because it will pander to the lowest denominator rather than demanding that students do their best.

It seems to us that Bermuda produces far too many young people who are passed as "educated'' but can barely read or write or spell or count. Ask people to fill out job applications and you will see what happens. It is painful to watch Bermudians labour to read the form and labour more to attempt to fill it out. It is sadder still to have people hand back the form and say they cannot fill it out. We think that some of this has come about because our schools have found it easier to lower the standards than to raise the performance of our young people. That is a cheat which condemns these young people to life on the sidelines.

Cedarbridge Academy may have the best and most modern facilities in the world but they will not be important to students who struggle to read and write and spell. Schools should be educating the young in academics and discipline and teaching them what to expect from life and what to demand from life. When schools do not produce students who take part in life, the result is sidelined people who feel cheated, excluded and deprived. We all know too well where that leads because those are the people who "fell through the cracks'' and caused Bermuda to restructure the school system.

It seems to us that too often today's schools are indulgent baby sitters rather than institutions to instill learning and discipline. There is a tendency to encourage "self-expression'' which turns quickly to self-pity.

Self-pity turns quickly to "You upset me, so I can't do that''. That's the talk show syndrome....if I can blame someone else, I need not be responsible myself.

That, of course, is not valid. People have to take responsibility for their own destiny and make the best of the imperfect world we have. Only then can people produce a better world. To change things you have to be prepared to take part and you have to be willing to learn and to work.

There are not too many jobs in today's competitive world which allow very much self-expression or self-pity. It may or may not be that employers have a social conscience and will provide help and care for those in need but today's jobs go to people who can and will do the job. Our schools prepare the work force and if they do not teach academics and discipline we will have a poorly performing and ill prepared work force. Indeed, if they do not teach discipline, it will be very difficult to teach anything else.