Kai Francis of the Kingstown Preparatory School is the owner of the national primary school maths quiz, which was held at the Girl Guides Headquarters in Kingstown on Wednesday.
He emerged champion in the keenly-contested competition after securing 141 out of 150 available points.
By the end of four rounds of competition, Francis had defeated eight other schools to take the first prize of new laptop, worth EC$1,200 laptop.
Skye Johnson, of Fair Hall Government, placed second with 126 points.
He won a tablet, valued EC$1,000, while André Quamina, who represented the St. Mary’s Roman Catholic School, scored 116 points and won a cellular phone.
The other schools that participated are the Fancy Government — Zaheim Michael, Pamelus Burke Primary — Ashanique Shallow, Windsor Primary — Damian Branch, Georgetown Government — Jurnee Massiott, Dixon Methodist — Kaiden John and Chateaubelair Methodist — Daronno Louie.
Each finalist received medals and a trophy, while the championship trophy went to the winning school.
The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with Hodder Foundation, sponsored the competition.
Congratulation to our kids for their motivation, to the teachers and parents for their encouragement and support, however, it is not surprising any more to most of us adults who are aware of the curriculum and the format of its distribution to the various schools.
Supposedly, the concept established by colonialism as it relates to the various schedule and timely distribution still exist today. We must be aware that the physiological impact on the kids of other schools will continue to send a message of the ‘prep school’ being of superiority standards, that which has affected our society and is continuing today.
While we boast of our ‘education revolution’, it is critical in accomplishing equivalence; that the regime is re-evaluated in order to correct much of the class damages done through colonialism.
I’d love to see the questions on the quiz to judge for myself whether “superior standards” are actually being assessed.
Remember Matthew 7: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
My long standing application of this wise piece of scripture is to be very skeptical about the judgment of judges: “Do not blindly trust judges. For in the same way they judge others, they should themselves be judged.”
Our failed “education revolution” should make us all skeptical of the judgment of any members of our self-serving education establishment.