" Panic Semester"

                                     " Panic Semester"

Happy New Year!! -better late than never. The new school year has been a rocky one for the education system in Jamaica. However, we must not loose hope.
We are into, what I like to call the "panic semester". After taking the day off work to attend report day to collect the first semester's report, some parents will now face the ugly reality that- this 'pickney' (child) is certainly not ready for exams.

For tutors, this is the peak season. Many parents will now find themselves pushing their child/ children like wheel borrows by way of hiring a private tutor.
The monster called Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) sits at the top of the list. These children have no life; extra lessons six days for the week and not to mention the Sunday sessions for the private tutor to come and work miracles.

Many of these children are so terrified of not securing a place in one of the top fifty schools, that they themselves will 'park' everything and go into overdrive. It is painful to watch, and we are sending the wrong messages to our future leaders.

Students who are at the high school level know that this semester is crunch time. Those who were just gliding along, with their nonchalant attitudes are suddenly awaken to the sad reality that, May June CXC exams are creeping up on them.

When panic sets in, the ingenuity of students 'kick' in. You know, that at this time of the year note books disappear, class attendance is at full capacity and oh! instead of gathering on the weekends for partying they are huddling at the library or school swotting what they can.

We as parents,guardians and educators, need to help inculcate a love for learning- instead of teaching them the band aid approaches.

Have a High Flyer day!!!!!!


 

Inspiration from Dustin Brown : German-Jamaican Tennis Player

We are inspired!

 High Flyer is a Jamaican tutoring service, the first of its kind in the country! Like Brown we had to get outside assistance ( outside of Jamaica) to get us started. It is never easy to source funding for anything be it sport or education. We are the premier tutor management service in Jamaica. There was no registered business that deployed tutors in- home or wherever the services were needed. If you needed a tutor 

who would you call? How did you find a competent tutor?- my point exactly!

Similar to Brown the visionary behind High Flyer wears locks ( she thinks the word dread is offensive). Wearing locks is scoffed at by many, but your hair style does not take away from your mastery- Brown showed us that.

Despite one's challenges there are ways to your final destination. For High Flyer the Ministry will not give us a stamp of approval unless we rent a fancy place and  incur unwarranted overhead cost. Having a visible office to do business , having a competent trained educator who is registered with the ministry, having a licence to legally conduct business and having trained tutors who are producing exceptional results are not enough reasons.  Their archaic rules prohibits them from endorsing us even though- let me not say. High Flyer means an overachiever, we do not accept, promote or practice mediocrity- need I say more.

Limitations did not hold Dustin back, and for High Flyer it will be no different.

Have a High Flyer Day!!!!!!

.http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130627/sports/sports1.html#.UcxSFlgYn78.facebook

Teaching Dilemma in Jamaica

With the current state of teachers in Jamaica, I am happy that I had taken the leap of becoming an Educational Entrepreneur. Teaching like many jobs will have to change. It is no longer a safe job, with a sure pension.

There are approximately 50000 more spaces needed for students in the education system, but the government does not have the money to build the schools. Frankly speaking if those very schools are built   they will become white elephants in the very near future.

Unemployed teachers and those who are in teachers college need to stop thinking about the classroom setting and start thinking about online and other modes of teaching. Teachers will now see themselves venturing into a new profession called tutoring.

There will always be persons to teach, but the questions that arise are: Who will these persons be? Where will they need the service; and are you able to deliver that service effectively?

Homeschooling Meeting

Jamaica has seen an increase in the number of persons who are homeschooling their children. I guess the Ministry of Education has been taking note of such trend and has decided to converse with us. On May 22nd the first Home-school meeting was held at the Ministry of Education. Luckily for me I am homeschooling at a time when information is right at my finger tips.

I must say that it went well and I was able to meet- for the first time almost twenty other persons who have taken on the task of educating their own child/children. In a third world country such as mine, HS is considered as something that the more affluent people do. Of course when the former Prime Minister Andrew Holness decided to homeschool his children ( obviously not by himself) this mindset was further perpetuated.

The persons I met were not very wealthy people, I am certainly not in the top 10 wealthy families in Jamaica, but we all had something in common. As parents, we all believe that learning does not have to take place in an overcrowded classroom in a system that limits or shall I say, under-utilize the cognitive abilities of our children. 

Children should have the freedom to learn, not told what to learn and at what age to learn it. I can see where the ministry did make an effort to accommodate us. We even got charts- age appropriate - for our children. This in itself was a laughable matter. " So are you telling me that I am unable to get a time tables chart, just because he is 5  years old and according to the ministry they should be adding with their fingers at that age." I eventually got the charts, that  were appropriate for the level he is at and not the age he is at. Sigh!


Have a High Flyer day!!!

High Flyer Tutoring Service

High Flyer Tutoring Service

IT no Mek Sense

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20121127/sports/sports2.html

"It no make sense, I can't come here and every day I come I have to play 'aginst 13 and 12, and the referees are most times the best players. That's robbery!".

These are the word of Jamaica College Manning Cup team coach. In his eyes the referees are "idiots and "nincompoops" but as an adult who gets overzealous about everything and in the end is dragged before a disciplinary committee, hmm! I wonder who is proving to be? Just a question.

There are protocols to follow. These coaches need to lead by example. No wonder we have these young football players arguing with the referees and throwing tantrums like toddlers.

Old Boys include New Girls!

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20121006/ent/ent1.htmlWell the "boys " are finally allowing the women to partake in their festivities. Kingston College is an all boys Secondary Institution in Jamaica. One of the most sought after schools. I myself is a self proclaimed "Fortis". I find myself repeating their school's motto "FORTIS CADERE CEDERE NON POTEST. (The Brave May Fall But Never Yield)", to the point where I could hardly recall my own.

Well I must say that motto is quite applicable to almost any and everyone.

When I look at the support for KC, girls and women make up a large proportion. Why then did it take so long for them to include us? While I am happy, this action of inclusion should have come waaaaaaaaaaaay sooner.