Cospicua school to take unprecedented action after all pupils fail Lyceum exam
Cospicua state primary school is to take the unprecedented step of asking the Minister of Education to authorise a special curriculum after all pupils failed the last Junior Lyceum exam, the principal of St Margaret College, Sandro Spiteri said today. The school forms part of the college.
Mr Spiteri explained that while he had every confidence in the teachers – who achieved good results in the past – there was no doubt that the school faced particular problems which demanded particular solutions as allowed in the Education Act.
He said the school has appointed an Action Committee which includes representatives of the school, the local council, Sedqa and Appogg, the directorate of education and the college, to go into the details of the problem and suggest solutions including charges to the curriculum and the way the school interacts with the community. Recommendations will be submitted by the end of December.
The current situation was also discussed this morning when the minister, Dolores Cristina, visited the school.
Mr Spiteri said there were social realities which were affecting the pupils and even the teachers, who had even suffered stress because of the fear of being beaten.
“We have to admit that all this affects morale. The reality is that teachers are doing their best in a very difficult situation” he said. “We therefore need different tools to what other schools have, including regular therapy sessions for the children.”
At the same time, the school needed to build on the strengths it had, including the strong sense of community and the integration between the school and social services, Mr Spiteri said.
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Sarah Darmanin
Oct 31st 2008, 21:22
@Maria Vassallo
Statistics speak for themselves. We are always hearing how the college is going to cater for the difficult children but we never hear what is going to offer to the "A" students. I totally agree with the comment that the three cities students should have been split up in different colleges.
@ Elaine Abela
Believe me when I say that many of us respect and appreciate your work.
J Martinelli
Oct 31st 2008, 18:14
Joseph Ellul must be a remnant of the Mintoff political era.
"start by making students having 10 minutes in the morning warming up with aerobic body movements"-( followed by a nap) - regimentation ala pijunieri?
"Do not spend money on computer games" - Mintoff used to say that computers dull the minds. (cut the games while doing homework yes, but use the wealth of information to help with homework)
"Saturdays make them wash the floors and polish the windows" - It's OK to use kids for cheap labour but I bet a coffee that Mr. Ellul will want an increase in pay soon.
"They try to get away from real work and think that their parents are their slaves".- Who are the slaves here, the parents or the kids who are made to wash floors and windows on their day off? - For free!
But all that tongue-in-cheek stuff aside, it is rather odd that a specific area students all failed the entrance exam. The Department of Education should take a serious look at the situation and institute remedial action to correct. I cannot fathom the thought that all these students are less intelligent than others in other districts.
Simon Agius Muscat
Oct 31st 2008, 14:42
@Joseph Ellul
From what I have read, I see you are suggesting getting students to work, work and work, and not use a computer.
I myself am a student, and wish to present it from my point of view, even if I am no longer in the primary stage:
You say,"My problem with kids was the computer. Students become lazy when they are trained to get information from a screen just by pushing buttons. "
So, you want Joey to waste 2-3 hours (when s/he can be "washing the floor or polishing the windows", on our day of rest even!) has to go to a library to get information, when he can "push buttons" (When it isn't just pushing buttons) and get up-to-date information in a few minutes?
By calling ALL students crafty and lazy is generalising, which is not the way to go around. Yes -we- should help out in the house, but not when we have free time to do what we want!
Also, if you prefer disabled to "smart asses making fun of you"... yes being made fun of is something no one likes, but no human is perfect.
Jonathan Grech
Oct 31st 2008, 12:57
"The reality is that teachers are doing their best in a very difficult situation". if anyone is a teacher, knows a teacher or is related to a teacher working in a government school then one might have a tiny clue about what these teachers go through, together with all the staff in schools.
Imagine having a family of 2 with 4 children. The noise, the mess, the mayhem that can arise in a few minutes and could go on for hours and days on end because of their very nature - they are children. Multiply this by 7, add to these a multitude of behavioural, pschosocial and attention problems, put everything into a blender, mix well and then try and control the mess! I stand in awe at the teachers for managing to keep control! Teacher's tap yourselves on the back! You jolly well deserve it! Keep it up for as much as you can!
D.MANGION
Oct 31st 2008, 10:44
He/she, should be the one who will have to be assessed in the end of every scholastic year.
The headmaster's final test should be the students opinion. At the end of every school year, an independent survey should be held, asking all the students two basic questions
DID YOU ENJOY SCHOOL DURING THIS LAST YEAR, AND HAVE YOU LEARNT A LOT OF NEW THINGS ? CAN YOU NAME SOME OF THEM?
If the answer to these questions is a clear cut yes, and a smart list of new learnt things is mentioned, then the headmaster and all his team should be treated with respect and further motivated, even financially. Bormla needs the best teachers, the most dedicated teachers, the most innovative teachers, the most loving teachers. Only then we can start the revival of the Cottonera area. Bormla is the heart of Cottonera, and at present this heart is not beating as it should.
D.MANGION
Oct 31st 2008, 10:33
For once I am reading an article and its relating blogs in which the subject is not bieng given a political tinge. Prosit to all those commenting up to now. Even the opinions which are perpendicularly opposite to mine, seem to make sense and stimulate further reflection.
Since I live in the Cottonera area, and have a soft spot for the people of Bormla, I am saddened by the whole story and have to admit that radical measures are required to improve the life of the people of Bormla. Education is the base of it all, but the issue must be given a holistic approach.
Reading the article and the blogs, one arrives to the conclusion that the teachers at Bormla Primary have given up hope. So even though they may be good educators they must be removed from there immediatley. You cannot start any sort of revival with demotivated leaders, and in this case the teachers are the leaders. From a national point of view, I suggest that the headmaster of this school should be given further autonomy. Autonomy to fiddle with the syllabus, autonomy to enforce further discipline. Autonomy to increase the hours of schooling. (continued)
Maria Attard
Oct 31st 2008, 07:31
@ Maria Vassallo
In Zabbar there's the good, the bad and the ugly. The very good and the excellent. It is unfair on the latter students (and even M'Scala's pupils because though M'Scala forms part of St. Thomas Moore college, the college does not have a boy's school for its students, thus they're ending up in Verdala college. - Look how unfair, they set up St. Thomas Moore college without even having a school, they boasted about the cake before the election without even having bought the ingredients) to end up in a college where 75% of its students suffer social and behavioural problems. There should have been a FAIR distribution of colleges.Ex: Zabbar, Zejtun, M'Scala and Bormla.
Joseph Ellul
Oct 31st 2008, 06:21
I blame no one . My problem with kids was the computer. Students become lazy when they are trained to get information from a screen just by pushing buttons. If you want good results, start by making students having 10 minutes in the morning warming up with aerobic body movements, this should be for EVERYONE, including the staff and the cleaners. Do not spend money on computer games and make your kids wash the dishes after they eat. On Saturdays make them wash the floors and polish the windows. Kids nowadays are lazy and crafty. They try to get away from real work and think that their parents are their slaves. The teachers are not there to disciplin but to teach. If parents cannot teach their children respect ,then they should stay at home and teach their children themselves. I would rather teach a disabled child than to have a smart ass making fun of me. If the world continues this way , who is going to do the work for us when we retire. Money does not grow on trees.
S.Spagnol
Oct 30th 2008, 19:58
@Maria Vassallo
No one said that!
elaine abela in the name of staff of Cospicua primary
Oct 30th 2008, 15:51
We teachers at Cospicua Primary gladly invite Mr.Abela to come to our school and spend a week teaching any year of his choice.Any suggestions on his part to improve the situation are more than welcome.
Maria Vassallo
Oct 30th 2008, 12:01
It is not fair to write such comments about the schools of the Three Cities, in this case that of Cospicua. Zabbar is nothing special! difficuilties exsist in all schools. It does not mean that because Zabbar says that most of the students pass it is actually the truth. Zabbar has much more streams than those of the Cottonera area. What about the lower streams at the Zabbar school!!?? Do they also pass?? Have they no problems whatsoever?? Are all students at Zabbar that bright with no social and educational problems??? I doubt it !!! PROBLEMS EXSIST EVERYWHERE AND IN ALL SCHOOLS
caruana catherine
Oct 30th 2008, 10:55
Its an easy task passing comments.Facing reality is a different picture whatsoever.
I Abela
Oct 29th 2008, 23:01
The whole administration of this school MUST RESIGN. You are there to teach and educate. You FAILED MISERABLY. If it was a couple of students failing, then it must surerly be their fault. But ALL the pupils failing, is it the fault of all the students? RESIGN NOW !!!
malcolm seychell
Oct 29th 2008, 22:46
Political correctness is destroying slowly slowly our civilization.
How can a student learn, when he knows the teacher has no power at all on them.
Schools without discipline were tried in the UK.
The results are a complete disaster for the society in general.
Today 9 year old kids have to wear an iron vest under their shirts because of the high posibility of knife attacks by other students.
For a country to succeed has to apply a simple formula. Check what was done in the UK for the last 20 years and do exactly the opposite.
L Schembri
Oct 29th 2008, 22:07
A few years ago, Cospicua was one of the best schools and most of the students passed the JL exam with flying colours. We have students failing exams everywhere. I think we need to take a look at the curriculum, the syllabii and all the pressures put on these students. As a parent, I have to admit that often we put pressure on our children because we want the best for them so we send them for private lessons after school hours, we expect handwritten HW, etc. Lessons in schools should help each pupil to discover, explore and learn by himself and this can be done even through play, games, ICT and outings. How many times do we grumble because our children came home without homework or when they tell us that they did not do anything at school because they had an outing and they used the computer?
Children are human beings and some just cannot accept the present situation. Education should be put on top. The government needs to invest in our children. If we need more teachers, let's invest in them. Teachers are professionals but they cannot do miracles. Let's give schools more resources!
Maria Attard
Oct 29th 2008, 21:19
@S Spagnol
I perfectly agree with you. Poor Zabbar's ill-fated pupils who ended up in the same college.
Sarah Darmanin
Oct 29th 2008, 20:47
@ Maria Attard and @ S Spagnol
VERY WELL SAID!
S.Spagnol
Oct 29th 2008, 20:22
@Maria Attard
Something tells me that Zabbar was incorporated in St. Margaret's college, simply because a considerable number of students fare well in the exam in question. This would help in twisting statistics by saying that a reasonable number of students from the "Cottonera College" passed the exam.
Maria Attard
Oct 29th 2008, 20:02
Why were the Three Cities incorporated all in one college? Same problems, same background in the same college.Each school should have been assigned to a different college.I wonder what strategic plan St Margaret College has for pupils of, example:
Zabbar Primary School, who a good number of them pass the Junior Lyceum exam with flying colours. I hope that the college does not end up catering for the Three Cities to the point of them being a deterrent to the promising pupils.
Gavril Flores
Oct 29th 2008, 19:34
And what is the role of parents in the action committee, isn't there one single parent in cospicua being able to form part of the grp??
a.mangion
Oct 29th 2008, 19:24
@V Farrugia
Now that you have found the solution perhaps you would like to enlighten us as to where we're to find all these extra teachers(double what we have now), where shall the first group of teachers perform their 'off duty' chores, and how do you think children will feel after eight hours of school? What about after school activities like sports activities in nurseries and clubs and other socilal activities or shall the childeren's life revolve round the school? and what about quality time with their parents (remember parents?!) the solution is not longer school hours but more qualitative time where learning is fun not a drudge. You said it yourself that the syllabus is vast. shall we make it more crammed?
V Farrugia
Oct 29th 2008, 19:03
Give pupils a longer school day, and increase school days. If children are in school for 48 weeks each year, they will have more time to absorb their vast syllabus. Also their school day should be divided up, the first 4 hours of the day should be dedicated to academic subjects, the last 4 hours would be dedicated to non-academic subjects. That way, the regular class teacher will be in class for only the first 4 hours, then s/he will be free to do her lesson plans, and corrections for the rest of the school day. The non-academic teachers will have their mornings free for lesson plans and corrections and lessons in the afternoon. That way, teachers won't have to take work home with them, and after an 8 hour school day, children won't need to do homework either.
M. Cordina
Oct 29th 2008, 18:54
Let's hope that the experts are consulted and given importance in this issue and the real experts are THE TEACHERS themselves as they face the daily grind of class management.
Cospicua lletta is one tough school. When are we going to realise that not all children are cut out for university but that they may have a hidden talent or two? Academic subjects should not be the final word of schooling and education. perhaps the child is artistically inclined. are we catering for such students or are we trying to get everyone in smart city?
V.Micallef
Oct 29th 2008, 18:53
How about the reception class, huh?
joe camenzuli
Oct 29th 2008, 18:27
The problem is not the pupils but the teaching methods used. Some teachers need to be re- examined to see if they are up with current teaching methods. Pronounciation of words in English and Maltese languages (phonetics) is non existance in most schools not just the Cospicua areas. The teaching of mathematics in abacus is confusing the pupils especially when the same pupils have to revert back to previous maths teaching methods as they advance further. Too much homework with less relaxing time is also a factor to be considered.
martin portelli
Oct 29th 2008, 17:54
Excuse me weren't JL results published last June ? Why on earth is this unveiled at mid term, suspiciously close to cabinet's approval of the report on JL exams and this week's unsure rumblings re applications & special provisions for May's exam?
Why are you emphasising the therapy? Is the whole school population pathological? Is this what you're proclaiming? Is this the new way of sensitive inclusion, callously proclaiming pathology and social depression?
RE ‘Mr Spiteri ..........every confidence in the teachers – who achieved good results in the past – there was no doubt that the school faced particular problems which demanded particular solutions as allowed in the Education Act.'
So reform comes about simply because of ‘failure’ not through conviction. We it seems are also happy to put the onus on pathology and social problem. So what now? Deduce that all children attending Cospicua primary have violent parents and are underachievers? Lord help us in our hour of need! Me thinks they are the expendable guinea pigs!
NB; Will you be extending 'the pilot project 'to the rest of Cottonera say at Kalkara? Or is this a case of two weights and two measures?
Franco Farrugia
Oct 29th 2008, 17:22
Another important step to be taken is to reduce the teacher-student ratio - bring it down to a bare minimum One-to-one is not out of this world: it is being used in the Inner London areas.
Teachers afraid of being beaten? This is atrocious! How can teachers work peacefully in such circumstances?
I certainly do not envy teachers being placed in this context of schooling.