There is reason for much commendation and applause on the graduation in Anguilla of sixteen primary school teachers with Associate Degrees in Education – the first such accomplishment on the island. The plausible event took place on Saturday evening, April 12, at the Teachers’ Resource Centre.
The Associate Degrees were awarded under the regional Teacher Training Programme developed by the Joint Board of Teacher Education in conjunction with the School of Education of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies. The tutors were mainly graduate teachers of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School.
On hand to witness the proceedings, and to celebrate with the graduating teachers, were a number of Education Officers, principals, teachers, students, specially-invited guests and family and friends. The theme for the ceremony was “Developing Minds, Shaping Lives”. The programme was chaired by Mr Charles Connor, Education Officer with responsibility for Teacher Training.
Permanent Secretary, Mrs Chanelle Petty Barrett, congratulated the teachers, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, on their achievement and applauded them for their commitment to improve themselves and, by extension, the teaching profession. “One way of improving the quality of the teacher is to ensure that teachers receive the requisite training for the profession, and opportunities for further development,” she stated. “Student achievement cannot be left to chance. It is too important – not only to the realisation of the individual student’s goals and aspirations – but also our nation’s future. The Ministry of Education therefore has an obligation to put measures in place to ensure our students receive high quality instruction from competent, caring and motivated teachers.”
Mrs Petty Barrett continued: “The teaching profession is the mother of all professions. It gives birth to all other professions. Its influence is therefore infinite. Not only do we expect teachers to lay the groundwork for achievement, but we also expect you to provide moral guidance and to reinforce the virtues of respect, peace and compassion which are critical to the proper functioning of any society. Teachers are therefore not only classroom instructors, but you are all role models of appropriate behaviour. You are mothers, counsellors, confidants and friends. The Ministry and Department of Education, parents and the entire community expect much of you – and this can be overwhelming at times, but it is simply because we all recognise the significance of your work and the extent of your influence in shaping society.”
The Permanent Secretary implored the graduating teachers to bear in mind that while the initial investment had been made in them, if they were truly committed to their profession they would see that it was not the end of their professional development. “You will not wait for the Ministry or Department to mandate your participation in another workshop or course,” she told the teachers. “Rather, you will take the initiative to keep abreast of current trends in education, innovative teaching practices and new behavioural management strategies. Do research on the internet using credible sources, subscribe to online journals or join a community of teaching professionals who exchange ideas and information about problem solving. I am certain that you will see the results of your efforts manifested in the performance and overall development of your students. Just as you encourage your students to read widely, so that learning continues beyond the classroom, you must do the same.”
The keynote speaker was Mrs Rita Celestine Carty, Head of the English Department at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School and one of the lecturers for the teachers. “This ceremony brings to a formal close, perhaps, three of the most challenging years of your lives thus far,” she said in addressing the teachers. “You are happy to see this day not only because the days of classes, assignments, portfolios, exams and teaching practice are now over. You are also happy because now you have enhanced knowledge of English for Communication, Child Development and Principles of Learning, Technology in Education, Managing Instruction and Classroom Dynamics, Reading and Writing in the Content Areas, Curriculum Issues and Language Arts, Catering for Children with Special Educational Needs and the Social Context of Education. You also have skills in Techniques and Classroom Investigation as well as in the delivery of instruction to primary school students in science, mathematics and social studies. You have done well. You have also displayed your skills to assist us during the extended period of the teaching practicum. You are all now professionals.”
Mrs Carty told the teachers that they had undergone a period of training that distinguished them from the layman and were now specialists. “The expectations of you as professionals are many and varied and they cover not only your knowledge and skills, but also your attitude and the way you conduct yourself generally,” she went on. “What I want to underscore is the fact that the task that falls to you is a primordial one. We heard earlier that your profession is the mother of all others. Your profession is also vital to the life that we live as a community. I agree wholeheartedly with a section of the Teacher Quality Policy, which also quotes from the Education Policy 2002, which acknowledges that ‘The quality and character of the individual members of the teaching profession influence, to a great extent, the social, economic, intellectual and moral levels of society.’ The message there is that our teachers are responsible, in large part, for producing the citizens that our country deserves.”
Mrs Carty acknowledged the varied challenges of the teaching profession and, notwithstanding the inherent problems, urged the teachers to convert the issues into consistent student success. “What a feat!” she added. “I put it right up there, next to trying to achieve world peace…Besides trying to achieve world peace, there is no harder job than teaching.”
She joined in congratulating the teachers on their achievement and offered her best wishes to them for continued success in their profession.
There were brief remarks by two of the teachers – Ms Taliujah Hyatt and Ms Joanne Snagg. They both reflected on the three-year training programme – their experiences and benefits – and were grateful for the training opportunities provided to them and their colleagues on whose behalf they also spoke.
The certificates were presented by Mrs Susan Smith, Education Officer, Primary; and Ms Paula Etienne, Principal, Valley Primary School.
The certificate recipients were Janelle Anthony, Marian Abbot, Terron Azille, Christine Carty, Clarissa Carty, Shantel Carbon, Jerica Crawford, Glynesia Franklin, Nerys Fleming, Talyjah Hyatt, Sonetta Lashley, Chantel Rogers, Carol Richardson, Sabina Lewis, Joanne Snagg and Denise Warrington. The other three teachers, making the graduates sixteen in number, were not present at the ceremony.
