Why Teaching in Trinidad Sucks
Not into the pupils? Why does teaching in Trinidad suck?
The salaries does not match the kind of work you have to put up with. It sucks. No matter how much you love teaching if there are not resources available, no parental support, poor educational system then it does sucks to teach in Trinidad.
Teaching in Trinidad sucks because people expect a Third World country to match the rest of the world in everything including the education and resources. With what we have here in Trinidad and what we produce, I say we are not doing bad. Teaching in Trinidad sucks because everybody wants us to fail and then tells us our Education System sucks too. Resources? We have more of it now than 10 years ago and we still bawling we don't have enough. Most teachers I know drive to school, yes a lot travel. I believe I said it in another post here, I don't think our salaries are that bad, its not the best but it still is manageable. We need to stop yapping and start working on our future, the children.
So caring teachers, proper school classrooms (not big rooms divided by 4 or 5!), proper bathrooms, not overcrowded classes, proper special ed schools, teachers who do not hit students is something of the First World? Imagine, here I am expecting these things to be normal but the country and its people think that's a first world thing. *shaking head* It truly sucks.
I see that I have hit a nerve. The only thing I agree with you on is the special ed schools, we don't have enough of them. I still believe that Trinidad is getting there in terms of better facilities. Yes there are some uncaring teachers, not all schools have individual classes throughout and yes there are some teachers who still beat children but to say that this is the norm in Trinidad is not true at all. I have been teaching for a number of years and I have seen the progress we have made as a country. We are not the best but we are trying. If you still don't believe me, Trinidad has a literacy rate of 99%, the US has the same rate both as of the year 2003. My source? Check out factmonster.com
As far as I am concerned that is very good for a Third World country.
P.S. If you don't trust factmonster.com, Wikipedia list Trinidad as 98.4% in the United Nations Development Programme Report 2007/2008. The US is 99%. I will still say that is pretty good for us here.
Edited: lordryoko on 9th Sep, 2008 - 5:28am
The Minister of Education says he will be going after principals of schools that are under performing. He will also be approaching the Teaching Service Commission about teachers who are consistently late and / or absent from school. The pressure from the Ministry on principals for 'performance' may mean more pressure on teachers as well.
Really? Will he be going after all the workers from his ministry who are also not performing but getting a salary every month?
What a lot of people are seeing is that our Minister likes to talk a lot and then thinks about how he is going to do it. He is welcome to visits schools, as Minister he has that right but if he think that he is going to deal with teachers who are consistently absent as he says, he is in for a very rude awakening. For one most teachers I know do not exceed their allowed leave for the year, so if it is those teachers he is talking about. He will realize very quickly that he does not have a case, legal or otherwise. Also some teachers are in workshops or sporting activities, that ironically the Ministry approves, so these teachers are 'absent' from school because of Ministry approved activities. Lastly but there are many more, if he is willing to discipline teachers who are absent or late consistently, I hope he is also willing to reward those who are never late or absent. Just a thought.