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Education should be free and mandatory for all in Haiti
Edikasyon ta dwe gratis e obligatwa pou tout moun Ayiti

Emmanuel W. Védrine

Photo: Courtesy Enock Fedna,
New generation 4 Haiti

November 16, 2020 : 16 novanm 2020

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1. We must be aware that all children in Haiti (ages 5 to 19) have the right to free education (from kindergarten to the end of secondary school).

  

1. Nou dwe pran konsyans ke tout timoun Ayiti (depi laj 5 an rive 19 an) ta dwe gen dwa a yon edikasyon gratis ti cheri (soti matènèl pou rive fen lekòl segondè).

2.The school should lend them materials such as books at the start of the school year in September and they would return them in June, when school is about to be closed.

 

2. Lekòl ta dwe prete yo materyèl tankou liv lè ane eskolè a kòmanse an septanm, epi pou yo ta remèt yo an jen lè lekòl ap fèmen.

3. It would be important to listen to the specialists (in education without talking too much) who know and work in the field, and to analyze their proposals.

 

3. Li enpòtan pou n ta tande sa espesyalis (nan edikasyon di san pale anpil) ki konnen e ki travay nan domèn lan, epi epi analize sa yo pwopoze.

4. We don't have to act with emotion if we want to see change. It takes wisdom, strategy, awareness, hard work and eliminating too much talking.

 

4. Nou pa dwe aji ak emosyon si n vle wè chanjman. Sa mande sajès, estrateji, konsyantizasyon, travay di epi elimine pale anpil.

5. Creole vs French. There is still politics behind the use of these two official languages ​​of Haiti which prevents them from being fully used in schools. It is clear that neither can be eliminated from education and they are part of the linguistic heritage of the country. We must rather use them effectively as a tool that we use so that it does not harm us.

 

5. Kreyòl vs fransè. Toujou gen politik dèyè itilizasyon de lang ofisyèl sa yo Ayiti, ki fè yo pa itilize nòmalman oubyen antre danble nan lekòl. Li klè ke nou pa ka elimine youn nan yo nan edikasyon, e yo fè pati de patrimwàn lengwistik peyi a. Donk, nou dwe itilize yo nan bon fason kòm yon zouti n ap itilize pou l pa blese nou.

6. All teachers should attend compulsory seminars every five years (for re-training) on ​​ teaching techniques, using teaching materials, technology in education and what it means.

  

6. Tout anseyan dwe suiv seminè obligatwa chak senk an (pou resikle, ou resiklay pedagojik) sou teknik pou anseye, itilizasyon materyèl didaktik, teknoloji nan edikasyon e kisa sa vle di.

7. Technology in education in Haiti1. Haiti is late to use it in this sense. There is the absence of laboratories at all levels. Computer courses that should have been part of the school curriculum. Electronic versions of teaching materials, and documents should be free online in order to help students with research and homework assignment.

 

7. Teknoloji nan edikasyon Ayiti1. Ayiti an reta nan sans sa a pou itilize l. Gen absans laboratwa nan tout nivo. Kou konpwoutè (enfòmatik) ta dwe fè pati pwogram lekòl la ou korikilòm.  Vèsyon elektwonik materyèl didaktik yo, ak dokiman ta dwe gratis an liy dekwa pou ede elèv ak rechèch e ak devwa.

8. The teaching of French, English and Spanish  as a foreign language (from elementary level), practical methods for teaching children using audio and audiovisual materials without emphasizing on (written) grammar, on writing but rather on oral (for example, conversation in class and dialog development in small groups).

  

8. Ansèyman fransè, anglè, ak espayòl kòm lang etranje (depi nivo matènèl), metòd pratik pou anseye timoun ak materyèl odyo, odyo-vizyèl san anfaz sou gramè (ekri), sou ekri men sou oral (pa egzanp, konvèsasyon nan klas, e devlopman dyalòg an ti gwoup).

9. Development of bilingual teaching materials: French–Creole /Creole–French, Creole–English /English–Creole (from kindergarten to secondary level).

So, we should live with the reality the way the world is going. That is, teaching materials that being developed (from kingergarten level) shouuld be blingual (Creole - English, French - Creole) to help students since early on in terms of linguistic reality that they will be facing soon. We must also think ahead about the solution to the linguistic problems and linguistic planning without talking a lot. Here, we can neutralize the linguistic problems for all social groups peacefully at the socilinguistics level.

  

9. Devlopman materyèl didaktik bileng: fransè–kreyòl /kreyòl–fransè, kreyòl–anglè /anglè–kreyòl (de nivo matènèl a segondè).

Donk nou dwe viv ak reyalite jan lemond prale. Sètadi, materyèl didaktik k ap devlope yo (depi nivo matènèl) ta dwe bileng (kreyòl–anglè, fransè–kreyòl) pou ede elèv depi bonè an tèm reyalite lengwistik ke yo pral fè fas ak li byento. Nou dwe panse davans tou a solisyon pwoblèm lengwistik yo e amenajman lengwistik san pale anpil. La a, nan yon sans, nou kapab netralize pwoblèm lengwistik yo pou tout kouch sosyal, san bri san kont o nivo sosyolengwistik.

Note

  1. Michel Degraff, Glenda S. Stump “Kreyòl, pedagogy, and technology for opening up quality education in Haiti: Changes in teachers’ metalinguistic attitudes as first steps in a paradigm shift” (Linguistic Society of America. Vol. 94, number 2. June 2018, pp e127 - e157).

Annexed Texts : Tèks anekse

VEDRINE, Emmanuel W.

What the author thinks : Sa otè a panse

  1. He is against selfishness because it’s a poison that nourishes underdevelopment in Haiti. (Ref. article «Egoyis: yon viris k ap detwi kominote ayisyen» (Selfishness, a virus destroying the Haitian Community).
     
  2. He believes in Haiti’s development, and considers these 7 essential pillars to help this development to happen rapidly:
     
    (2.1) Agriculture (its development, and investment in food production). Ref. article:  «Agrikilti ta dwe premye sib nan devlopman Ayiti». (June 2004). ”Agriculture the first Target for Haiti's Development”. Boston Haitian Reporter, July 2004.
     
    (2.2) Entrepreneurship (orientating youths to think of becoming entrepreneurs while in school [from elementary, middle school, and continue to the secondary level], and for this idea to be part of the program or the school curriculum in Haiti. In the same line of idea, we are encouraging all schools in Haiti to think about that, and how they can implant some trades in the public and private schools so that students can practice them. We can think of creating also a center (that would exist in all communes) to learn different trades, in order to create activities for students. We mention many times how Fridays can be used to do these activities.
     
    (2.3) Education (reform that should be done in the archaic education system in Haiti and the necessity to have a practical education, the importance for Haiti to look at the school programs in the French territories such as Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guyana, and in (the) Seychelles (archipelago), the school curriculum of (the province of)  Quebec (in Canada), made videos with them as samples to make training seminars for teachers in Haiti, and develop a whole online database with them as resources to help all teachers in Haiti. That way, a practical and modern curriculum can be adapted for Haiti (from elementary level to the end of the secondary level).
     
    (2.4) Electricity (in all ways it can help).
     
    (2.5) Health (programs, and health insurance for everyone).
     
    (2.6) Security (for everyone so that they can function normally in their activities, without any fear).
     
    (2.7) Roads (good roads to help decentralizing Haiti rapidly for its development, for the development of the communes, and local and international tourism).
     
  3. He believes in what a person has already done, but not in what individual is planning to do (the future belongs to nobody, and as the saying goes, “Don’t count your chicken before they hatch”.
     
  4. He believes in competition (not in the sense to destroy what others are doing) but rather to produce what’s better, and to avoid or discourage mediocrity from taking over.
     
  5. He believes in civic works (how to educate, and encourage all youths to participate in civic works to help their community, their communes, and country), how this is going to help them also to develop leadership early on. Reference article: «Travay sivik ta dwe obligatwa pou tout jèn an Ayiti».
     
  6. He believes in individual works (to learn to meet challenges), and for each person to show their potential (for example, working in school, taking exams… because it’s not all the time we can count on people or work with others) and at the same time, working in team but with people who share the same working spirit, and without mediocrity.
     
  7. He believes in working to the maximum (to reach an objective) without talking a lot, and without wasting time criticizing others (for what that has not been done a long time). In Haiti, for instance politicians and individuals would talk more, spend more time criticizing others instead of learning to create or to meet challenges, try to do what has not been done since “x time”, instead of complaining all the time).
     
  8. He believes in a free  education for all little Haitians till the end of secondary school to help in Haiti’s development for real, an  materials that schools can lend them  (the beginning of the academic year in September, and that students would return them (when school is about to be closed in June). We can’t talk about Haiti’s development when most Haitians can’t read and write, when there are no free and mandatory schools for all children (from a certain age).
     
  9. He believes in a practical education (where students can help themselves with what they learn in school. They can help their country in return, and their local commune). Schools should trades, and laboratories accessible to students. Friday can be used as a particular day to do many activities such as: visiting other regions of Haiti (to compare and contrast them), visiting historical, touristic places… and even go to the Dominican Republic with students to compare the two countries (and make students conscious of what is necessary to do in Haiti). Reforestation activities (planting trees), making nurseries for reforestation, and for agriculture must be among these activities. Reference article: “Agriculture the first target for Haiti's development”. Boston Haitian Reporter, July 2004) : “Agrikilti ta dwe premye sib nan devlopman Ayiti” (jen 2004); “Le reboisement d’Haïti, un défi politique et environmental” (What’s really needed to be done to reforest Haiti? :  Kisa k dwe fèt reyèlman pou rebwaze Ayiti?); Estrateji pou rebwaze Ayiti (Strategies to reforest Haiti : Stratégies pour reboiser Haiti); Kijan yon plant fèt (How a plants is made : Formation d'une plante); Dyalòg sou rebwazman an Ayiti (Dialog on reforestation in Haiti : Dialogue sur le reboisement en Haïti); Kèk plant kreyòl ak non yo an laten (Some Creole plants and their names in Latin : Quelques plantes créoles et leurs noms en latin); Ayiti, yon peyi ravaje nou dwe sispann detwi. Bon Nouvèl #352. 1999 (Haiti and the destruction of nature : Haïti et la destruction de l'environnement); Ann pale de bwa ak fri Ayiti! (Ref. Materyèl Edikatif pou Bileng Ayisyen, pp. 160-180, Let's talk about trees and fruits in Haiti! : Parlons de bois et fruits en Haïti); Sezon sechrès Ayiti (pesants’ novel) Season of drought in Haiti.
     
  10. He likes working with discipline (responsibility, and commitment in doing some works is important, and it reflects one’s character) in all that we are doing and with transparence.

E. W. Védrine Creole Project, Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts. USA

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