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**Aliceinwonderland** » 2012-07-18 06:59

This is just disturbing on so many levels. When certain things are needed, people in the Government know which developed country to ask. However, when the important issues like Special Education come up, no one knows where to turn. We are missing out on lots of funding and grants that may be available because we have not yet shown that we are serious about Special Education. it is not enough to talk about it. We have to do much more because the persons who are suffering are the children. There are teachers who are dedicated and would do all in their power to help these students, but the powers that be need to pave the way, and the small minded people need to get out of the way so that others can actually begin to make a difference.

**wowed** » 2012-06-14 10:38

Sorry sorry to hear about this closure. But what about those students at CCSET International Academy who also enjoy a program that suites their particular needs but streamline with the regular classroom. Are they out of school since this is the "only" school that caters to children with special needs

**tenman** » 2012-05-23 17:08

Dig It, unfortunately the present system is not based on performance. It then makes it difficult for persons who want to make a real impact. In speaking to public school teachers they tell of a broken system. They are then forced to go into the local private sector or go overseas. This is the reason why I suggested we look at outsourcing the management of the school plant. If you look at the school system you will see that parents, at the primary school level, who have the financial resources, have all indicated via their decision to pay tuition, that they have no faith in the public primary school system. Of the 1628 students who took the common entrance 893 attended a government school. The last common entrance results show only 11 students from the government system, ended up in the top 100 (actually 102 some tied)

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**Dig It** » 2012-05-23 15:42

Tenman, that is so "ashamed" that we send our teachers away for training but don't give them the opportunity to make use of their skills learned! And, sometimes we wonder why we have a "brain-drain" in our system? If opportunities in the UK and US come calling, of course, our teachers, and, professionals would take the opportunities available to put their skills to good-use! And, let us not forget we had excellent teachers that chose to take "buy-out!" I am a believe in "results" when it comes to our teachers and not a system of "vindictiveness " or even "badmindedness! " This is why it is so hard to retain good teachers, and, weed out the bad ones!

**tenman** » 2012-05-23 15:07

Lion Man one of the things mentioned, by Alex, during the interview was, while she was a teacher in the government system, that the government had sent her away for training. After, she came back trained, they never allowed her to utilize the training. She eventually left the government system due to feeling that she was wasting her skills. She hinted that there are other workers in the system who have had the same experience. The skill set problem can be observed at he Adele school where most of the teachers have no training in dealing with children with things like autism. The school is simply a day care institution where goes from 8 -12 with the usual lunch breaks. There are no programs in place there to help the students be independent.

As far as sex education, my conversation with persons who attend government secondary schools reveal no such programs in place.

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**Dig It** » 2012-05-23 14:56

Tenman and Lionman, I made a post but I didn't see it (not sure what happened). Anyway, both of your points well taken! Students with special needs deserve our undivided attention, just like regular students do! Yet, in order to achieve sound results and high standards, all stakeholders need to come together, put political differences aside, and work to make sure our youths have the best mechanisms in place, so everyone benefits from the system of education! We not only need qualified teachers but administrators and parents to take shared responsibilitie s! I really hope that the Ministry does the right thing in the best interest of these special needs students.

**Lionman** » 2012-05-23 14:30

I can understand where you are coming from but the government needs to train their teachers in a manner they will be effective and knowledgeable about special needs children or even hire special needs teachers. It does take patience and experience to deal with special needs children but they will benefit more in a normal school setting depending on the severity of the disability. These older political individuals are stuck in the past and they will not allow any younger people with ideas to intervene in order to better the country. There is a need for many programs to be implemented to assist children and Antigua and Barbuda but unfortunately many authouritative figures are so lost in the past. How is the early start program in Antigua is it really benefitting the its patrons? Are there in school counselors to help students deal with issues whether it is school or home related? schools with social workers and counselors tend to benefit much better than schools without. Is there a health class involved in teaching students about HIV/AIDS other STI's, and ways to prevent teenage pregnancies? There is so much improvement needed.

**tenman** » 2012-05-23 11:21

As I listened to the interview, I recalled that this government enjoys touting the value of outsourcing. Strangely they do not seem to see the value of outsourcing here (I happen to think that the management of the entire public school system needs to be outsourced and the ministry instead be a regulator). It makes sense to me that the government subsidize this school because it would probably be the least expensive alternative. The students who leave this school will probably end up in a government school and cost the government more financially. They will also create challenges for teachers not trained to deal with them and could hamper the development of other students in the class. Not properly dealing with these students will also result in long term costs to society.

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