A day of eye-openers

By Anu Dev

Two weeks ago, for “Caribbean Studies”, our class took a trip to Berbice. I’d visited Berbice loads of times already with my family and I always loved it there.
But the trip two weeks ago was different in many ways since we were going as a class to observe Berbice from a more analytical perspective rather than as tourists. It wasn’t simply to be a casual jaunt into Region Six – we were there to work.
And so, for the first time, I visited some schools in Berbice. First, there was the Kildonan Primary School: the students and teachers were incredibly friendly and warm. The students answered all of our questions confidently. One of the latter happened to be whether they thought that teenagers today were disrespectful to their elders. One boy was bold enough to stand up and explain exactly why he thought that teenagers were disrespectful. And it was refreshing, to hear this child speak so eloquently at such a young age. And explaining how they’ll all be playing cricket or football when school’s over.
Seeing those primary school children really struck a chord with me. It was a slightly bizarre feeling, kind of like we’re straddling two worlds. Most of the kids thought we were teachers at first, and then we had to explain that we were still students, just like them.
And then in that moment, I realised how that statement was both truthful and “untruthful” all at the same time. While we all probably still feel like students just like them, we were not really. We’re old enough to be mistaken for teachers! What was that about perception and reality? It was a scary, sobering thought. Melodramatic though it may seem I can visualise the walking sticks and dentures!
So it was an eye-opener. Though we still thought like kids, the rest of the world doesn’t see us like that. Maybe that’s our cue to start growing up a bit faster?
And then we visited the Central Corentyne Secondary School. Frankly, that visit was probably the most depressing visit of the entire trip. The HM of the school and some of the teachers explained to us in great detail about the conditions at the school. And I was shocked. “Abysmal” is being kind. Kids apparently drop out of school by third form to take up carpentry or farming or odd jobs.
Shocking in a community where farming was the main economic activity, there were no proper facilities for the students to do their Agricultural Science practicals. According to the Agri teacher, she has to take them to her personal agri plot for them to practise the agri skills needed to write the subject at CSEC.
We met a student who seemed to be suffering from dyslexia – or at least a similar disorder – but there was no trained professional who could give that child the attention he needed. Through no fault of his own, that child was being teased by classmates who don’t understand the reasons behind his ‘strange’ behaviour.
And I’m sure, there are other kids just like him in other schools who need attention that normal teachers just aren’t trained to give them.
And as I’ve written before, at the very least, all schools need a guidance counsellor or somebody trained to listen to and advise students. Even without being dyslexic, schools can be very stressful places.
So all in all, our Caribbean Studies trip taught us a great many things, it opened our eyes to some of the harsher realities out there. And of course, it showed us some of the sweeter things out there. Like after a hard day’s work, sometimes the best thing you can do is bury all your troubles under mounds of ice cream. And that’s exactly what we did at Spready’s.