BOE, PSS killing the culture

When I was interviewed for the commissioner position at PSS, I told the selection committee at that time that Praxis could literally kill our teacher workforce. Everyone now knows our teacher workforce is in terrible shape. I offered the suggestion that we create feeder colleges and universities and to follow Guam’s model and create our own test to try and support and save some of teacher workforce but readers already know that the many of those in power don’t want to listen to Ambrose Bennett because they didn’t like something I wrote. To that, I say grow up and get over it as you are making students and even the CNMI suffer from your failure to listen objectively! We still have a teacher shortage a decade later after my interview and there have been classes with as many as 40 students with no teacher aide, which is totally ludicrous for the effective teaching of the sciences and arts. Only vocational courses are capable of accommodating so many students as long as they have the room, support staff and the equipment for these hands-on educational experience.

It was the bilingual teachers who suffered the most as they had no real background in the required history, math, and subject matter in Praxis. Praxis was meant for teachers who have taken a litany of coursework in the fields of arts and sciences, not Chamorro or Carolinian. Needless to say, the bilingual teachers never had a chance and, yes, I wrote about this several times so it is just another I told you so to BOE and PSS.

PSS and BOE are literally contributing to the death of the local language and cultures when our school system should be the leader, just like the school system should be a leader in the CW transition by changing to an academic/vocational institution. Their problem at PSS is they just don’t know how and wouldn’t let me tell them when the U. S. Department of Education actually sent me to Mexico to find this kind of solution for the CNMI.

Carolinian Affairs Office executive assistant John Tagabuel is right to be concerned about the simple solution of a test and policy changes. I hope this opinion will help but, if I have learned anything about BOE and PSS, it is that you can only influence them to do something by law as they don’t pay any attention to complaints with their autonomy status, which is proving to be a real mistake because our leaders in the Legislature are afraid to tell PSS to do anything. They are quick to create some legislation for the BOE and PSS but just try and get them to do something that will make BOE and PSS change! I suggest Mr. Tagabuel take his concerns and his complaint to the Legislature’s education committees in both chambers and maybe someone will finally listen and force BOE and PSS to change their policies as they are the biggest contributors to the language and culture dying a slow death one student at a time! The preservation of language and culture is purely an educational practice that PSS is not practicing. Wake up, locals, before your language and culture is literally dead.

Ambrose M. Bennett
Kagman, Saipan