‘We Have To Do Things Better Moving Forward’
We were able to work our way through most of the issues, we cannot continue to have situations arise where we are disrupting our children’s learning, we have to do things better moving forward, and whether students will back in the classroom on Monday was “not finalized in our discussion.”
This was from Minister of Education Diallo Rabain following a meeting with the member of the Bermuda Union of Teachers [BUT] yesterday, which followed after the Union held an emergency meeting in the morning, marched on Parliament in the afternoon, with all public schools being closed for the afternoon.
Audio of comments from Minister Rabain:
Minister Rabain said, “I think we were able to work our way through most of the issues. One thing that I did leave them with is that we need to change the dynamic of this relationship, we cannot continue to have situations arise where we have things where we are disrupting our children’s learning, we are disrupting our parents.
“There has to be a better way of communicating between the BUT, and the Ministry, and Department of Education, and the Ministry and Department of Education towards the BUT.
“We cannot continue to have these types of incidences. The only people who suffer are our children, and that is what is most paramount in everything that we do is how is what we’re doing affecting our children.
“I think we were able to talk through most of the things. There were answers that people did not like, there were answers that people did like, and that’s the nature of these instances.
BUT members meet yesterday:
“What I did also leave them with is that when we have meetings like this it only serves the best interest of the people who are conducting the meetings to have a concrete idea of what it is we want to accomplish at the end of the meeting,” the Minister said.
“So, we’ve come to this meeting and there were some things we couldn’t answer because we didn’t know this is what they wanted to know. So if we do get that type of information we can have much better meetings than what it is than we’ve had today.
BUT President Shannon James statement after the first meeting:
“I pledged to the members that we will work on this communication, and we will do things better moving forward because we have to do things better moving forward,” Minister Rabain added.
“What’s different today is we got a chance to meet with the entire membership of the BUT. Normally what happens is we meet with the executive and then the executive passes the message on and I think in putting no blame on anyone else, I think sometimes when you’re having go-betweens you tend to lose what it is you are trying to say.
BUT members walk up to Parliament yesterday
“You tend to lose some of the thing that you’re really trying to mean, when you’re sitting face to face. So, even me being in here I was taking copious notes and thinking to myself, perhaps in addition to the quarterly meetings that I hold with the BUT executive, I need to figure out some way to hold meetings directly with the membership as well.
“It’s just a learning process. We also learned about some of the process that they don’t like within the Department of Education, how they approach teachers, how they communicate with teachers as well. So these are lots of things that we’ve come away with, and I think moving forward we should be able to create a better relationship that fosters trust between the two entities.”
Premier Burt addresses the teachers yesterday:
When asked if students will back in the classroom on Monday, Minister Rabain responded, “That is what we would like to see happen. That was something that was not finalized in our discussion when we talked, because they wanted to be able to talk about what we discussed, and then make a decision and that is what they are doing as we speak now.
“I have tasked the Department to come up with contingency plans in case we are faced with what we were faced with today within our school system on Monday. So, we’re looking at it, putting things in place to see if we can mitigate what happened today, but we are very hopeful that we have answered the questions sufficiently enough for the Bermuda Union of Teachers that they will come into the classrooms on Monday and get back to doing what it is that they do best, and that’s educating our children.”
PLP, putting friends and family first as the masses pay more taxes. 25-11!
stfu thats why the oba will never win they didn’t listen.
That’s really a mature statement to make and if you ate a teacher you should retire early.
The reason that appears to have caused this is that the PLP didn’t listen……presumably you still voted for them!
Good, because if they did listen, then we would be….here. Here is where we would be.
LOL , yeah ‘they didn’t listen’ that’s excuse number 328 out of a thousand you all keep making up. The list grows by the day !
It had nothing whatsoever to do with any of your excuses but NONE of you will come clean and admit the truth .
Enjoy your massive COL increases and shrinking earning power.
You’re a teacher? LMFAO…that explains a lot!
it not just that the obaubp did not listen but it also that they tried to bully like a dictatorship
Any time the OBA set up a town hall meeting the greenshirts arrived and closed it down.
Of course the PLP always listen before they put things through. They listen, but then they ignore.
“When asked if students will back in the classroom on Monday, Minister Rabain responded, “That is what we would like to see happen. That was something that was not finalized..”
Perhaps he could have got the Minister who paid himself %60,000 of borrowed taxpayer funds for ‘Efficency’ to help work out whether schools will be open on Monday.
This lot cannot do one single thing right can they. It’s just a bunch of frikin idiots.
Create an Education Authority, get rid of the Department and Ministry and run it like the private schools are run. Controversial yes, but the hard choices are usually the right ones. One thing is clear, the present system is failed beyond repair.
That won’t happen not under plp they will keep throwing money at the BUT because that is where the votes are. Kids and taxpayers lose. The unions are ruining this place they have way too much sway on government.
What’s really interesting is that the membership were the ones to bring up and talk about the strained relationship with the Department/Ministry, we were the ones to bring up the fact that things need to change (which we’ve been saying for YEARS) and we are the ones who have been trying to have a full membership meeting with the Department/Ministry…not the Minister. Not cool to take credit for something you kept postponing and brushing over.
It’s an open secret that the Dept. of Education is the root cause of all the issues. More civil servants than teachers, more spent of the Dept. than on schools. It’s a disgrace.
PLP think they are “Teflon Dons” like Trump. If “they did better” and really focused on doing “the right thing for all”, instead of constantly pointing fingers at others, we’d all might start seeing some positive progress.
The PLP have proven, countless times, that they’re no better than the ’40 thieves’ they hate so much.
Yes but the 40 Thieves stole everything from us! It’s our turn to take back from them! Tucker’s Town is next!!
The PLP have proven, countless times, that they’re no better than the ’40 thieves’ they hate so much.
Pee El Pee now regretting all the nonsense they filled people’s heads with before the last election!! Titty milk isn’t working as good as it once was!! Hahahaha!!
” We have to do things better moving forward ”
This is getting beyond tedious . Every day it’s someone using another tired cliche involving phrases like , ‘Moving forward’ or ‘We can do better’ , or ‘ We deserves better ‘ blah blah
All nothing but meaningless political platitudes.
The headline statement should read .. ” We must stop going backwards , the regression is rapidly killing this island”
We the people have the power..people refuse to pay the increases in our taxes,enough of friends and family..time for we the people,who have to pay !!!!!!!!!!!!
I find it interesting that the PLP are urging teachers back to work, the Minister talking on Friday in strong terms about “them not be authorised to be out of school”…and yet, if it were bus drivers, or trash truck drivers it would be a different tone.
Can you imagine a private sector company Senior Manager saying “well it’s up the the employees if we start work again Monday”? Minister Robain has just shown why he is irrelevant and a 100% waste of a paycheck.
Is teaching considered an essential service? If the answer is no that is sad.
Is school in or not?
When asked if students will back in the classroom on Monday, Minister Rabain responded, “That is what we would like to see happen. That was something that was not finalized
So our “leaders” can’t tell us. They can’t get even the simplest things right.
STFU! The teachers are the leaders, their azzez should be in the classes. The minute parents decide not to send their children to school, they are threaten with court procedures.
so is there school on Monday or not. telling us that decision has not been finalized is not good enough. when will we know? Monday morning?
…glad that there was dialogue.
UBP AND oba NEVER, EVER cared a darn about public school educators and their students. Oba always cared about money..money …money.
Bermudians, do not forget the nasty, distasteful methods repeatedly utilized by O.B.A. from 2012 to 2017.That group of cavemen were the WORST in the past 60 years.Rather crude group, led by Dunkley.
17 – 21
Lol
Sadly the ministry is run by important people who are important because of the size of their paycheck- not because they are actually working to improve the education of our young people, or enable our teachers to teach. Another part of this problem is that education is not about teaching anymore, its about meetings, meetings and reports and files- which do not enable teachers to actually teach.
Weird how the PLP got their faithful to ensure the OBA didn’t get in, but Bermuda is in worse shape, and we have even more strikes…
And the sad thing is the numpties think everything is fine because the PLP tells them its fine. Its as if people are brainwashed.
lovely your children attending public school. to me that really says something as the leader of the country. Just like the Japanese leader did not just tell the public that the area from the power plant accident was save He also DRANK the water from the same area.
Right on! Burt leads by example!
What about the PLP Ministers – current ones – who have sent their children to private schools? What does that tell you about what they think of Bermudian teachers?
hmm wtf is that all that was on the paper? Their request seem more than reasonable why did it need to come this far with out being address. 30year request wtf how can any of those be 30 year back log? there must be more on the letter that he did not read.
Plp suck…buses are not running.
Trash is innadiquate (pick up).
Roads need paving .
Groceries are asstronimicly priced .
Healthcare is so expensive people would rather die.
And teacher all have maroon marching polos.
Plp put new taxes daily…because they want to spend.
When…in fact …import duty is all govt actually need.
Looks like rain on Monday. There is almost no chance of them going to work.
All Civil Servants and MPs should be banned from sending their children to private schools. Then see how quickly there is a major change. It will never happen because Education is run by incompetent Civil Servants who cannot be disciplined or fired. Live with it.