Lack of leadership

January 8, 2010

Dear Sir,

Bermuda is in the worst crisis of its 400 year history. We are in the throes of murder and mayhem week in and week out and I have to ask the question, "Where is the Premier in all of this – and why have we not heard from him?" Once again, he has shown that he is irresponsible and unaccountable as a leader. Mr Editor, this is an extremely sad state of affairs and Bermuda deserves better. I know the "defenders" of the Premier will once again jump to his defence, but as my grandmother would say: "He is big enough and ugly enough to defend himself!"

I think the silent actions and invisibility of Dr. Brown is deplorable and unconscionable and it is time some people took the blinders off their eyes so they can see the type of leader he really is. In this crisis, he should be out front every day assuring the people of Bermuda that he and his Government, along with the Police Service are doing all they can to solve these murders and making our streets safe again – but where is the Premier? Where is his accountability? Not only is the Premier invisible and silent, his Cabinet is too! What in the world is wrong with these people? Are they afraid to speak out? The only person I see and hear is Col. Burch, and he looks fit to be tied. The PLP fought 30 years to be the Government and now that they are, why aren't they governing? We are, as I said before, in a crisis and this is when your leaders come forward to assure the people that everything will be just fine. But no, all you get is silence which is not good enough and is definitely poor governance!

Mr. Editor, I know that you and your readers have heard about the Nigerian who tried to blow up the plane over Detroit on Christmas Day. Well I can say that I have seen President Obama on TV many times relating to this incident and yesterday, he said that he takes full responsibility for the failure in the lack of security screening in this matter – he said the buck stops with him because it happened on his watch. Now this is what I call a leader. We have leaders who don't even take responsibility for their own children, so how do we expect them to take responsibility for the country.

PAT FERGUSON

Warwick

These are our boys

Dear Sir,

This is a heart-inspired message from a loving parent who feels all hope is definitely not lost.

Thanking you in advance for allowing the space in The Royal Gazette to share this message.

These are our boys

These are our boys.

These are the children that grew up with ours.

They went to the same schools, churches and fun camps. They all spent long summers together ... fishing, camping, swimming, diving off the rocks together ... playing "King of the Wharf" ... together.

These are our boys.

These are the same ones who knocked politely on our doors after school asking if our sons can come outside and play. They rode their bikes all over neighbouring hoods together (Remember? The streets were friendly then ...), they towed each other, raced each other, took jumps and took decks and shed blood through their scrapes and bruises (not from gun shots and stab wounds) ... together.

These are our boys.

These are the ones that came to the birthday parties. They ate cake and ice-cream, sang songs, play-fought, hit piñatas, and blew out candles together. They kicked ball, popped wheelies, ran from dogs, jumped fences, laughed, fought, cried, made up, teased and chased each other. They played hard and sweated together. They had fun... together.

These are our boys.

We let them sleep over our houses as their friendships grew. We wiped their runny noses, lotioned their faces, fed them and on any given day of the week, took them all places together... fairs, football games, playground, scrambling, or just driving. Whenever they were so engrossed in some type of game and lost track of time, we put their bikes in our trunks and drove them home so they won't get into trouble for being home late and they won't be at risk for danger riding home in the dark.

These are our boys. We hugged and kissed and praised them ... we watched them as our own and kept them safe for each other. Not because we had to. Not always because we were asked to, but because we loved them and we loved each other. We respected each other then. Remember?

They went to the neighbourhood stores and ran all sorts of errands for us. When we returned from the grocery store, they were right there to carry our bags inside. They used their creative minds and made us things. They picked us flowers, smiled and grinned and made us laugh with their carefree and funny ways. They returned those hugs and kisses and made sure they used their manners. Yes, they loved us too.

Our boys. It's not us and them. It's US, together.

Somewhere along the line, the connection was broken ... on both ends. We forgot how to respect and love each other. There is no one to blame; and if there is, then it's all of us. When we love someone, we don't judge them, belittle them, reject them, kill them, and hurt them. For when we project vibrations such as these, the only ones that end up hurting in the end are us ... and ours.

Let's remember how to start loving one another again. Let's knit ourselves back together.

There are times coming for which we all need to be together... united and standing strong together as a real community.

We need to be whole.

We need all of us.

Especially Our Boys.

ANGELA S.M. DILL

Pembroke

Setting record straight

January 10, 2010

Dear Sir,

I am writing in response to a letter titled "A Saltus student speaks", published January 7, 2010, obviously written by a Saltus student. As a Saltus student also, I am concerned that the Saltus student in question has gotten some ideas completely confused and in doing so may contribute to an even further downward spiralling impression of Saltus, in the public eye.

First, I would like to start by clearing up why so many teachers may be leaving the school next year. Many of these teachers who are not Bermudian are at the end of their three-year contracts, and by personal choice have decided to start a new endeavour in life instead of reapplying for these positions. When considered, this will open up a variety of new job opportunities for qualified Bermudians.

I'm pretty certain that when Mr. Staunton said that he was going to "improve" the quality of education at the school he was talking about getting everyone on the same educational plane. That does not mean, however that any of the teachers at Saltus now, are unqualified and unfit to teach, more so, it would be the case that some of the students there are not and have not, been taking full advantage of the opportunity given to them to receive such a high standard of education.

Let us not forget, that some people's parents are struggling to send them to a school which requires $17,500 per annum to attend. These people, more than anyone else should ensure that they're not putting their parents' time, money and effort to waste, which I have seen all too often. Taking a GCSE is not a right, it is a privilege. If you've decided to not do anything all year, that right will be negated. I can understand that if, when taking GCSE mocks – which I am in the process of right now – you have a bad day and don't get a grade that is up to the school's expectations of a C (a pass at GCSE level), or your normal standard of work, fair enough. This is when, at the teachers' discretion, you will be allowed to take the exam. I don't see any problem with that, however if each exam costs $75 each and each student takes between seven and seven exams at GCSE, that is upwards of $525; $525 – on top of the annual school fees – which do not grow on trees. If you're not going to pass these exams. not only are you wasting your parents' money but you are tarnishing the reputation of a school which many work hard to continue attending.

When you pay $17, 500, not only are you paying for education standard, you are paying for reputation. By sitting an exam which you haven't studied for, don't intend on studying for and couldn't care less about; you're wasting your time, your teachers' time, your parents' time and the time of the exam moderator. Plus, people who don't tend to care about classes disrupt the learning of others in said classes. AP stands for Advanced Placement, which is largely equivalent to a first year university level programme. Saltus is foregoing the "behinds on seat" policy it seems to have had in the not too distant past. This means that next year, when I enter the SGY programme which is centred around the AP programme, I will not have to contend with the ignorant questions put forth by someone who only achieved a D at GCSE level and is not capable of going any further before mastering the basic concepts of the subject.

Saltus is a Grammar School. By definition a grammar school is one which is "academically-oriented". This means that Saltus doesn't have the facilities or the staffing to help people with severe learning differences that cannot process the information they have been taught at GCSE or AP level and as a result would benefit from other types of educational programming. The public's attitude towards Saltus' standards needs to be changed. If you can't pass with a C at mock exam level, Mr. Staunton isn't saying that you're not smart enough. He is saying that you haven't worked hard enough to reach that goal. If you want something enough, there is always something you can do in your power to achieve it, to work harder. Mocks are stressful, I get that, but if you mastered last year in theory, you should know enough to pass your exam. It's not expulsion if you're not achieving a standard of work and are asked by the governing body to leave. It is, in fact, being asked to leave to find an educational setting that better matches the student in question. I would like to think that people would appreciate what their parents are doing for them; sadly it doesn't look like this is the case.

AN IRRITATED SALTUS STUDENT

Paget