Min. of Education says TIS Project Tablets for Mico Teacher's College, Mandatory Special Education and Free Early Childhood Retraining

Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites seems to have finally remembered the Teacher's Colleges.

He was a no-show at the launch of the Samsung smart School room at the Dunhaney Park High School on Friday January 23^rd 2015 as note in my Geezam blog article entitled “Samsung's Smart School are Tablets for VARK Hexagons of Learning”.

But he was front and center at the Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange on Monday January 26^th 2015 as noted in the article “All teachers' colleges to get tablets”, published Tuesday, January 27, 2015 BY ANIKA RICHARDS Online/health co-ordinator, The Jamaica Observer.

This as he's announced that they too would be getting Tablets as part of the TIS (Tablets in Schools) project as well along with a raft of equally strange pronouncements at the Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange at the newspaper's Beechwood Avenue headquarters in Kingston on Monday January 26^th 2015.

Still that a relief; I don’t have to buy a tablet; I’ll be getting one subsidized, probably costing some JA$9000. For me this was expected, being as it was announced back in November 2014 that the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining had signed a JA$114 million with Book Publishers for e-book and Web content for the Tablets as reported in my blog article entitled “JA$114 million spent on Content for TIS Project Tablets - JA$76 million on Math, English and Science Content by January 2015 to stop Teachers Padding Book-lists for Commissions”

So to reassure Teacher's Colleges, Sam Sharp isn't all that special having gotten some 250 Tablets under the TIS (Tablet in Schools) Project back in October 2014 as noted in the article “Sam Sharpe Teachers' College Gets 250 Digital Tablets”, published Saturday October 18, 2014, The Jamaica Gleaner.  

To quote Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites: “In the pilot, the Ministry of Education didn't choose the schools, but Sam Sharpe was one of the teachers' colleges that got tablets. This year, all of the teachers' colleges will, because you can't have the students getting it and the teachers are not”.

However, it’s what he said about the Grade that will be getting e-books and web apps, Special Education and Early Childhood education that has me shocked.

But one chock at a time! So which grade will be getting these e-books on their Tablets?

Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites and Teacher's Colleges - Grades receiving e-books on Tablet revealed

Along with that bit of information, he also revealed which grades will be getting e-book and Web apps from both the approved and supplementary lists for 2015/2016:

1.      Grade one to three will be receiving all books with the exception of textbooks for mathematics

2.      Grades four to thirteen (Third Form) will be receiving some books

Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites has plans to increase this by next academic year 2015/2016 quote: “Putting the textbooks in electronic format will result in savings for the ministry, by eliminating the need for book repairs as well as the cost associated with transportation. This will include all books at grade one to three, except for math texts. Some texts at grade four to six and seven to 13 will also be available in e-format. The ministry is currently in discussions with publishers, so this number could increase by the start of the next academic year”.

Publisher no doubt do not like this Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites plans, as they'll potentially lose money, especially as the boys can hack the tablets as noted in my blog article entitled “Male Student hacks TIS Project Tablet as Distribution Expands - Tablets Problems require Creative Jamaican solutions to deliver Lessons to the Learners We Teach”.

Negative effects of TIS Project - Special Education to be made Mandatory for Graduation

But the bombshell was later down in the interview. he first revealed that Tablet were being used for other unconventional usages, such as accessing pornographic websites, quote: “Family members are using the tablets at home to show blue movies for hire, causing us to question the whole (thing). The teachers, by and large, don't understand the system as well as plenty of the students”.

Like duh, Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites, if you have a Tablet and free Wi-Fi in the ghetto, what do you thinks gonna happen?  

But the shocker was what he said at the very end (or was it in the middle!?) that’s shocking!

Special Education will now be mandatory for ALL Teacher's College graduates, meaning that they'll have to do an entire course on Special Education i.e. dealing with students with Dyslexia, Autism, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), quote : “One is that every teacher from now on will not be graduating unless they do, not just a module, but a whole course in special education......It is absolutely critical that our teachers, who are the first responders, learn to identify a special need and not run away from it at the earliest stage; and the second thing they have to do is they have to become far more digitally competent”

There is also going to be an emphasis on Early Childhood education, as there seems to be a shortage there as well as per the article “Educators hesitant as Education Ministry moves to improve early childhood sector”, published Monday, January 26, 2015 5:26 PM , The Jamaica Observer.

In fact, Minister of Education  Ronald Thwaites is offering to retrain teacher for Early Childhood Education if they’re unable to find work, quote: “We have surplus teachers in the system who we are now trying to persuade, where they are not adequately serving, to come into early childhood…we will retrain them,”

Holy mackaroni!

Disclaimer: As a teacher in training at the MICO University College doing a Professional Diploma in Teaching, I think I just got set up, pepper Steak and Bag juice and all as noted in my blog article entitled “Cooking Restart at MICO - How to Cook a Meal in under 30 minutes and make Drinks with Bag Juice”.

Tablets coming but in order to get that as a Teacher, I must do Special Education, as via the fiat declaration of Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites, This is a must as apparently there is a shortage of Special Education Teachers.

Lord, if you exist, have mercy upon my soul!!!