Give credit where it's due

July 23, 2009

Dear Sir,

I read with mixed feelings a letter from Bermudian Watcher dated July 9, 2009 and titled "Well done, CITV". I used the term mixed feelings because while I agree that CITV should be praised, the context for that praise is a little skewed and it is important to set the record straight. I will give that Bermudian Watcher from Southampton clearly stated that he/she has been a viewer for four months and I have considered that. I, however, have been a viewer from its inception and know some of its history.

The concept for CITV was generated by the former PLP Premier, the Hon. Alex Scott. He passed the responsibility for the design and building of the station to Ms Beverle Lottimore, the then and current Director of the Department of Communication and Information (DCI) under which CITV comes and is guided. Ms. Lottimore engaged the knowledge of Mr. Al Seymour Jr. who has a history in television, and together the two of them designed, build and programmed the station for its first airing in 2007.

Ms Lottimore remains in charge of CITV and Mr. Seymour is its Programme Manager. The staff at DCI – the public affairs people, the graphics people and photographers, all contribute to providing programming ideas from within Government and outside from the wider community, and the department and station gladly accept submissions for content from any resident of Bermuda.

Also, the internship programme mentioned was introduced in the government's throne speech as an initiative of the Department of Communication and Information, not just of CITV. They may be the most visible but those who toil behind the scenes must not be ignored.

Perhaps, unknown to others, CITV is streamed via the internet, another idea by Ms. Lottimore and executed by her. That is where I am a constant watcher of the station and where I most recently viewed the funeral service of the late Hon. Minister Nelson Bascome.

So, while it is ok to publicly thank the GM and team of CITV for its excellent work, please do not negate or diminish the tireless work committed to and completed by Ms. Beverle Lottimore and Mr. Al Seymour and the tremendous support system that CITV has within the Department of Communication and Information through the other divisions which make up that department . CITV does not stand alone, it is one part of DCI.

At this time, I who have been a watcher of CITV from its inception, wish to publicly thank the Department of Communication team – public affairs, graphics, photography and CITV staff for the excellent work not only in the last 4 months but from your beginning.

BERMUDIAN WATCHER

St. George's

Economic worries

July 23, 2009

Dear Sir,

In recent years people in the community have been concerned with the extravagant, wasteful and unaccountable spending by our Government.

We learn now that the national debt is to rise to nearly $10,000 per person. Payments for imports have fallen 22 percent. Income receipts have fallen by $118 million and investment income has declined by $147 million. I am no economist, but this sure does alarm me. We are receiving less and less income from our usual taxation methods. In order to sustain our economy at the current rate we will have to either increase our national debt or raise taxes. This all could have been avoided if we had prudent, fiscal management.

Here are a few examples of where our elected officials seem to have mismanaged or wasted taxpayers' monies: The building of the Berkley Institute, the cruise ship terminal, the Port Royal Golf Course and the new Court Building. Many questions have been asked during the duration of the building of these projects but there seems to have been little or no accountability. Right from the start formal bidding processes have been overridden and any pertinent questions asked have been mainly ignored. Should our elected officials have been more forthcoming with answers to we, the taxpaying public? One thing is for sure that somebody has made a lot of money.

If we continue with this gross, fiscal mismanagement, Bermuda is in for a rough ride. Usually on occasion when governments have not handled their economies well, the burden has been placed on the middle class. In other jurisdictions, we have seen the almost complete annihilation of the middle class to be left with the rich and the poor. Will this happen to us or will we be saved?

WANNABE ECONOMIST

Warwick

For a local curriculum

July 23, 2009

Dear Sir,

Many members of the public believe the Cambridge IGCSE curriculum is the same as the British National Curriculum (BNC). It is not! Bermuda's private schools use the BNC, Bermuda's public schools will be using Cambridge. There is a difference, especially since the BNC has revised its courses and structure to be student-centred and to incorporate 21st Century skills.

The argument used to justify eliminating the Bermuda curriculum is that Bermuda is too small and insignificant to produce a competitive curriculum. This is accepted even though the Hopkins Report and Audit cited lack of accountability, poor administration and teaching strategies as the major weaknesses of the system. These could have been addressed by holding personnel to existing protocols, policies and processes together with ongoing relevant professional development. If our ancestors had bought into this school of thought, we would not have been successful merchant traders in the 18th and 19th centuries. We would not have developed tourism when the markets for our vegetables disappeared. We would not be competing with London, New York and others for the reinsurance market.

We have a history of thinking beyond our physical size. However, in 2009, we have allowed persons with power and wealth to convince us that we must adopt another's curriculum because we are too small and unimportant to develop one that can meet Bermuda's local and global needs. The fact that North American and British educational institutions presently accept our current credentials is constantly marginalised. In recent years we have been back tracking down the road that we are inferior and must depend on others to solve our problems and subconsciously attribute our past and current successes to others. Is this the legacy we want to pass on to Bermuda's younger generation?

We must embrace the future with decision makers who will develop systems that build good self-esteem and national pride. We must remember that we are not preparing our students for the 20th Century but for the 21st. The world is not the same as it was 30 years ago and neither are the educational needs. The progressive countries understand this and embrace the necessary changes in the context of their country's needs. After all, the purpose of education is to sustain one's community.

The complex world of the 21st Century requires today's youth to develop into citizens who have the abilities to tackle complex mental tasks which go well beyond the basic recall of accumulated knowledge. They must be able to mobilise cognitive and practical skills, creative abilities and other psychosocial resources such as attitudes, motivation and values. This can be achieved by using engaging instructional strategies and authentic learning activities that require students to interact with the world outside of the classroom and with each other. A curriculum is effectively delivered through teaching and learning that brings it to life and that is where we should be putting our time, efforts and money. This must be done in the context of Bermuda's local and global needs. Therefore ideas can be studied from elsewhere but we must mould them to fit our unique situation. I encourage the public to explore the following websites:

The Definition and Selection of Competencies Project – created by the OECD

www.oecd.org/dataoecd/47/6?5070367.pdf

The enGauge 21st Century Skills Framework – developed by the North Regional Education Laboratory.

www.metiri.com/21/Metiri-NCREL21stSkills.pdf

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills Framework – a network of 30 major businesses and education groups.

www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/framework_flyer_updated_april_2009.pdf

Project Lead the Way

www.pltw.org/

RESEARCHER

Sandys

Politics and race

August 4, 2009

Dear Sir,

Mr. Commissiong is right. If whites feel out of the political action, they would do well to remember the years when they supported the UBP. It is indeed pay back time. Racial polarisation has the odd effect of making enemies resemble each other.

The UBP, confident that they had cowed the white vote, supressed progressive action in their party and did little. The PLP behaves in exactly the same manner, confident that the colour of their skin and not their performance will get them back in power. Black voter or white voter, you are badly served in Bermuda politics. Nothing race- related about that.

JOHN ZUILL

Brisbane, Australia

Grammar does matter

July 28, 2009

Dear Sir,

I have followed with interest the comments related to Jean Hannant's recent grammar rant.

I am not a professional proofreader but I have to put in my two cents with respects to this issue. I moved to Bermuda seven years ago from New York. Needless to say the Bermudian accent was strange to me and I frequently would ask my husband what certain phrases I had heard during the day meant. I have been chided and sneered at for not giving the proper "Good Morning" or "Good Afternoon". All water under the bridge now that I know how we operate here.

That being said, there is a huge difference between the Bermudian dialect/customs and proper grammar. You do not have to forgo correct speech to use the nifty Bermudianisms we love to verbally throw at one another. I am often appalled with the grammar skills of our children and, just to be fair, listening to the most recent government debate had me wide eyed and astonished with the equally poor oratory and grammar skills of our adults as well.

Now, before everyone gets all hot and bothered I know there is a difference between the way we speak to our friends and the way we speak at a job interview. My intent is not to be condescending or to nit-pick. My intent is to let everyone (young, old and elected) know that grammar is incredibly important and whether you like it or not people will judge you by the way you speak. Here are the two most common mistakes I hear 'on de street':

"This pizza tastes well" Well is an adverb. It modifies (describes) a verb. The pizza can not taste well because it does not have the ability to taste.

The Double Negative! Oh how this one hurts my very soul. A double negative is the use of two negatives in a single clause. "I don't need none." Or even worse, the dreaded triple negative, "You ain't never gonna go nowhere with me if you wear those shoes".

Please do yourself and your children a favor and learn the correct way to express yourself. Correct your children when they make mistakes. Only after having their speech corrected over and over again will their mistakes begin to sound wrong. An interviewer only needs to hear a double negative once before they throw a resume in the trash can.

Bermudians should be proud of their dialect and their colloquialisms. It is fun and I will even go as far as to say it is unique. Lay it on thick if you want but lay it on correctly.

SUSAN THOMAS

City of Hamilton