An open Letter to UWI by Michael "Stone" Grandison

A friend of mine STONE writes an open letter to UWI. Profound

I am a recent graduate of the University of the West Indies, and it has been a barely palatable mix of bitter and sweet memories which leads back through my four years at the institution. I say this not in anger but in sadness and in disappointment, not as a deliberate truant, but as an eager learner who simply wasn’t cunning enough not to fall through the cracks. I ended my time at the university with a mere pass degree, and having spent one year more than the standard requirement of my degree. I was never an intentional trouble maker, a bit lazy, but only as much as the average college student. My academic failures, whilst I cannot deny my responsibility, are tied as inextricably as cause and effect to the darker memories of my school career.

The brighter days that graced that beautiful campus were filled with friends, sports, sex, and a few teachers who were not so much intelligent as they were genuine, good natured, and actually interested in their job. In all fairness to those overlords who brought the darker days of my school life, maybe their job descriptions were not clear enough to them, but their impressions and corresponding attitudes were polarized from that of their students. I appreciate the fact the combined processes of teaching and learning is a two way street, and some of my peers were simply up to no good. Even so, my inability to match my teachers’ cynicism is bound to my academic misfortune. At the heart of the slow demise of the teacher student dynamic and malevolent bureaucracy, was one fundamental thing. Bad will. This idea was merely a seed in my head as I struggled to navigate the perils of the system. It only began to grow in earnest when I attended my cousin’s graduation.

Now there is a widely accepted stigma in Jamaica, especially amongst those in decision making power who find it hard to take or even ask advice, against foreign praise. I assure you dear reader that I am as much of a patriot as the desire for positive change makes me, but this doesn't mean that I am opposed to making positive examples of foreign nations and cultures. As it happened, I was invited to attend my cousin’s graduation from the famous Yale College. Having never attended a foreign educational institution I was admittedly a bit close minded and undeniably envious. This because of having heard all the stories of schools of wealth unimaginable, almost utopian in atmosphere, with long heritages and corresponding records of success. On actually going there it became clearer to me what the key component of the system which ensured its continuing success was. Yes there was an unspoken almost subconscious insistence upon the highest of standards, and the most tenacious of approaches. Yes there was also an immense pool of resources from which both the students and the school itself could take to realize their ambitions. But what was at the heart of even these fundamental things? As I toured the town and campus in the days leading up to the big day, I poked and prodded at the answer and could come up only with vague and superficial bit and pieces.

Then while listening intently, despite the blazing direct sun, to the testimonials and confessions of the faculty, staff and students, intent on making those words their most memorable; I realized something. The epiphany came slowly and I felt like a dunce in its wake, not only did everyone have something positive to say, but their words, and the way they were put together, convinced one listening without a doubt, that they were sincere. I must also note that most of the events speeches we're from students. Everything I had seen before on my touring suddenly fell into place, and it might have slipped me had I not had an opposite to compare it to. The teachers realized their effect, not only on their individual students, but on their departments, on the whole student body, and thereby on the entire university system.

The key factor was none other than good will. Now follow me if you will. The teachers are limitlessly supportive and open with their students, so as to not only help them make the best decision about what they wanted to do with their lives, but also to enable them to take their work and study to the highest level they desire. The teachers are passionate and thereby inspiring, which seems a perfect catalyst for student excellence. The students in turn, realizing their role, tirelessly strive and excel. The empowered and enabled students then go into society, unsurprisingly succeed, and use the rewards of their efforts to enrich the institution responsible for their success. This creates the pool of resources which enables all within the system, and with this the cycle of goodwill is complete.

I am by no means saying that their system is perfect. I have simply identified the flaw which they have gotten rid off, which cripples our system so mercilessly. It is unthinkable that the attitude of teacher/motivator/enabler should reek of rude condescension and inconsiderate, selfishness. A selfishness which obscures the connectedness of individual and system, where it concerns both the university and wider society. Those who have been charged with our stewardship have carefully sidestepped an admission of the consequences of non-positive reinforcement. Never in the career of an educator should they consider uncivilized methods of discipline which utilize insult. Thereby attacking a student’s sense of self, suggesting to all who have witnessed, that one does not have student’s best interest at heart. This student doubt is also heavily reinforced by dispassionate displays, which contradict the aim of inspiration, and discourage a genuine respect for the teacher.

These are just a few small, marginal points about the problems of the system. The solution should be evident, and requires only a change of attitude. Once the enablers begin to act sincerely and passionately in the interest of the system's products (the students), then the cycle of good will sees not only the creation of benefits, but also the solution of problems. None of this of course, is without sacrifice (you all knew it was coming), because it is impossible to change a perspective or an entire system without giving something up. I am not a socialist or communist, neither am I opposed to the accumulation of material wealth. But the sustainability of individual benefits necessitates that you do not compromise the functionality of a system you have an interest in and that has an interest in you. If you can't make any sort of sacrifice for the betterment of a group situation, then you aren't suited to that group, or maybe to group effort itself.

I admit that I made many mistakes throughout my academic career, but I must also attest to the fact that there are many unnecessary obstacles a student has to face, which leaves them graduating with a bad taste in their mouths. This is an appeal to the teachers and administrators to be stern yet not obstructive, frugal yet not deny those most in need of resources, to be socially responsible in all your actions, keeping fully aware of the effect they have on those with whom you co-exist.

At a 2007 international idea conference called TED, one of the presenters who was a forward thinking African journalist activist, took a moment to acknowledge a man who had changed her life, her Harvard college professor. I thought about how many graduates of the University of the West Indies could say that. I would be lying if I said none, because I can say that a select few have significantly changed my outlook for the better. But I couldn’t say most, nor could I say all. Every teacher, especially at the tertiary level, should have it be their mission to change the lives of all of their students for the better.