Broomes shares views on virtual learning

A former principal is concerned that with schools forced to go back to virtual teaching amidst an upsurge in COVID-19 cases on the island, that students without access to the technology will be left behind.

Jeff Broomes, in a recent interview with The Barbados Advocate, is of the firm belief that the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, can partner with the media houses in the country to reach as wide a cross-section of students as possible, especially those that are affected by the digital divide. His comments came as he said that he has already written to the Ministry of Education outlining how such a policy could work. He said too that he has reached out to some of the media houses to propose ways to help our students in these challenging times.

“We cannot see the technology as only laptops and tablets, because some children don’t have those things; we have to see technology as involving the media. There are more houses in Barbados with radios than laptops and tablets and there are newspapers readily available. It is my view that the television, radio stations and print media have got to be utilised as well,” he said.

Meanwhile, as he noted that many teachers in Barbados have not been trained to teach virtually, he said it is vital that this training be done, and that the ratio of students to teachers also be looked at. He said that even prior to COVID the ratio was too high, making it extremely counter-productive to teaching and learning, and he argued the virtual classroom makes it even harder for teachers to keep large classes engaged.

“That is exactly one of my concerns because if we have reduced in-person teaching, the student-teacher ratio should be cut at least in half. I really mean it and I do not know why it is not happening. On a personal note, my daughter is a teacher in New York. When she is doing in-person teaching, she has half of the class one day and the other half the next day, and they do Zoom the same way, but even before that they had a month and a half of training,” he stated.

Broomes is also advocating for a national tutoring initiative, utilising the vast and varied skills among our population to help students who need extra help.

“There are a lot of retired and qualified people like myself and others who can be assigned to different schools, to go in on school days at a particular time, not weekends, to help those children who are identified as the most disadvantaged. The idea would be to use the school’s facilities and the school’s laptops can be available for them as well,” he stated. (JRT)