being revealed. We think that happened to a great many Bermudians when they read Mr. David Critchley's views in last Friday's Royal Gazette . At the end of a long career Mr. Critchley was defining Bermuda as he saw it and his long Government service had given him a very intimate view.

We have been highlighting some of the areas Mr. Critchley dealt with because we think they are important and should be considered way beyond a simple reading of his views.

If you accept with this newspaper that what Mr. Critchley wrote was basically correct about the Ministry of Education, then the picture is frightening.

After many years of dealing with the Ministry, Mr. Critchley has concluded that, "At its civil service top the Ministry is a frightening example of an authoritarian and closed system and a denial of all that we know about the kind of human relations that are required for organisational effectiveness ... a closed system in human affairs is a virtual guarantee of eventual failure, whether in business or education.

"I know this and many of our politicians who know it feel powerless to do anything about it for fear of it turning into a racial or union issue.'' Mr. Critchley was seriously concerned about teacher effectiveness in Bermuda's schools. In dealing with a long struggle to get his point across to the "powers that be'' in education he says, "... I followed a similar procedure with the Amalgamated Bermuda Union of Teachers. Although the response was more sympathetic, the Union seemed more concerned with working conditions than teacher effectiveness. I fully supported the Union in this regard and appeared in its support as a witness in the ABUT Review Board, where I stressed verbally and later, in a letter to the Chairman, that my support for improved working conditions required that equal attention be given to teacher performances. To date, I am aware of no meaningful involvement by the Union in teacher competence programmes that will assure improved performance.'' In dealing with the plans to drastically overhaul Bermuda's education system along a Canadian model, Mr. Critchley has said, "I hope that somewhere along the line someone in authority will pay some attention to the fact that middle schools and comprehensive schools will almost certainly aggravate an already serious problem if we first don't make sure that our teachers are effective.'' Dealing with addicts and education he says, "Such people were crippled long before they knew what 11-plus exams were all about and will not benefit from middle schools unless we guarantee that day-in and year-out they have teachers that in their later years they can recall with some admiration and affection.'' He says of teacher effectiveness, "Indeed, the Ministry and the Union seem to be allocating all their attention to preparing teachers for middle schools - and this in spite of the serious questions that many educators have about such schools. Selling an idea seems to be the name of the game, but precious little, if any, attention is being given to the competence of the salesmen, that is, the teachers.''