Re: MAUSICA WEEKLY EMAILS

2013-Feb-17-1801Hrs

Thank you, Orville for your response. Congratulations on your contributions to Agriculture at Mausica and to your continued contribution to train teachers in Agriculture at the Teachers’ College and the University of TNT. Your love for agriculture was truly nurtured from your youth.

Your era at Mausica was post Linda, Rodney and mine who all graduated in 1968. What was however, interesting to me was that except for Mr. Douglass and the input of CIDA the names of the contributors who impacted your Mausica experience were the same as those who informed ours – Mr Maundy, Ms Woods and Mr Persad. Your contribution also proved that Agriculture was an important component in the mind of the framers of the Mausica Curriculum.

You have also established that many graduates from that Agriculture programme went into the school system, the University and some worked at the Curriculum and other Supervisory  Levels. So Rodney the question remains why is Agriculture in TNT really in the state that it is?

Speaking from the position of one who has exhausted every avenue of the Education system in TNT from Mausica, to the primary and then to the secondary/ especially Junior Secondary School System, where Orville and many Mausicans were the first trained teachers in that system. For its initial introductory year I worked at the Princes Town Junior Secondary School and then 20 years later I became a Vice- Principal and Principal in that system for more than 14 years. Between those years I was a teacher, Dean, Head of Department at three secondary and composite schools, a major contributor and initiator to under-grad and post-graduate programmes at UWI and at YTEPP – Youth Training and Employment Partnership Programme, I served in several capacities and was its first South Regional Manager. I exited TNT education system as a Curriculum Coordinator at the Ministry of Education in Language Arts, Drama and the Visual and Performing Arts. However, throughout those over 40 years I have had to interface with teachers of Agriculture.

In the primary school system there was a competition called,[‘something-Hands’–name to be checked] which encouraged teachers and students to grow crops. Some schools like Orville’s at Santa Flora did very well. So did the primary school to which I was attached. However, many primary schools did not participate and their failure to do so was detrimental to the young children’s possible early engagement, love and interest in Agriculture. Yes Rodney, the biggest losers were the urban schools which were usually cramped for yard space and did not adopt the ‘grow box’ and other measures.

However, it was at the Junior Secondary Schools which educated the bulk of the nation’s secondary school population for over 30 years and where Agriculture was initially taught by Mausica graduate teachers, sadly very few of them instilled into that entire population the love and interest in Agriculture, even though they were best positioned to do so. They were all provided with large, well-equipped classrooms; farms and two farmhands, attendants, science labs available for practical and a large budget. The curriculum included crop and animal husbandry. There is where the educators failed the system. They denied most of the students to develop their love for the land and for agriculture.

The framers of the Curriculum did their part.

On another significant note especially for all who are abroad and those who have land and own property in TNT, kindly ensure that all your legal documentations are up-to-date. That is, your land and building taxes are paid up to 2009, etc.  and that the necessary transfers of ownership are completed.

Blessings

Dr. Merle Baker