…on young Guyanese achievements
Your Eyewitness was tickled pink (figuratively, of course because he’s too pigmentally challenged to achieve that effect!) when he read about 17-year-old Kelly Hyles being accepted to every one of the eight Ivy League schools in the US! He’d only just come off the high of West Indians copping all three of the ICC’s T-20 World Cup Tournaments! And now this! His cup runneth over.
If we needed confirmation that Guyanese can measure up to any other group in the world, this is it. Our young’uns within Guyana had been churning out CSEC’s like there’s no tomorrow for a decade now – but some felt the exams might’ve been diluted from the old GCE’s of decades back. And wondered how we’d stack up against stiffer competition than other West Indians. This Eyewitness was never of that ilk…But Miss Hyles’ performance answered that question! And her admissions isn’t one of those “Affirmative Action” squeeze-ins – this young lady attended one of the eight high schools in NYC that demands a competitive exam that thousands write to vie for the spots.
Kelly would’ve probably just completed her NGSA before she migrated and her comment that “school in different” in Guyana is telling. We shouldn’t knock our schooling too much…our curriculum’s top notch. And once we start paying teachers what they’re worth…we’ll garner wider demonstration of our excellence. Kelly’s point about the need for discipline during the early years is also important – and while this Eyewitness will have no truck with corporal punishment – he accepts there has to be some sort of sanctions imposed to inculcate discipline.
Kelly’s performance was matched by another girl from NY – Uwamanzu-Nna. She’s is of Nigerian parentage – and this brings up the point your Eyewitness wants to make. When folks go as immigrants to countries, they already have a firmness of purpose as to the “why”. They want to succeed – and they’ll do this by any means necessary.
People from the Caribbean, Africa and India do well in the States because they go there with this drive and determination. Kelly’s mother holds down two jobs. Back in Guyana, there are some who spout a lot of nonsense about “some who can’t achieve” and “others who can” as if it’s genetic. If we check history, it all boils down to some coming here as immigrants and maintained their immigrant drive. Some. Just as Kelly and her mother are doing in the States.
What’s needed is for leaders to ensure there are level playing fields – and inculcate in all groups the belief that success WILL come out of hard work.
…on eyes opening
When the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) was being pilloried by the Kaieteur News and all kinds of “experts” and NGO’s (most times the two were the same)…the Opposition-now-in-Government were rubbing their hands in glee. If it wasn’t one manufactured scandal, it was another. This paper and this Eyewitness pointed out it all had to do with the envy and jealously KN’s MookLall, striking out when he didn’t get his way – only he should be enriched, feted and courted.
Well…the shoe’s on the other foot. He’s still not getting his way – as much as he wants, anyway – and he’s once again hitting out and orchestrating the usual suspects of “experts” and “NGO’s” to sing his tune. And Pressie’s mad as hell and just defend his “Government”.
But he should notice the venom and vitriol aren’t thrown at the entire Government – just the APNU/PNC wing. The AFC’re getting a free ride.
And with good reason: who’d you think are producing the leaks?!
…on mediocrity exposed
Rawls Lucas fancies himself as a financial maven. On the weekend the Panama Papers exposed the largest money launderers in the world – he wrote his “exposé” on the subject.
But beats up on unmentioned Guyana while writing NOTHING about Britain as one of the largest law breakers!
