On this issue of the role of education beyond the secondary level, as it relates to nation-building, and in particular to politicians as the chief nation-builders, people can be divided into three groups. There are those who believe and argue that higher education does not really matter, and they might even discourage the pursuit of it. For them, even if one pursues higher education, and acquires knowledge and skills in a chosen area, it does not impact, in any significant way, one’s ability to be an effective political leader. They will point to persons of a bygone era who had no formal tertiary education but were very effective political leaders, while choosing to ignore the vast differences and complexities of modern times compared with times past. They may even argue that what matters is the fact that you can acquire some wealth, eat and drink well and enjoy pleasures of life, etc. etc.
The second group comprises those who say that higher education does matter, but not that much. They would argue that when you look around you will see that many who are well educated are not as effective, and not living as well, as many of those who have not gone beyond the secondary level – and they would ask, “What then is the real advantage of higher education?”
The third group is made up of those who say, “Education makes all the difference, and higher education is the key to unlock many doors.” Therefore, they say, go as far as you can and you will find yourself equipped to contribute significantly to community life and to nation-building. When we were children, growing up in Anguilla, our parents used to drum it in our ears: “Get a good education, and you will be able to elevate yourselves socially and economically.” Occasionally we heard words to this effect: “An educated man is a respected man.” Looking back, I have come to realize that “a good education” was a treasured value for our parents and for many others in those bygone days. Somehow, I get the disturbing sense that today there are too many Anguillians, some in high places, who no longer regard a good education as a treasured value. I hope this article can begin a wide scale debate which will eventually establish a “good education” as a premier national value, and a major national-building block.
Questions:
1. Do you think that Anguilla would have been better off if the majority of our political leaders (past and present) had acquired higher levels of formal education, and greater proficiency in particular disciplines?
2. What can we learn from the quality of political leadership in the B.V.I, Cayman Islands and Montserrat that would make a significant difference in Anguilla?
Let us look at the broader picture. What do we want for Anguilla? This is a very important question which needs to be discussed at the national level to arrive at a “master vision” which would inspire and inform our decisions, plans, strategies and programmes. The ad hoc, piecemeal, partisan approaches have brought us to this crisis. As long as we continue using them we will never effectively come out. Why can’t we have truly national debates on national issues?
We endeavor to ensure that our hospital and health services, our community college and schools, etc., etc., are led and managed by the best qualified and suitable persons we can find to do the job, because we want to see progress. How much more should we want to see our country led and managed by the best qualified and best suitable persons to be our political leaders? Robert Louis Stevenson is reputed to have said, “Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.”
I believe that if we are serious about building a new, progressive and sustainable Anguilla, going forward, we must engage in this debate about the preparation and qualifications necessary for those who wish to become our political leaders. We cannot be satisfied with business as usual. So let us get this important debate going on a high and civil level. This debate calls for an approach which is sane and rational, rather than one which is rationalizing, emotional or infantile. We cannot downplay the value of a good education backed up by meaningful experiences. Persons with both experience and education have proven to be, by far, the best leaders worldwide. I call upon all Anguillians and residents to be intentional about celebrating higher education as a worthwhile national value, and to encourage and help our children and youth especially to acquire as much as they can. It is warped thinking and backwardness to call someone who is fairly well-educated “elitist” in the negative sense of that word. When used negatively, “elitist” means a snob, or pompous person, or social climber, or one who thinks himself or herself better than others. This is an attitude of the mind, and any small or simple-minded person can adopt such an attitude, no matter where he or she stands on the educational ladder. That attitude is not a function of education but rather a distortion of it.
The word “elite” entered the English Language around 1823 with very positive meanings like: the best of society, first class, nobility, beautiful people, choice, celebrity, top quality, prime, etc., etc. Should we not want the “best” in our society to lead us? A good education can help us to be among the best. Just a note of caution: If you tend to get emotional and intolerant when discussing the value of higher education in nation-building, beware of becoming a bigot.
I also believe that all of our efforts in education should be directed toward nation-building. If this concept is intentionally embraced, and becomes the main driver of our education enterprise, it will necessitate some major reforms – and a whole new progressive and practical approach to the way we deliver education and what we deliver. It will also mean that more careful attention will be given to the preparation, qualifications and suitability of the chief nation-builders. So let the dialogue begin because popularity, jokes and gift-giving can no longer be the criteria.
In the rest of this article, I share with you some insightful quotations on the value of education. (Please overlook the absence of inclusive language in some of the quotes.)
(1) Education begins at home. You can’t blame the school for not putting into your child what you don’t put into him… (Geoffrey Holder)
(2) …children should be instructed in some useful things – for example, reading and writing – not only for their usefulness, but also because many other sorts of knowledge are acquired through them. ( Aristotle)
(3) Begin to instruct as soon as a child has the notion of the difference between good and evil. And this is as soon as he knows your smile from your frown. (Samuel Palmer)
(4) “The principal goal of education in schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply respecting what other generations have done.” (Jean Piaget)
(5) “Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant.” (Epictetus)
(6) “The supreme end of education is expert discernment in all things – the power to tell the good from the bad, the genuine from the counterfeit, and to prefer the good and the genuine to the bad and the counterfeit.” (Samuel Johnson)
(7) If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. (Derek Bok)
(8) It is only the ignorant who despise education. (Pablilius Syrus)
(9) “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in Education.” ( John F. Kennedy)
(10) If we can see and appreciate that the “mother-purpose” of education is “the improvement of the life of individuals, island and nations, we will realize that an investment in education pays the best interest both in the short term and the long term.
(11)“Education underpins the foundation of any society and is an important issue… We…understand the role education can play in bringing about economic wealth and social prosperity and maintaining political stability in the territories.” (Sarah Teather, Minister of State for Children and Families, Dept. of Ed. UK)
So let us rise up and do what is necessary to build our island-nation, and be no longer content to do only that which will win an election.
