You cannot change the rules of the game while the game itself is not yet ready. According to PPA faction leader Eduard Pieters, this is exactly what the Government is doing with the recent changes published on a FUTURO website within the public school system to promote greater inclusion in basic education.
During the weekly press conference, MP Pieters emphasized that the PPA faction is not against the reform to achieve greater inclusion in public education. On the contrary, the party supports an educational system that is more inclusive and takes into account the different needs of every child. But, according to Pieters, the Government is acting completely backward.
You cannot change evaluation without preparing teaching
Pieters expressed concern that the Ministry of Education announced changes to the “promotion standards” (bevorderingsnormen) for basic public school education, while many of the conditions necessary to make the reform a success are not yet ready, let alone known by the main actors—the teachers, who are the ones that must execute the changes.
According to the parliamentarian, Aruba’s “Core Goals” (Kerndoelen) are not yet fully implemented. Education still functions primarily in separate subjects, whereas the new vision is based on a holistic, personalized learning area and aims to empower all actors in education.
“How do you stop the current way of evaluating a child, if you haven’t yet changed the way of teaching them?” For PPA, sequence matters. First you build the foundation, meaning you ensure support for the teachers, guide proper implementation in the schools, and only then do you change the system of “promotion standards.”
Inclusion requires preparation, not just good intentions
Pieters stated that the intention to create a more inclusive evaluation system for children with different learning needs certainly deserves support. But good intentions alone are not enough.
According to Pieters, teachers must receive training in formative assessment, feedback strategies, effective instruction, and the pedagogical methods necessary to guide each child according to their own development.
“You cannot tell a teacher today that tomorrow they must work completely differently, without giving them the necessary tools to achieve that.”
For Pieters, the success of any educational reform depends on the teacher, who is the one practicing it every day.
Reform is measured in the teacher, not in a document that no one knows about yet. For Eduard Pieters, the main issue is not whether the Government wants to change education. It is whether the Government is preparing education for change.
Because an educational reform does not become a success by simply changing a regulation. It becomes a success when you invest in the teacher, prepare the school, and put the child at the center of every decision. That, according to PPA, is the only path to building an educational system that truly prepares Aruba’s future generation.