Dear Editor,
BGCSE test scores are the hot topic of discussion these days. The grades of course were abysmal. They are the same as they've been since I started seeing the results, yet somehow every year it comes as a shock to the public that only 50 percent of the students are graduating with the minimum requirements, and that the standardized test scores mostly feature D's, E's and F's. This type of reaction, I surmise, is just one more manifestation of how completely disillusioned the populace of The Bahamas remains.
It has however, produced a positive byproduct, which is lively debate and discourse. The big problem with that is Bahamians love nothing more than woefully uninformed lively debate and discourse. We will talk and promote unproven, unsubstantiated, baseless conjecture dressed up as facts until we are blue in the face. We are a nation of people, miseducated and misguided, and to top it all off there is a pervasive spirit of fear and cowardice that consistently overcomes any thought or inclination to veer away from the status quo.
Of course there are some shining stars among us, and I take a moment to recognize my little sister, Jannelle Wilson, who just graduated passing 14 BGCSEs - 7 A's, 3 B's and 4 C's. In typical Bahamian fashion, she was refused the opportunity to take as many exams through her high school as they informed her that she should focus on taking a couple and doing well, rather than risking failure by spreading herself too thin. As a result she took them independently and the rest is history. While we can congratulate a few all too often the discussion about making change in this country comes to a halt when one exceptional example is given.
This is a faulty and retarding method of analysis that does not give the necessary attention to the system and process that creates the environment to succeed. A few plants have evolved to grow in the desert. That does not change the fact that most plants cannot grow in the desert. If we are to provide a fertile environment for young minds to grow there is much work to do, to create the environment that fosters learning and allows more than the superstar students to "win". Much like many issues that face our country, the challenge is not the problem itself but finding the will to take the steps necessary to make the change.
This will is something that has escaped our people for quite some time, and in my limited observation we are not a people that make many proactive decisions. We move at two times -- when instructed or when there is no other option. Sad, but this is after all a plantation nation, so maybe to expect anything different is the real insanity. At the root of our social-economic decay is the fact that we are not a society at all. We are just a collection of individuals without common goals, aspirations or binding vision. At our current rate this design of "Bahamian" is soon to be extinct.
It might be hard to imagine, but nature has a way of dealing with situations like ours. We can easily do what we have been doing, accept what we are given and do what we are told, but we should then not expect anything different. If that is the case then, "Every man for himself and God for us all" should become the nation's motto because it will certainly be the resulting behavior. While those who have led our country continue to fight amongst each other and bicker about what page in this book of putrid history they will fit, the big decisions are left by the wayside.
Nothing gets done and the people suffer. With all due respect to those past and present who have found themselves in positions of leadership in this country, the overall performance to date has not been much better than that reflected in the grades of our high school (non) graduates. I'm very respectful of the fact that in many instances we have tried our best, given it our best shot, considering the circumstances and what we have had to work with. Believe me, the students are looking at their grades and saying the exact same thing.
That however, does not give us the right to continue to defend our failures and ignore the big job that is advancing this country to the point that the majority of citizens have the opportunity to reach their full potential without restriction or impediment from manmade devices. A quote by President John F. Kennedy, in speaking about the U.S. global vision, aptly describes the way we must approach this task: "We will not reach that goal today or tomorrow. We may not reach it in our own lifetime. But the quest is the greatest adventure of our century.
We sometimes chafe at the burden of our obligations, the complexity of our decisions, the agony of our choices. But there is no comfort or security for us in evasion, no solution in abdication, no relief in irresponsibility." The journey of a thousand miles starts with just one step, and a courageous leadership must tap into the true desire of Bahamian people and unveil the dormant will and spirit of determination that will cause us to progress. It is misery, frustration, and a feeling of hopelessness that fills up the environment and leads to the ineffectiveness and corruption in the workplace and ultimately to the lack of community and the increase in crime that we see on our streets.
Leading a nation in turmoil is a huge job, most likely it will be a thankless job for many years to come but if you take the job, do the job. Leadership is about sacrifice and in the context of nation building it also incorporates a willingness to act in the best interest of all people whether it benefits a personal or political agenda. We do not have a nation because we have a constitution. We do not have a nation because we have a prime minister or House of Assembly, or laws or police. These guidelines and functions all evolved out of the organization of communities and people with common goals.
They are useless in isolation and ultimately these things will dissolve, if they do not reflect the common will and desire of the people. It is time to engage the people, enrich and empower the spirit and develop the mind. It is time to rediscover the way Bahamians want to organize Bahamian society, how we want our children to be educated, where we want shared resources to be placed and to what ends, and to decide what we want to do and most importantly why we want to do it.
When we do these things the crime will subside, the communities will be cleaner, the students will perform better, people will fairly exchange time at work for their salary, and Bahamians will be proud to know that they contribute to the growth and development of a great nation. Until we do these things we will continue down the path we presently pursue. A path that has enough people in our nation thanking God that they are closer to the exit in life than they are to the entrance. A truly sad reality. -- Wayne Wilson
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