work, safer schools and parents' engagement are the six goals on which the reform of the education system will be based.
“I want everyone to have their say in our education reform and to ensure that the Strategic Plan fits our needs as a country,” Rolston Anglin stated Monday. “During the consultation, I encourage everyone to fill out the survey … so that we can hear what you think our education system needs to make it better. If you think your point is minor, we still want to know about it as it may be something crucial that we have overlooked and need to include in the plan.”
This plan, which is now in the third phase of consultation, will be the road map for improving the local education system over the next five years, and according to the chief officer in the education ministry, reflects feedback from a range of focus groups over the last two months.
“There were 13 groups in all, with some 218 participants and some 44 survey participants. As this plan is a transition from the January 2011 Education Stabilisation Plan, it also draws on the feedback from hundreds more of our educators and parents who helped to shape that earlier plan,” Mary Rodrigues said.
Although the usual stakeholders have been involved in the consultation so far, Rodrigues said that this time students were also involved as well as teachers and parents.
“Too often strategic plans for education are developed just by adults deciding what is in the best interests of our students. We spoke with students from primary schools, CIFEC, the Passport2Success Programme, and the Youth Assembly,” she said. “They were engaged, insightful and ready to share their views on what matters to them, and how we can make things better.”
The plan originally started out with five strategic goals but grew to six after consistent feedback that parent involvement needed its own separate goal statement.
Officials said that a detailed implementation structure has been developed to ensure that the plan translates into results, but now the wider public needed to have its say to make sure nothing important has been missed and to make sure the key elements to improve the system have been captured.
The public consultation will run for two weeks, ending on Friday 9 November. Anyone who wishes to find out more about the changes that will take place and to give their feedback should visit www.education.gov.ky or email educationreform@gov.ky. Here you will find the draft strategic plan along with other supporting documents and the survey, which the ministry wants as many as possible to complete.
See draft plan here.
Take part in the survey here.
Email this pageViewpoints
Latest Classifieds
- For Sale: Apple Iphone 5 32Gb And Samsung Galaxy S4
- Scholarship Fundraiser
- Great Priced North Coast Sandy Beach Lot for Sale
- Original brand new apple iphone 5 64gb,32gb,16gb,Samsung Galaxy S3,S4
- Beautiful Cayaman Style Home
- for sale: samsung galaxy s4, apple iphone 5
- 2004 HONDA FIT
- 2004 HONDA FIT
- Walkers Rd condo for Rent - Poincianas
- Pups for sale
Comment Policy
The comments posted do not necessarily reflect the views of CNS or any individual staff member. All comments are posted subject to approval by CNS. Read more
Recent Comments
- Mr. Premier, you have no idea
1 hour 50 min ago - You need to check out their
1 hour 52 min ago - Sorry to dissappoint you but
1 hour 54 min ago - PPM does not need anyone to
1 hour 57 min ago - Roy and C4C are holding a
2 hours 4 min ago - She has already turned it
2 hours 6 min ago - This is not a problem. We
2 hours 6 min ago - He may have gotte the offer
2 hours 8 min ago - you bet he is watching and
2 hours 9 min ago - If Tara accepts does that
2 hours 11 min ago
Search
Follow CNS via ...
Facebook Twitter RSS
Comments
SHAME I SAY! How can ANY
SHAME I SAY!
How can ANY child go to school for 15+years and not know how to read or write??
SHAME on the education system and the parents!!
That really is quite amazing
That really is quite amazing when you think of it
Ahhm - What school do his
Ahhm - What school do his children - and the chief officers +MLAs attend?
If the public schools are so good, then bring these kids over!
OR are you waiting for the new school Dart is to build you?
God give us Grace
Rolston, you need to evacuate
Rolston, you need to evacuate immediately!
The steam ship UDP is on the reef and taking on water rapidly.
Everyone else with clear vision has left the sinking ship.
There is no future in going down with a destroyed vessel.
Live to sail another day.
Get out of the UDP now!
What a pile of #%^.... You
What a pile of #%^....
You say this is a NATIONAL PLAN - but you give us only 5 working days to look at it and give feedback????
Whatever - someone must be high in the building
Why bother with alcohol
Why bother with alcohol awareness education? The bars are full all weekend and several nights a week with "parents" who have left their children home so they can drink. Parents need to lead by example.
And why so much jibber jabber about female students who graduate pregnant? Where is the outrage at the 20, 30 & 40 year old men who prey upon them, and the deadbeat parents who don't seem to care?
Perhaps alcohol awareness
Why would anyone want to
Why would anyone want to inject a fresh set of new ideas and life into an entrourage that has clearly shown they are incompetent to create any of their own substative ideas, unless that idea somehow allows them to only give credit to thier little regime to continue to insure thier job security.
Let them sow what they have reaped: isolated religuous regimes in the educational system and failure. Bring in a more objective and secular crowd that will care about creating a learning environment.
My only fear in posting this will be to hear the current culture of managerial double speak warp the phrase "creating a learning environment" , similar to the process when you hear a "christian scientist" attempt to warp a new scientific discovery into a proof for the legitiamacy of the bible.
What a mess. Learn to spell
What a mess. Learn to spell and we might think that you are really interested in education.
The writer may not have spelt
The writer may not have spelt all his words correctly but he clearly knows how to write. What about you? I
Learn how to rebuttal instead
Learn how to rebuttal instead of bringing somebody down do your superficial level.
It's a reflection of our
So you think when it comes to
So you think when it comes to education correct spelling and sentence construction are superficial matters? It seems that you are part of the problem, not the solution.
Wow. It gets worse. It seems
Wow. It gets worse. It seems you find it difficult to construct a proper sentence.
Learn how to tell the
Learn how to tell the difference between nouns, like "rebuttal", and verbs, like "rebut", otherwise you will just keep digging a hole for yourself.
Still trying to weasel out
Still trying to weasel out of addressing the pointe...thats ok, whats to be expected from somebody who has nothing to say -all form, no substance. I guess your continued avoidance is proof that my observation stands trrue.
I added a few errors above in case your ADD starts to kick in and you start to get tired of comprehending and would rather regress to 3rd grade grammatical details. I hope that helps with your problem. Take Care.
Pretending to insert
Vocational training is needed
Vocational training is needed badly, in many fields, or at least the basics of those so that the kids that want to can get to college and get the needed qualifications, and those that cannot can become mechanics or electricians or plumbers or hairdresser or nurse or whatever...never seen a poor plumber nor electrician, always a need..
Add a 7th goal for the
AMEN!!!
AMEN!!!
There is a generation of
How can the Minister of
How can the Minister of Education address parental responsibility when a major parenting problem in Cayman is excessive drinking by fathers?
You people are hateful!! What
You people are hateful!! What about offering some good input instead of interfering in people's personal business. I also noticed a writer's comment that we ar one generation late. I will add to that- we are three generation late.
For 16 years the present
For 16 years the present Education Minister shouted "education is my #1 priority" from his
platform.
He did NOTHING until he was FORCED to continue what Alden McLaughlin had started.
He had NO other CHOICE but to continue with the education plans he inherited in 2009.
T I M E was the ONLY factor that got him started on his 16 year old prpmise.
NOW, what he is proposing, in my opinion, is ONLY a political gimmick to try to sway voters
for 2013.
I've been made to understand that CG will not be running in the upcoming election.
I hope and pray this Education Minister will follow suit.
We seriously need MLA's with dignity, respect, honor and integrity, and strong family values.
Polishing a turd does not do
Polishing a turd does not do much for anyone.
The education system of Cayman has fallen very short of all decent standards, moral and educational. Yes I know that one or two kids will win loads of prizes at Graduation Day, but what about the other 500?
Anyway, I'm tired of complaining. I am going to open my own school. It will be called, "Faith, Hope & Love."
Laugh at me, but with those three attributes under our belts, we would reach excellence in the academics. Call me a dreamer. You are right.
Using potty language doesn't
Dreamer.
I'm a student who has passed
I'm a student who has passed through the public system, and now integrated into Cayman Prep (private school). From my point of view, it's not just the system that needs adjustment. It's also the quality of parenting of some parents of those in the public system. Want to know why? I was walking home, in my school uniform, and one boy on the John Gray bus shouted this to me: "you're white trash and got it easy", and the rest of the kids on the bus laughed, as if they were in agreement.
It's just ignorance. Why are children being raised to judge before knowing a person's real identity? Assumptions as such aren't exactly applaudable in our society. Why is it that because I go to a private school that (some) people believe I am wealthy and have everything fed to me with a platinum spoon? For the most part, how a child acts in public is a reflection of his or her parents.
And wealth definitely has no correlation to the grades you receive at school. You put the effort in, you obtain the results you want. Some of you will disagree, but, I personally know some kids who are of the lower socio-economic profiles at Prep and are the top in their class academically. There are also kids who do not perform well in private schools too - they do exist - and its because of lack of effort.
It's not just the system, and the parenting - it's also the student's attitude. I believe that if any of you readers on this site were invisible and witnessed a day in the life at any of the public schools that you will be disgusted by how they conduct themselves and treat fellow students and faculty. It's shocking. Take it from someone who begged their parents to switch out so I could have a better shot at succeeding because I wasn't in an environment where the majority wanted to try. It's difficult to survive and succeed when you're surrounded by kids who don't care enough about school, or just disrupt classes - because it affects everyone's learning.
Sounds like you are getting
Sounds like you are getting an real education that you can use to have a great responsible life thanks to your parents. The bus kids are not and will not thanks to theirs. Life will be a hard lesson for them and a great adventure for you. That will be the real difference.
This well written post
This well written post confirms some anecdotal comments that I have heart from both parents and students.
Very well said!!! Your
Very well said!!! Your future is bright !!!
Parents take note, she / he definately has hit the nail on the head. This not only applies to high school students but also to elementary students. One would be very surprised to see the "attitudes" and behaviour of some of the elementary students.
Got to get new glasses!!!! I
Got to get new glasses!!!!
I just read your headline as 'Sex education goals targeted'. LOL!!!!!
Don't laugh. Sex and
Don't laugh.
Sex and relationship education is sorely needed given the number of unwanted babies that are born to young, single women.
Or an abortion law that
Or an abortion law that improves the lot of women in Cayman and would ultimately reduce violent crime.
anon 1651 I trust you are in
anon 1651 I trust you are in cluding the parents as well. A lotof the problems lie with them.
True. But remember that this
True. But remember that this comment applies to many other places on this earth. It is not just a Cayman issue.
Sad to say, but the problem
Sad to say, but the problem in Cayman's schools isn't unwanted pregnancies among these teenage girls, but that it appears to be planned for the most part.
How many girls have been seen graduating public high school here in the Cayman Islands in the last 3 years while visably pregnant? At one Graduation alone, I was informed that there were no fewer than five (5). SHOCKING !!
I have 2 stepkids in public school here, and the stories that are relayed to us about the lack of discipline, direction and oversight of these childrens' education, disturbing public sexual behavior, drug use on campus, students unable to study their chosen subjects because of a lack of teachers, and even students who (get this one) CANNOT GRADUATE even though they have complete their O'level Exams because the Ministry basically screwed-up whatever hair-brained idea they came up with.
So these kids must now spend a year in Private school or some other hair-brained Govt. school program, because without a High School Diploma, they can't get into College or University, even though they have completed their final year of formal secondary schooling.
I wonder which idiot came up with this idea?
As can be seen by the post
As can be seen by the post and everything else that is happening those in charge have lost the respect and backing of those who expected to be represented. They have done as bad a job as anyone can do and still have a job. Hopefully the voters on the island have learned from their mistakes of the past.
This is too late! Election is
This is too late! Election is next year. We always knew that the children ran the department and not the adults. Let us pray!
As always it's not in the
As always it's not in the plan, it's in the execution. Smart teachers are the key.
What a load of nonsense the
What a load of nonsense the plan is. There are clearly things that would make a difference - bringing in more middle class parents into the public system is the one that would be more important than anything else. Spouting nonsense phrases like "Promote the Caymanian cultural heritage" is simply going to scare sane parents away.
For real, as if "promoting
For real, as if "promoting caymanian culture" is going to prepare these kids for employment, unless ofcourse they are considering entering the thatch rope business.
If a child is in education
If a child is in education for 12 years, what they are taught for the 15 minutes necessary to cover these issues is hardly going to make a difference to anything. I never had any "heritage" teaching in my schooling. And that was in a country that had a meaningful heritage, not a forced one to pander to quasi-nationalism. If there is heritage one learns of it by growing up in a country, not by forced feeding of the joys of rope making and turtle catching in school.
Education does not require
Education does not require modern, comfortable schools filled with the latest equipment and computers, to succeed. Many of us were educated in primitive schools, as many as eight grades in one room, and out house toilets. Yet, we learned anyway, and went on to earn university degrees. I was a student in one of those schools and I thought it was great. I was never bored because I could listen to what was being taught to the higher grades. Forget the buildings. Learning requires hard work, both from teachers and students. What is largely missing today is hard work, particularly on the part of the students. Any and all attempts to make learning easy have failed and will continue to fail. So let's start telling our students the truth. Learning is hard and you have to work hard before you can expect any results.
These are admirable goals,
These are admirable goals, albeit couched in nonspecific language. So admirable, that I wonder why we would need a poll to determine if the people supported it. Everyone who's against improvements in education, please stand up....
Forgive my scepticism ........ is this more about future campaign claims and promises, or boots-on-the-ground measurable restructuring of our educational system?
There's little doubt in my mind that for The Cayman Islands to be competitive even upon her own shores, education must upgrade and improve. I remain hopeful that my thoughts are merely my own cynicism and that this administration truly wishes to produce a viable plan for effectively improving the system, and not just garnering line items for budgetary expenditures.
"the education minister said
"the education minister said he wanted to give everyone a voice in the education system "
Transaltion; I have no idea what I am doing so someone please tell me.
"another round of drinks please?"
Took the words right out of
“I want everyone, hic, to
“I want everyone, hic, to have their say in our education reform and to ensure that they get their round in,” Rolston Anglin stated Monday. “During the consultation, I encourage everyone to fill their glasses so that we can hear what you think our education system needs to make it a bitter. As I said to those two men over there. Oh there is only one of you? I thought your were fuzzy twins. Anyway, if you think your pint is minor, we still want to know about it. I will be holding public meetings every weeknight in my office, sorry, The Office. After that I will be offering a lift home to anyone who, hic, wants it.”
HuH - Say Wha? 1. The
HuH - Say Wha?
1. The Minister of Education is up on Drinking and Driving Charges...
2. His Bodden Town buddy was arrested in relation to an alleged assault and later acquitted of the charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice...
3. The good Premier is under three different investigations and cannot be found as he is travelling the universe...
4. The Deputy Premier has some questions to answer relating to paved driveways...
yet, the best they can come up with is to reform Education for the 90th time in 4 years? Instead of reforming education they ought to reform themselves... Just a thought.
I've got six more: reading,
Post new comment