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It has begun already. What? Carping. Backing off. Excuse making. Hand-wringing calls for 'understanding'.

When the Premier and the current Minister for Education presented the Hopkins Report on public education, they acted courageously, properly, wisely. But they still only did what they were supposed to do - what they were elected to do - and what should have been done a long time ago.

Now, rising voices and clutching hands are reaching up to pull them down. Now they must stay courageous and take the next steps. They must stay open and stay honest with all the rest of us. Any climbing down on their part will be an act of cowardice.

Bermuda is in a global competition with other countries. Bermuda's public education system competes with the public education systems of the U.K., the U.S., Canada, India, Barbados, and the many other countries whose public school graduates flood into Bermuda as Work Permit Holders. In order to stay ahead or even stay level in that competition, we must know how fast we have to run, and in what direction we must run. So Bermuda - all Bermuda - needs to know what it has to do.

It is stupid as well as unwise for us to conceal important information from ourselves. It's perfectly alright not to tell the Taleban or Osama bin Laden that Bermuda's public education is in a mess. That, I can understand. After all, they might jump in the ocean, swim here, drag themselves ashore, and take us over. So I agree, let's not tell them.

But we must tell ourselves. All Bermudians pay for the public education system. Many Bermudians then pay a second time for a private education system because they know that the public system is failing.

The people who pay for a service are usually told or shown what they're getting for their money. But, I suppose, somewhere in the world, there is a people or a nation who always pay - even pay twice? - for something and then don't know what that something is. Perhaps this routinely happens in Kim Il Jung's North Korea or in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe? Perhaps it always happens in the U.S. where ordinary Americans just hand over their billions in taxes and then accept that their own U.S. Government simply won't tell them how it spends their dollars? Or what results it gets.

The Hopkins Report said that there were two outstanding Primary schools. Surely, the principal/teacher combinations at those two schools should be identified and rewarded for their success. Surely, success - any success - should be recognized and rewarded.

The report said that there were eight primary schools and one senior school that were good. Surely, the principal- teacher combinations at those eight schools should get a pat on the back and then some strong support to get even better.

Then what do we do with the ten schools - six primary and four Middle - that were graded as just satisfactory. Do we keep silent? In the middle of an unforgiving global competition, do we just walk away and leave them and their students to go on being under-served?

Are we going to leave four schools - one middle, one senior, and two primary - that were graded as inadequate to go on just failing? Are we just going to leave these four schools to waste next September's new group of irreplaceable young Bermudian lives? Are we really going to do that? No one will wake up dead because the Minister is honest and publishes the full results. No one will die of shame. No one will even get their pay cheques cut.

So the Minister should publish. Publish and be honest. Publish and be open. No more national education secrets. Get all the facts out and then deal, and deal courageously, with those facts. PUBLISH.

There is widespread tiredness in this community. People are tired of the continuing failure of Bermuda's very expensive public education system. People are tired of an expensive failing system that has the kind of teacher-to-student ratio that is normally only present in exclusive and expensive private schools. People are tired of tired explanations and worn-out excuses. People are tired.

If the Minister doesn't publish and unreservedly present all the facts then - for the moment - there's only one thing left to do. Get the Obeah Man. Tell the Obeah Man to put a spell on the Minister and all his mates.[[In-content Ad]]

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