Berating the present and former government for their lack of foresight, Leader of the Bahamas Democratic Movement (BDM), Cassius Stuart said that the PLP and the FNM are so “stuck in the past of their glory that they have not presented a future vision for future generations of Bahamians.”
“We must not be prisoners of the past, or allow the Free National Movement or Progressive Liberal Party to gloat about their past achievements,” said Mr. Stuart in a press release issued to The Guardian over the weekend.
“The BDM believes we have to look ahead, rather than behind. We must know the past so that we can understand the present and how we arrived. But we cannot rest on past achievements, or assume that what has worked before, will work as well in the future,” he said.
Using the technology of modern day China to strengthen his claims, Mr. Stuart explained that the country was scientifically ahead of the rest of the world, inventing the compass, gunpowder and fireworks, but it eventually lost its lead. He stated that many historians believe that a major reason for this was ancient China’s over-emphasis on the past.
According to Mr. Stuart, after Confucianism became the dominant school of thought during the Han Dynasty period (106 BC to 23 AD) the past exerted a very strong influence on Chinese society. He said that it was then commonly said that it was crucial to study the past for any initiative to succeed. He also noted that the emperor and his court saw themselves as guardians of the past, and used the past to legitimize their positions.
“The social class system in ancient China further emphasized the importance of learning about the past, at the expense of more productive economic pursuits. Indeed, by the end of the Han Dynasty, the study of the past had been entrenched. But learning about the past as a means of moving into officialdom and advancing one’s social status, took its tool on originality, creativity and scientific and technological progress. It froze China in past knowledge,” Mr. Stuart claimed, who added the “the environment was not conducive for creativity and innovation.”
Meanwhile, the BDM leader said that a society built of “self-interested” individuals has no future in The Bahamas. He said that Bahamians have seen past governments promote individualism, where only a certain few benefits for society. “For the Bahamas to last as a nation, our country and schools must nurture successive generations of Bahamians who have a strong sense of empathy and responsibility towards each other and a deep emotional attachment to the nation and community, all moving Forward, Upward, Onward, Together,” he said.
Mr. Stuart said that frequent reviews of the educational and governing system should be undertaken and schools must keep up with the changes of the world. He mentioned that academic syllabuses must be constantly updated to meet the needs of tomorrow’s economy, also adding that methods of instruction to reach out to children who have different temperaments, interests and abilities must be improved.
“In this regard, the Ministry of Education must be forward-looking, rather than resting on its past achievements. It must understand the direction in which our economy is moving and the capabilities we would need to nurture in The Bahamas,” he said, adding “the BDM government will introduce an ability-driven educational program, of which autonomy will be given to schools to evolve different programmes to meet the different needs of their students.”
The BDM further stated that academic instruction is not the only responsibility of schools and nation building will be another cornerstone and core responsibility of the BDM party. He said that as his party will ensure school review programmes to improve the quality of education, they would at the same time, do more to strengthen social cohesion.
“Our schools will be an important common area where our young learn about unity and togetherness. There, they interact with other Bahamians of all social backgrounds. They learn to identify themselves as Bahamians working together for the common good of all Bahamians,” he stated.
By Tamara McKenzie, The Nassau Guardian
