Neville Darrell's departure

I’m sorry to hear that ill health has prompted UBP MP and Shadow Education Minister Neville Darrell to announce that he will step down at the next election. However, I think the party will only benefit from having someone else in charge of the education portfolio.

Although some consider Mr. Darrell to be a thoughtful person, who works hard behind the scenes, he has been almost invisible in public. This has made it difficult for the public to see what he has accomplished, and is undoubtedly why he scored the lowest of all members of the Shadow Cabinet in a recent poll on this site.

Although Opposition Leader Wayne Furbert doesn’t have to decide who’ll replace Mr. Darrell until after the next election (at which time he will probably have a slightly different crop of MPs to choose from), it might be advantageous for him to choose a replacement earlier. Doing so would allow that person to familiarise themselves with the portfolio ahead of time, which would be particularly helpful if the UBP wins the next election (and that person retains their seat).

Mr. Darrell’s replacement in Warwick West, Mark Pettingill, seems uninterested in the education portfolio, however, saying that he would prefer to assume a role that utilises his experience of the law. Perhaps he’ll eject the pugilistic Maxwell Burgess from public safety.

I’d like to see Michael Dunkley take education. It’s a critical portfolio, and he is one of the UBP’s best MPs, but he seems wasted as a minister without portfolio.

Time will tell.

Comments

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 24.08.06 at 10:36]

Limey,

Interesting commentary but where does the UBP stand on the issue of education anyway? Where does the UBP stand on any issue that is important to Bermuda? It is anyone's guess because they are so afraid to take any position on any issue unless they can determine where the electorate stands.

As far as I understand it, a political party wins and loses elections based on where it stands on key issues and how it proposes to improve things. How can the UBP expect to be re-elected if it cannot stand up and be counted and tell the electorate what its position is?

[ken on 24.08.06 at 11:01]

Mr Darrell lost credibility with me when he accused the Ministry and Department of Education and teachers of inflating children's scores to increase the graduation rates. This was due to Cedarbridge's improving graduation rate. Is it really that impossible to believe that the students worked harded and were more dedicated and performed better this year? By accusing everyone involved it shows no confidence in especially the teachers & students. If elected to the government, wouldn't that be a tense situation to be in?

I agree with Guilden that the UBP tends to take no stance on any issue until it gauges public feeling. They are not leading or showing leadership potential. If they are reelected are they going to take a stance or will they be guided strictly by the electorate. There is nothing wrong with public consultation, but some decisions must be made by the government.

I also find it interesting that the Opposition is naming all of its candidates and getting all its ducks in a row. The next election doesn't have to be until summer of 2008. Two years away. Yes there have been whispers of an impending election, but I for one, don't see it happening until the PLP has exhausted this term. Hence, the reason the PLP hasn't announced any candidates of their own yet. While the UBP are focused electioneering etc, the PLP at least are focusing on the issues of the day, and also leading the study on how the way we are living today will impact the future of Bermuda, i.e. Sustainable Development.

[SmokingGun on 24.08.06 at 12:14]

ken - sorry but I have to laugh. Leading the study on Sustainable Development? 8 years in and all of a sudden it's "Leading"? The only reason the current government has shown any interest whatsoever in SD is because they have been given little support in their fantasy land of independence.

Is SD important? Absolutely - but it's something that shouldn't even be considered belonging to either party. It's owned by the people of Bermuda and to rail-road it is the worst possible way to try to handle it.

Education is in fact probably the number one area of sustainable development that we should all be cocerned with. For without it we will not be smart enough to know what else to do. If you want to lead the way then get our education systems running in high gear.

[sleepy on 24.08.06 at 12:16]

Guilden: I know you have your little comforting regular rant that the UBP takes no positions on anything, but it would help if you stayed informed rather than just spouting your preconceived notions. Sometimes you have to take a little initiative and educate yourself before spouting the usual drivel.

Ken: I know you are working hard to establish a theme that the UBP takes no positions on anything, and I admire your tenacity, but here's the education excerpt from the 2006 UBP Budget Reply on education on their website, a search which took at 30 seconds.:

Education

Economic opportunity is key to achieving racial parity in Bermuda, and education is the key to economic opportunity. We have become increasingly concerned about the deterioration of public education in our island.

Education should be the source of opportunity, not a mark of privilege. The overall budget allocation for students through Senior level is $114.730M, with an enrolment of 6,221 students at September 2005.

We note a decline in enrolment compared to September 2004, resulting in even higher annual costs for educating each child. This is too great an investment to not yield results, but graduation rates in the public school system are still less than 55% - that is to say that approximately 45% of all students eligible to graduate from the public school system, fail to do so.

Terra Nova exam results show that Bermuda’s middle and senior school students have scored consistently below the US average on language, reading and math over the last five years.

We all know that a dysfunctional public education system has a powerfully negative impact on our social cohesiveness, as well as our competitiveness as a country and our ability to supply educated Bermudians to power our economy. It widens the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

In practical terms this means that 45% of our children who aren’t graduating from our public secondary schools are doomed to a lifetime of substantially lower earning capacity – unless they have the benefit of other training programs.

The United Bermuda Party plan for education reform focuses on three basic principles: 1) Increased emphasis on the individual student and the role of the parents; 2) Setting higher standards: benchmarking student achievement against international student performance
standards and demanding greater accountability for better results; and
3) Increased responsibility and flexibility for each school.

Here are some of our specific proposals:

· There will be a licensed teacher in every classroom and teacher effectiveness testing will be administered regularly to measure performance and student achievement;
· We will ensure a rate of compensation for teachers that is fair, and commensurate with their results;
23
· Teachers and parents will have the resources and tools to know if their children need extra support and development of a special talent;
· Achievement levels of all students will be tested regularly against international student assessment standards;
· Performance of individual schools will be measured and reported on a regular basis to the people of Bermuda;
· Our students will learn in an environment that is rich in information technologies which will support their individual learning styles and needs.

For their own sake and for Bermuda’s future, our children must be able to
compete on the world stage.
A United Bermuda Party Government will deliver a public education
system that graduates students with the right academic, technical and
life skills to enable our children to fulfill their potential in a competitive
global environment.

Oh, and before you say that's not taking a position, it's a budget reply not a platform. I think both of you are smart enough to know that voters don't want to know ever minor detail, but that you have the right plan.

When you guys inevitably cry 'specifics, specifics' it's nothing more than an invitation for the UBP to bore the living shit out of people with minutae and have people miss the forest for the trees, something the UBP is prone to do.

[observor on 24.08.06 at 13:32]

Now come on Sleepy ... don't let those pesky facts get in Guilden & Ken's way ... after all how else will they vent their frustration with their PLP government by picking on the UBP with illogical and uninformed statements.

[Phil on 24.08.06 at 13:40]

sleepy

I like the bit about measuring and making public the performance of individual schools - I think that's essential to bring public pressure to bear on underperforming schools. But the rest is pretty waffly. What's a "fair" rate of compensation? What are these additional "resources and tools" that teachers and parents currently lack? As for testing against international standards, isn't that already happening with the Terra Nova tests?

You say it's a budget reply and not a platform, which is fair enough, but where's the platform then? Why isn't it on the UBP's website? All I could find was their 2003 platform and this from January 2005. How much of this is still UBP policy?

In his response to the Premier's speech about "Law and Good Order" I think Wayne Furbert mentioned an education plan. But he didn't mention where the public can go to see a copy of it.

I think the UBP could be more specific about their ideas without "boring the living shit out of people". However, for those people who want the detail, why not provide it on their website? Why not have a page on there for each portfolio, listing the party's current policies in each? Something along the lines of this, provided by the UK's Liberal Democrats. Make it easy for people to find the information and see at a glance what the UBP would do if elected.

[SmokingGun on 24.08.06 at 14:02]

Our education system is being hurt largely by the fact that our politicians and educators are being expected to accomodate stupidity. Well isn't there a saying stupid is what stupid does?

My point is: Bring back simple standards and make our kids use their brains. We need a leader who understands that dumbing down our our education system is not a sustainable venture.

[ken on 24.08.06 at 14:23]

Sleepy,

I see no specifics on how the UBP plan to anything in their budget reply regarding Education. All it seems to be to me is an essay on where things are, and basically they want to see things better, and they will work to make things better. There is nothing definitive in there at all.

[sleepy on 24.08.06 at 14:30]

What are the additional resources and tools? Look in the 2003 platform you linked to on pages 11 and 12, it's pretty clear to me that the 2003 platform remains the foundation for current plans, the first two points are the most relevant to your question:

• Create a dedicated, specialist team in each school that provides academic, study skills, social and behavioural support to both students and their parents. • Establish a Parent Coordinator in each school to ensure that the relationship between parents and their child’s school is productive. • Require that music, art, drama and sports be fully integrated into the curriculum and explore lengthening the school day to better accommodate these activities. • Make community service a requirement for secondary school graduation.

There's always more that someone wants to know, like specifically how many of who here, and what hours will they work, how much will it cost to the penny etc..

What we seem to miss here is that the point of this stuff is to win an election, and the overwhelming majority of people don't read the fine print which takes a majority of your time for little payoff. Most people only have about 30 seconds of their time a day to think about politics.

Some people might remember those videos the UBP gave out in 1998. I bet less than 1% made it out of the shrink wrap. Mine didn't.

The junkies need a better fix but most people are looking for a hihg-level plan they can support and confidence that the right people will implement it.

And yes, the website sucks and needs to be improved. But people get info from lots of sources, of which the web is one. It's not everything.

[thisgrassman on 24.08.06 at 14:55]

It might be usefull to remind ourselves it was the UBP that destroyed a perfectly adequate school structure ......to be replaced with this failing North American model.

[SmokingGun on 24.08.06 at 15:01]

Then the UBP need to step up and own it as much as anybody. If they still think the system is the right one then fine. Own it outright and tweak it towards perfection.

[ken on 24.08.06 at 15:17]

Thisgrassman,

I agree totally. This current system was their implementation, therefore their recommendations should be geared towards making the current system work to its full potential.

[sandgrownan on 24.08.06 at 15:41]

Ken, true to a point, but blindly followed by the PLP with Berkeley. No-one is guilt free when it comes to the education system. And neither party seems to know what to do about it.

[sleepy on 24.08.06 at 15:47]

"This current system was their implementation, therefore their recommendations should be geared towards making the current system work to its full potential."

I wouldn't subscribe to that view, although I would agree the move to the mega school was ill-advised.

If it isn't working kill it. Don't just try to make something unworkable work out of stubborn pride.

That's the type of attitude that has the PLP refusing to admit Berkeley was a debacle and throwing tens of millions more at it than admitting the obvious and changing course early on.

[ken on 24.08.06 at 16:55]

Can you imagine if the PLP government had gotten into power and totally got rid of the mega schools etc and did an immediate restructuring etc. They would have been crucified! So they did what they thought was best, and that was to try and make the best of a horrible situation. But to have the member of the party that created the mess then criticize the results that are coming out of the mess & this party is doing nothing to encourage development in the public school, and have no vested interest in it, is absolutely insane. Yes maybe the PLP could have tried to change this ridiculous system, but to place the blame on them for it, is not acceptable.

[sandgrownan on 24.08.06 at 17:02]

Who's placing blame on the PLP for the mega-school structure? No one here.

However, they blindly followed with Berkeley and lied and overspent in the process, so you don't need to be so indignant.

[sleepy on 24.08.06 at 17:18]

"Can you imagine if the PLP government had gotten into power and totally got rid of the mega schools etc and did an immediate restructuring etc. They would have been crucified!"

Or not.

My sense was that most people thought it was a bad idea that the UBP stupidly shove in. The public would have welcomed a thought out, planned and incrememtal approach away from it. Instead the PLP wholeheartedly embraced it and are now it's staunchest defenders.

Funny that. Role reversal.

But it's funny that because Mr. Darrell is a member of the UBP he as an individual has to mindlessly defend something he didn't implement. I don't want politicians like that. I'd rather have someone unafraid to tell the truth and who can think for himself.

What you propose Ken results in bull-headed relics who are held hostage to out of date ideology (ie. the PLP Cabinet).

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 24.08.06 at 17:41]

Ken,

Many of these guys have very short term memories about who destroyed a perfectly good education system and the cries by the UBP mean very little because it was under their watch that the education system was destroyed and they have yet to acknowledge.

It made me smile running into Gerald Simons while I was home for Cup Match, he said I had written a letter that he and his wfie agreed with and I must be getting conservative in my old age. I guess he rcalls how in a meeting with him, while I sat on the National Youht Council I took him to task over the proposed changes to the school system.

You have restated something I stated in the past, had the PLP come into power and returned to the old school system, which cost the taxpayers some $120 million, they would have been crucified.

Before the UBP come out trying to attack the PLP over the school system and pretend they have some ideas to correct it they need to acknowledge their misguided and failed change to the system and then talk about how as a country it can be corrected.

So you see Sleepy, I do know what is going on and I am not have my "little comfortable regular rant" I am speaking from first hand knowledge of what transpired under the UBP.

Like it or not I will do all that I can to ensure that the UBP do not again become the government anytime soon. If you think i am raving now wait until the election fever reaches because I do have a few things to share and some people may not be happy with te items I have to share. Some people may have short term memories of what it was like under the UBP but I am not one of them and remind people I will do very aggressively.

[sandgrownan on 24.08.06 at 18:22]

Guilden- The sad thing is the Bermuda is falling into an abyss of crime and lawlessness.

Regardless of whose fault it is, the PLP have had 8 years or so to make things better and have fallen at every single hurdle, and some would argue that divisions (especially racial ones) are greater now than they've ever been. The feeling of mistrust is so tangible you can almost touch it. The PLP are nasty, plain and simple. The only people they truly represent are themselves and anyone who cannot see that is blind, naive or both.

That's not see we're blind to who created the educational problems we face. However, we also see that the PLP have offered a grand total of fuck all in the last 8 years, with the recent exception of a discussion on "sustainable development." Everything else, race relations, education, work permit term limits, traffic, poor fiscal control, crap telecommunications policy etc etc etc has all been duff.

Sadly, I have to agree with you on one thing, the UBP offer little, if anything, more.

[RedOnion on 24.08.06 at 20:27]

I remember clearly when the Old UBP revamped the school system overuling many objections, mine incuded. Under Minister Gerald Simons they simply had made a decision and implemented it regardless of what most people thought. As predicted it turned out to be one of the major failings of the Old UBP.

BUT ... that was the Old UBP, the present party has very few if any of the old school in it now in positions of influence. From where I sit the New UBP is a different group. (I'm not sure if it is new and improved though). Perhaps when we are reviewing political history we can keep that seperation in mind.

[NoVote on 24.08.06 at 20:30]

Neville Who?

[Must be nice being a lawyer on 24.08.06 at 22:55]

Isn't it ironic that the lawyer who got Kirk Mundy off for "allegedly" killing Rebecca Middleton is welcomed into the UBP with open arms?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that people will say that he was just doing his job, and it is the way the law works. Everyone deserves a defence, yadda, yadda, yadda. But c'mon, is it really that different from someone who protects his criminal aceboy from the cops by any means necessary? Doesn't a defense lawyer who exploits a loophole bear some responsibility for this travesty of justice (no pun intended)? I would rather the UBP have chosen someone else.

[Teacher on 25.08.06 at 05:09]

"I’d like to see Michael Dunkley take education"

I agree, I think he would be a good choice.

[Bill Cook on 25.08.06 at 07:09]

Must be nice being a lawyer,

If one looked back at history and the most successful member in the PLP, that would have to be be Mrs Evans as in D. L. B. E.

Even with my long memory I have lost count of the many murderers, rapists,political assasins,embezzlers, and one suspected serial killer, etc etc she defended in her long career, so it is no barrier to leading a political party, which possibly may also happen in this case,

It is amusing that he was instrumental in assisting WHATS HIS NAME to become a lawyer however, so doing his bit to assist a "young black male "

[Rossini on 25.08.06 at 10:40]

Hiatus ended. Pettingill fits the mold of the new UBP well. His ill-thought comments about black males were proof positive of his lightweight status. They were the reverse of Sir John Swan's "all young black males are a problem" comments from some years ago.The curious thing is that no credible contenders have been announced by the UBP. Clearly there's loads of money in the coffers....full page ads every other day, concerts and school supply give-aways.....but money alone will not win this time around. They need some quality and so far they ain't showing any.

[SmokingGun on 25.08.06 at 12:01]

Guilden - with all due respect, your view on IB is totally backwards as to what it has done for Bermuda. I wouldn't blame the UBP, the PLP or the average man in the street for what effectively has become a never ending (knock knock) whirlwind of investment dollars rushing to our shores. Whilst the average man in the street has benefitted hugely from this influx we do face a cross-roads of sorts as our tourism industry has been hampered by two things, high costs and increased competition.

To say Bermuda was not prepared for IB is unfair. If we had a crystal ball we would have had a school specializing in big cat insurance and trusts set up in the fifties.

The question is: Who's got the crystal ball for Bermuda and the average man and woman in the street as of today and going forward?

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 25.08.06 at 12:15]

SmokingGun,

I do not disagree with you about the economic effects of IB on Bermuda, maybe to say that the average man has not benefited was a bit much (I hold my hand high). However, there have been many economic disadvantages and these affect the average man moreso. The increase in IB has increased demand for housing and this demand has had some reposnsibility for the rapid rise in the cost of real property.

With regard to tourism, please go back and consider David Saul's Bermuda Inc. concept. This saw Bermuda move away from Tourism and fully toward IB. By implementing this many persons in the economy were displaced.

As far as crytal ball goes the Bermuda Inc concept was planned which means that the education system whould have been restructured to reflect this planning. It was not, in fact the education system was restructred in the complete opposite direction.

[Phil on 25.08.06 at 12:44]

This thread is about:

1. Neville Darrell
2. Education
3. Mark Pettingill

This thread is not about:

1. How crap the UBP are (except in so far as it relates to the above)
2. How crap the PLP are
3. International business
4. Guilden

Stay on topic, please.

[Rossini on 25.08.06 at 13:10]

Agreed Limey. Mark Pettingill is not the fresh face that the UBP needs right now. Their consistent inabiity to attract candidates of quality is a major issue. They will continue to have this problem. Keith Young, Tillman Darrell, Gina Spence-Farmer, Wayne Scott, hardly represent what it takes to attract blacks to the UBP and serve to alienate whites who are angered that the UBP is ignorning their base. Pettingill's pandering to the race vote may have offended blacks but it will have truly pissed off whites. I think whites want a candidate who's not afraid to be white and is not hell-bent on trying to look as if he's concerned more about black males than black males.

That's some free advice for Wayne Furbert.

[observor on 25.08.06 at 14:08]

Rossini

I'm certainly not upset with Mark Pettingill's remark that voters have told him that the current government has done nothing for Bermuda's black males except for the ones who sit in the House. He's absolutely right!

[Linda on 28.08.06 at 10:37]

Sorry to see Mr. Darrell go, but I think Mark Pettingill is an excellent addition to the UBP team. However, I would have liked to see him put up against Dale Butler. A lot has happended since 2003 and considering there were only 38 votes making the difference I believe Pettingill next time around could take Butler out. As for a portfolio, Mark Pettingill would probably do well in Home Affairs and Public Safety. As for the Education Ministry, pity any minister who gets stuck with it. I agree with posters who say Michael Dunkley would do well there, but as long as rebellious students with equally rebellious parents are allowed to disrupt classes and disrespect teachers nothing much will change. When I attended school we respected our teachers, those who did not had a sore ass. We also had teachers who were dedicated to the art of teaching, and spoke and instructed us to speak proper English. We've lowered our standards in education, so what follows is we lower our standards in other areas such as entry into the police service. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why the island is in the current state of lawlessness. I wish the election were tomorrow. UBP bring it on, we need a change sooner than later.

[Bill Cook on 28.08.06 at 12:21]

I do not know Mark Pettingale at all well, but if he has one half of the character and work ethic of his industrious mother who I do indeed know very well, who raised him following his fathers early passing.he will be on track.

What little I do know, is that he appears to have empathy with a wide spectrum of people.

We are more concerned at Politiking as usual instead of questioning how someone can steal almost 2 million of we the tax payers hard earned money shows where our priorities are if you ask me !!

[loki on 29.08.06 at 11:32]

Ken,

I do agree that a thread to discuss Mark Pettingill's comments would be
useful. For that matter, Phil, how about a 'Talk to Mark Pettingill'
thread, along the lines of the one that was done with Jahmahl?

My initial reaction to Mark's comments was, quite frankly, to think,
"you go, Mark!!", because he was sticking it to the PLP Government.
Having said that, it was a purely emotional reaction and, with
hindsight, I think it's accurate to say that his comments were
misguided:

1. I doubt very much whether he's heard more than, *maybe*, one young
black man tell him that the only black men that are doing well are
those sitting in the House. I have a hard time believing that legions
of men have spouted such sentiments;

2. It's just not true. There are plenty of young black men who have
made successes of their professional and personal lives. The concern is
that such hyperbole reinforces the sense of anger and helplessness that
some of our young black men have. Having said this, I do think that the
PLP Government has failed to do enough to help out the black community
and, indeed, I think that the black working class has been sorely
betrayed. One comment that I have personally heard on several occasions
from black taxi drivers, contractors, etc is along the lines of, "I
never thought that my own party would turn against me". There are a lot
of blacks who do feel very betrayed.

3. What is more curious, I think, has been the reaction from the white
middle and upper classes here, who have heaped praise on Mark's
comments, saying that he's speaking out for working class blacks. I
hate to be cynical, but it's a curious sentiment from the white
community. When has the white community really, honestly cared en masse
about the plight of the black working class?

[SmokingGun on 29.08.06 at 11:49]

"One comment that I have personally heard on several occasions
from black taxi drivers, contractors, etc is along the lines of, "I
never thought that my own party would turn against me". There are a lot of blacks who do feel very betrayed." - loki

And in episode three things will be alright once we get independence.

There are a lot of whites who feel betrayed as well. The PLP originally stood for empowerment of the working class. Once the core characters took power they have changed their stripes and we have seen a Bermuda that once was the haves and have mores now have a distinct class of have little. And this affects working people and elderly people and colour is not nearly as relevant as it may have been in the past.

This isn't completely the PLP's fault but they have been at the wheel whilst the island has seen explosive growth. They were unprepared and in many ways incapable of handling things with the necessary foresight. In addition they have allowed easy money and power to overshadow their responsibilty to the weaker sectors in Bermuda.

We have serious problems. And as always, they start from the top.

[loki on 29.08.06 at 12:45]

Smokes,

Quite right - I stand corrected. There was a time when the PLP was about economic empowerment FOR ALL. It was about social justice, not just black empowerment and racial divisiveness.

[googlybda on 29.08.06 at 13:03]

"Pettingle" is too loose with his phraseology and for that matter his public personna.

Jennifer Smith slipped up with her regal attitude, drinking champagne regularly in public.

Pettingle is too much a "player" if you know what I mean to be a serious candidate.