How did it survive?

April 20, 2009

Dear Sir,

I read with interest the stories about my old workplace, ZBM the staff there need to wake up and smell the roses, we are in the midst of a recession, go back to work. I would assume the owner is seriously considering closing as I believe the company has been losing money for years. I often wonder how any of the broadcast companies in Bermuda could make a living as there are too many radio stations for a population of 60,000. I think at last count the total was around nine, not counting TV. I would think few of the stations have a big enough audience to make it worthwhile for a sponsor to bother advertising. When I worked at ZBM from 1968 to 1979 all the staff worked in harmony with a common goal to make the company number one in the eyes of the audience. Labour action was something that was never considered.

JOHN FERGUSON

Broadcast journalist

(Retired)

Belleville, Ontario

Much more entertaining

April 20, 2009

Dear Sir,

Since the strike at Bermuda Broadcasting began, I am finally enjoying the radio station for the first time since the Captain left. The foreign station has much more variety than I've heard in a long time and everyone at my job is enjoying it also. It is much more entertaining, especially in the mornings.

SWITCHING CHANNELS

Sandys

Let cable buy rights

April 19, 2009

Dear Sir,

More problems at Bermuda Broadcasting, what a shock! Here we are, the television viewers, settling down to watch our day time soaps, our prime time line up, the first round of the NBA play offs, a round of PGA tour golf and whatever programme suits our fancy. However we are treated to a rolling blackout at first and then rolling coverage of BBC news.

We all know the reasons as they have been reported in The Royal Gazette the last couple of days, but what I am sure of and including many others is what we cannot understand is the lackadaisical effort to even have a meeting to rectify the situation as soon as possible. From what I understood the workers were willing to meet as of Saturday and yet the powers that be at Bermuda Broadcasting seemed in no hurry and will supposedly meet on Monday at 3.30 p.m.

That says a lot, including the regard it has for its television viewers. I think it's about time Bermuda Broadcasting relinquish its rights to CBS and ABC and thus allow the cable providers to purchase their own feeds from abroad, including being able to show HD versions of those channels which are long over due. I wager if you held a survey about whether Bermudians would like to have a reliable and proper feed for CBS and ABC, it would be overwhelming. Bermuda Broadcasting could save on not having to pay those fees any longer and instead since they feel they have such award- winning local programming they can apply to be one of the local programming channels like Fresh TV and Onion TV. There's a solution for you!

WANTING BETTER TV SERVICE

Pembroke

Change must happen

April 21, 2009

Dear Sir,

Last night I attended the PLP open forum on Education only to realise that some things never change. As a people, Bermudians seem to value the opinions of others far more than we value our own people. We continue to sell our Island's soul to the highest bidder in the belief that only foreign expertise can move us forward.

When our Caribbean peers acted on the belief that they were capable of developing an educational system to supplant that left by the colonial powers, we plodded along; believing what we have is inferior, and looking to the North American system for salvation. Our Caribbean counterparts developed a system that is highly regarded in the both the UK and North America, and more than a decade later, our decisions have sown the seeds for continued self-destruction. The curriculum and poor teaching have become the scapegoat for this result, but the true culprit can be found in our inability as a community to develop a unified understanding of the purpose of education.

It is my belief that Education is the bedrock of any society focused on the continued development of her people. It should focus on the development of future generations capable of meaningful interaction and decision-making in their community, above and beyond training automatons to take their place in the workforce. A strong educational system ensures the populace is connected to their community and their culture and is driven to develop the country as a whole. Sadly, we jokingly refer to the Education portfolio as the graveyard for politicians, and as a result, we've wasted more than a decade paying others to fix our system.

Mr. Byrne, the Minister of Education Elvin James and I agree on at least one thing – change must happen. We disagree on the current focal point for change.

Last evening, Mr. Byrne spent time expounding on the virtues of adopting an internationally acceptable curriculum and cited several countries as examples. When asked to discuss national curriculum in relation to his shared examples, he stated that if Bermuda's population was in the millions it would make sense to develop a national curriculum. He further stated that given our small population it made more sense to adopt what has already been established by another country and add about 15 percent Bermudian content.

This statement speaks volumes about the worth placed on the future development of Bermuda's people (anyone residing on this island as we live and interact with each other) and Mr. Byrne's thinking on the purpose of education. Apparently Bermuda, we are worth 15 percent content in a doctrine that should inherently create and define the pathways to our future.

When you understand the role education plays in sustainability, you will never accept preparing future generations of Bermudians using another nation's master plan. To do so supports the future development of other nations while ensuring Bermuda becomes a dried husk – no identity and no future; an island for rent to the highest bidder with a well trained workforce ready to do the new landlord's bidding.

Do we need change to ensure we have an effective system of public education? Yes! But the changes need to reflect the grassroots needs of sustaining our culture and developing a thinking populace capable of driving the island forward. Other nations accomplish this by developing a national curriculum infused with cultural integrity. You benchmark learning objectives in core skills areas and develop content to teach these concepts in a manner that brings relevancy to your societal context. Local content is not relegated to social studies but should be found throughout the curriculum. The benchmarking has been completed for the most part with the Hopkins report suggesting that the written curriculum may need to be tweaked in some areas and simplified to clarify objectives and outcomes. The Hopkins report went on to suggest improvements in accountability and professional development to ensure teachers and principals have the support they need to improve the delivery of quality education.

The next step is to share our curriculum with international organisations to begin building support for our own National Curriculum. Other nations invest the time, energy, and money to develop and market their curriculum to ensure their students have a global passport founded on an understanding of who they are as a people. Bermudians deserve no less an effort for the preservation of our past experiences and our future development.

UNESCO has designated 2005 -2014 as the decade for Education for All and has developed 6 goals to drive the initiative. The final goal relates to the current discussion our community should be passionately engaged in at this time — Improve the Quality of Education.

The following excerpt can be found on http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=47077&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html:

It is sometimes difficult to pin down exactly what makes for good quality education or what needs to be done to promote it. The following list shows some factors that are important, although it does not mean that each of these contributes directly to higher quality:

¦ Good teaching: well-trained teachers who are paid adequately, using methods focusing on the learners' needs;

¦ Well-equipped schools and learning centres: books and other materials and equipment available to stimulate learners;

¦ Safe schools: places where every learner, especially girls, is safe from danger or harassment;

¦ Enough instruction in the right languages: an adequate number of hours each week and each year, using the learners' own language and introducing other languages that they need; (a need to add Portuguese to our curriculum)

¦ Relevant and useful curriculum: learning based on what learners find in their local environment and focused on broader knowledge and competencies which they can apply in their lives;

¦ Well-managed schools: local boards and committees where parents and community leaders can make sure the school serves their children well and has the resources it needs.

By all accounts, the recommendations provided by the Hopkins report are in alignment with the UNESCO criteria for quality education. Teachers, principals, and education officers have been in the trenches for the last two years trying make the recommendations a reality. We are now at a point where we can establish a baseline and begin to track progress, only to be told that we are not worth continuing the development of a National Curriculum.

Whether you agree or disagree with my thoughts, as residents, as taxpayers, as Bermudians – get involved in the conversation! We are worth more than 15 percent!

NIKKITA SCOTT

Counsellor

Bermuda College

Rather amazing

April 21, 2009

Dear Sir,

I read in my Royal Gazette of yesterday's date, April 20, a wonderfully informative article by Matthew Taylor, concerning the PPP (Public, Private, Partnership) for Bermuda's new hospital wing. This is a venture of $260 million, paid in instalments over a period of years. The first instalment of around $40 million will be paid if the building is up to standard and approved by the owner, with the incredible condition that if the project is over budget, or the building has not reached the set standard, they will have to deal with that, and not be paid till it reaches the desired standard, not the public, who it would seem take no risks at all. This, I gather, is achieved by the fact that the payments will be higher.

It is rather amazing that there would be many interested groups to undertake such a project with such stringent conditions, ie that they take all the risks in the building of this size, when there is such a history of mismanagement. Too good to be true comes to mind, or perhaps we will be in the hands of a pragmatic dreamer who will ride in like the cavalry. I also wonder who and where are we going to find a team who will not lean on their shovels for half the day, or play golf with a Doctor's certificate, and a supervisor who will be uncompromising, incorruptible, accountable, and dare I say qualified. Cynical? You bet!

DIANA WILLIAMS

Pembroke

Send a message, voters

April 22, 2009

Dear Sir,

It seems like the good Doctor and his "entourage" never miss an opportunity to attend any and all foreign functions on the Bermudian taxpayer's dollar! I trust he can give the Taxpayer a "good and fair accounting" for the spending of their money? In other words, what was actually achieved besides the chastisement of the British Government, for exposing corruption and law breaking in one of it's territories? (Turks & Caicos)

Remember ... the UK Government dissolved the Cabinet and legislature of the Caribbean country following a corruption inquiry that found "clear signs of political amorality and immaturity". It appears that his "egoism" has no bounds! I quote his words... "This was my second meeting with President Barack Obama. My wife Wanda and I were delighted to have a photo with the President."

The Bermudian taxpayers are entitled to a lot more for their money than "photo shoots'! Wake up voters ... it's time to send a very clear message that fiscal accountability and responsibility are the 'mainstays' of any Government! Why should Bermuda be an exception to this rule ... especially in this economic climate?

BRUCE MCCLARRON

Arizona

A note of thanks

April 10, 2009

Dear Sir,

I was able to attend two excellent lectures on Stem Cells on March 11, given by Dr. Curt Civin, Director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine at University of Maryland. The evening topic was " Stem Cells for research and transplantation: Myths and Realities." I would like to thank the Bermuda Hospitals Board and Its Continuing Medical Education Committee for bringing Dr. Civin to Bermuda. Both lectures were interesting and generated excellent questions.

At the midday lecture I noted the presence of a representative from the Ministry of Health, whose task it is to prepare the regulations for the use of Stem Cells in Bermuda. At the evening lecture, in response to a question about regulations for Stem Cell research, Dr. Civin noted that the State of Maryland, with a population about 100 times that of Bermuda, did not write its own regulations, because of the complexity and cost of doing it properly. They instead, require approvals by the US FDA (as is required throughout the USA for transplantation of stem cells) and the Institutional Review Board of the major academic centre doing the study. That would seem to be a very good plan for Bermuda.

I posed the following question to Dr. Civin at the evening lecture: "Does anyone in Maryland, or any where in the United States of America, or Canada, or the UK, or in western Europe, use adult stem cells as a recognised treatment for any neurodegenerative disorder?" The answer was an unreserved "No". Interestingly, I watched an interview on CNN, on March 16 2009, in which Dr. Sanjay Gupta was speaking with the family of the late Christopher Reeve (aka Superman) who had been quadriplegic since a riding accident.

They were speaking of their excitement regarding the changes in legislation governing Embryonic Stem Cell research signed by President Obama, and how it would accelerate research on spinal injury and other conditions. However they noted that this was only the beginning, and it was likely to be ten years before an actual accepted treatment was ready. Very interesting and relevant comments.

G. SHAW M.D.

Sandys