Page 10 i June 1998 [he Editor Says ... Administrators & Teachers Can Change a School S.C. Bootle High School in Cooper’s — Town is a typical sprawling campus much in the same order as many school campuses in the Bahamas. Single-story classroom blocks, each containing three to four classrooms, are _ spaced throughout the area leaving a central open common space. The buildings are painted a pale yellow with a couple of trees breaking up the monotony of the open space. For some time now the school has had a poor reputation. The students were unresponsive as they studied. Behaviour was not good. When one S.C. Bootle teacher spoke of the school where he was teaching to his colleagues in Nassau, they were appalled to learn where he taught. The school’s reputation was one of the worst and the students felt they were on the bottom. However, the good news is that that teacher is one of the persons bringing about a dramatic change to the school. Over the past four or five years, the school has been transformed. Students now are proud of themselves and their school. They carry themselves with self- respect, wearing their uniforms with dignity. They speak respectfully and are orderly and disciplined. What has brought about such a transformation? A dedicated principal and staff who have worked together in initiating changes which encourage the students to do better academically and help them modify their behaviour where necessary. The staff are supportive and complimentary, they brag on_ their students and are proud of their accomplishments. They have established policies which directly deal with the issues. For students who use bad language, they have a cussing class and work with the students individually to find more acceptable ways of coping with their frustrations. For some of the more troublesome students, they required that they dress well, with polished shoes and neckties. Slowly their behaviour was modified in response to their new image. Positive reinforcement by the staff has encouraged modified The Abaconian David & Kathleen Ralph, Editors & Publishers P O Box AB 20551, Marsh Harbour Abaco, Bahamas Reporter/Writer: Stephanie Humblestone behaviour. Students now dread being sent to the principal’s office because that requires that they go home to bring a parent to school. They are not being expelled or suspended, just required to bring a parent. In this way parents are being made responsible for the behaviour of their children. Students do not leave their classrooms without a pass pinned to their clothing which states which class and which teacher has allowed them to leave the classrooms. There is always one of the administrators roaming the campus. It might be the principal, the senior master or the senior mistress but they are constantly aware of what is happening on the campus and in the classrooms. The academics are changing as well. Good grades are required before students are promoted. Knowing that if their grades are not satisfactory, students are working much harder to earn good grades. National examinations will soon show a change. These changes have brought about a transformation which is apparent even to visitors to the school. This shows what can be accomplished with a dedicated group of teachers sincerely wanting to help the students and determined to find novel ways to approach their problems. Many of our schools have excellent dedicated teachers who hopefully will be given a chance to put into place systems which will create a good learning atmosphere and will instill a pride of accomplishment. Our island will be in good hands with graduates joining the work world who are dedicated to doing a good job, who have good work ethics and are morally well grounded in honourable principles. Thanks to the staff and students of S.C. Bootle for giving us all such a dramatic lesson in what can _ be accomplished in our schools with a little extra effort. Letters to the Editor Protect our Resources Dear Editor, While driving back and forth to Cooper’s Town for a period of a week recently I was disturbed to see how much of our pine forest have been destroyed by bush fires. During the week there was a bush fire in Treasure Cay as well as the large bush fire on the S.C. Bootle Highway between Kipco and Marsh Harbour and I also understand that the pine forests have been ravaged by fires going south. Growing up in the United States as a school child we were taught about the danger of forest fires using Smoky the Bear. { thought as I was driving that maybe we need an_ educational programme because I do not think all of these bush fires begin by spontaneous combustion. Some may be caused by just carelessly throwing a lighted cigarette out the window of a car and some may be deliberately started for whatever reason. Maybe it is time that businesses and community leaders think about a bush fire prevention programme. Maybe school children could have .a contest to identify and name a mascot that would be. the "spokesperson for bush fire prevention" as Smokey is for the United States. In addition, maybe we can also have a sign contest and have different civic organizations sponsor putting up signs on the highway to remind persons of the dangers of bush fires. We in the Bahamas have been blessed with a beautiful environment and we must learn not only to just appreciate it but we must learn to preserve and protect it for future generations. Sincerely, Isobel Sherman Bad Experience To the Abaconian, I am writing to let you know of a Published Monthly Phone 242-367-2677 FAX 242-367-3677 e-mail davralph@batelnet .bs Contributors: Bernadette Appleyard, Nancy Batchelor, Lawanda Bootle, Capt.Richard Canfield, Annabelle Cross, Gertrude Decius, Charlene Fernander, Josette Green, Tara Hingle, Candace Key, Robert Meister, Shawn O’Donnell, Lee Pinder, Isobel Sherman, Leola Sweeting Credit: Stephan Nash for parrot sketches and Bahamas Information Service Inquire for advertising rates @ 6,000 copies distributed Complimentary distribution at over 100 Abaco locations Subscription rate (12 Issues) $15.00 Abaco $24.00 USA $20 other Bahamas $35 Canada - airmail $45.00 UK, Europe & Caribbean - airmail See Page 11 for Subscription Coupon regrettable experience I had in_ the Bahamas that I think could have been prevented. Some friends and I had rented a sailboat for a wonderful week sailing around the Abacos. However, when it came time to return home we were caught by the recent storms in Florida. We were to fly out of Marsh Harbour to West Palm Beach on March Ist via BahamasAir flight 406M. However, the flight was canceled due to the poor weather conditions on the route to West Palm Beach. We were dismayed, but we had to accept that one cannot control the weather conditions and should really appreciate that the pilots are concerned for everyone’s safety. We were disappointed though that BahamasAir made no arrangements for rooms or transportation, or even some sort of discounted rooms/transportation. They simply left their desk at the airport and we were left to fend for ourselves. This scenario repeated itself again on March 2nd. However, that day I was able to find an open seat available on Island Air flight to Fort Lauderdale at 1:45 p.m. Island Air informed me that they would be happy to take me but I would need Bahamas