Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/920426
maltatoday SUNDAY 31 DECEMBER 2017 Opinion 22 Come together (over my dead body) Enabling achievers I t is a curious fact that everyone suddenly seems to realise exactly what Malta's problems are, and exactly how to solve them... but only for the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. Last I looked, there were actually 52 weeks in a solar year. And for 51 of them, we tend to behave in the exact opposite of the way we all exhort everyone else to behave during the last seven days. And once even those are up – the day after tomorrow, to be precise – well, what do you know? We all revert right back to pre-Christmas mode: half the time, without so much as batting an eyelid. If it wasn't so predictable, it would be uncanny. But look at how many calls for 'national unity' we've been getting this Christmas season. Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia "stressed the need for respect in order for there to be unity" at this year's 'annual exchange of season's greetings outside Parliament'. At the same venue, Opposition leader Adrian Delia said: "We need to bring hope, and deliver the message that politics does not necessarily mean hatred and division. We need to deliver the message that politics can bring people together, like tonight, and that we are capable of working for the common good for Malta...". Even outside the parliamentary circuit, most columnists and political pundits seem to have joined the chorus. On Xtra this week, former PN information secretary Frank Psaila "insisted it was important for the country to come together, but before this could happen, people's faith in the Police force needed to be restored." And on it goes... You will surely notice, though, that while all these different musings hover vaguely about the concept of 'national unity'... they all seem to place certain conditions on how it can be achieved. Farrugia and Psaila, for instance, both talk of 'unity' as if it were something that can only come about on their own precise terms. Farrugia demands 'respect' – does he know he's quoting Joe Pesci from 'Goodfellas', I wonder? – while, even more curiously, Psaila's example homes in on a very specific issue: suggesting that Malta's tendency towards political hatred is actually the direct fault of the Police Force; and can therefore be 'fixed' by means of a reform of the Corps. Even just there, you can admire the sheer vacuity of such positions in all their spinning, whirling contradiction. Both sides agree that 'unity' would be a nice thing to work towards; but both sides disagree fundamentally on the causes of the very division they want to heal. And as a preface to 'negotiations', they all place conditions that are simply impossible to ever meet, because they are themselves rooted in the very issues that divide us. Where does that leave the road to national unity? Where can it possibly leave it, other than exactly where it was before the 'spirit of Christmas' engulfed all our senses? (i.e, nowhere to be seen, for 51 whole weeks of the year?) But much as I hate to say it, these arguments are also vacuous because we all know they are simply untrue. Here, Delia's take spells it out more clearly than most. Consider, for instance, how his own call for unity departs from a premise that can only be described as a bizarre f light of fancy: "We need to deliver the message that politics can bring people together", he told us. "We are capable of working for the common good for Malta," he said. Erm... sorry, Dr Delia. You can't expect people to take that message seriously, when it is so manifestly WRONG. Politics cannot 'bring people together'. Whatever gave you that absurd idea in the first place? It cannot even want to bring people together (except perhaps over the Christmas period) because its own survival depends precisely on sowing division, not unity. And when have our politicians ever worked for 'the common good of Malta', anyway? How can they, when their very concept of the 'common good' is inevitably going to be based on their own, divisive political objectives? I mean, come on. We're not as retarded a nation as the BBC likes to portray us, you know. We can recognise a crock of bullshit when we see (or hear) one. And if 2017 has made anything visible with any clarity, it is precisely the sheer inability of politics to ever heal what is ultimately a political The PN could only go one way or another; and whichever path it chose, it would automatically have lost a significant chunk of its voter base. The most recent polls indicate that the haemorrhage has in fact been more severe Evarist Bartolo Raphael Vassallo T he Prince's Trust International Achieve Programme was first introduced in seven state secondary schools/centres in scholastic year 2015-2016, and rolled in all secondary schools in 2016-2017. The programme is primarily targeted at students following the Core Curriculum Programme (CCP). An evaluation was carried out in 2017 with the purpose of mapping out the experiences and views of students, educators, parents/ guardians, Directorate Officials and a Head of school where the programme was launched. The results of three questionnaire surveys show that more than 8 in 10 of the 151 student respondents reported that they are happy and content following the Achieve programme. In addition, more than 9 in 10 of the 76 parents/ guardians who participated in the survey indicated that their son/ daughter had settled down nicely in the Achieve programme and, with the exception of a few, all parents/guardians felt that since embarking on the programme their son/daughter is doing either well or very well at school. Moreover, almost 8 in 10 of the 64 participating educators are of the opinion that most XL students were now generally benefitting much more than ever before from their scholastic experience. Asked about the suitability of the Achieve programme, more than 9 in 10 educators felt that is indeed either suitable or very suitable for these students. On the basis of these and other salient findings one may safely conclude that the Achieve programme is generally well received by students, parents/ guardians and educators. The Achieve experience is proving to be a positive one to most students, not least because what they are doing in the programme has tangible relevance to their future aspirations. Also, it would appear that for the first time these students are being given the opportunity to experience immediate gratification for their efforts in their studies; of obtaining certification of sorts on completion of a credit/option. This has resulted in improved motivation and increased engagement in their education. The choice of topics covered in the programme; the emphasis on hands-on activities; and the individual attention and support that students receive are among the factors that are contributing much to the success of the programme - these are rendering the programme a positive, worthwhile, experience to most students. There is convergence between students and educators on several aspects of the programme of studies and its implementation, including the importance of the emphasis placed on life skills, and the need to increase the number of Achieve lessons. Apart from the latter, there are other issues which warrant addressing, including class size (student - teacher ratio) and the lack of time available for educators to meet with colleagues to discuss the programme of studies. This evaluation shows in no uncertain terms that the Achieve programme is serving an important role within the educational system by reaching out to those students who otherwise would have either dropped out of education altogether or had nothing to show for it after eleven years of formal schooling. The good work that was already being carried out in some schools found in the Achieve programme a much needed system of accreditation and structure which were previously lacking. It would appear that there is now a need to take the programme to the next level, not least by ensuring that what is covered in the programme has some currency if students want to pursue their training or if they wish to enter the world of work. The educational system has for the most part proved quite inconsequential and irrelevant to these students. The Achieve programme is proving to be one very valid way of addressing this deficit; of opening up opportunities for these students to successfully continue on their educational journey with a purpose. The Achieve programme is reaching out to students who would have either dropped out of education or had nothing to show for it after eleven years of schooling