It is indeed a pleasure to be with you this morning as we show our appreciation to teachers and mark the beginnings of yet another academic year. I believe that it is quite appropriate that we begin the year by coming together, to thank God for bringing us safely to this point and to reflect on the year ahead. As we begin this new year, it is important that we remind ourselves of and reflect on the bigger picture. We must ask ourselves some hard questions. Why are we really here? What is our ultimate goal?
The theme chosen for today’s exercise is I believe a clear indication of our ultimate goal, that of national development and nation building. “Teachers Developing Minds, Moulding the Nation” speaks volumes about the impact that teachers have on our children and ultimately national development. Teachers impact the lives of the students in their care for more than 15 years, a decade and a half. This is a very long time in deed. It is safe to say therefore that teachers have many and extensive opportunities to impact the lives of our children and to prepare them for the future when we expect them to be productive members of society.
This means that if we were to reflect on the day to day interactions between teachers and students and the various activities which take place, we can then conclude that there are many ways in which teachers can develop the minds of our children, thereby assisting in moulding the nation. I will highlight just a few of these.
The first way that teachers can develop the minds of our youth is the most obvious and the most visible. This is academically. We are in fact very proud of how well you already do this and encourage you to continue to develop the minds of our own Albert Einsteins of the future Anguilla. A definite step in the right direction with regards to national development is that of the development of our human capital with the knowledge and skills that are necessary to progress and grow as a nation. I must commend all teachers on a job well done in this regard as borne out by the CXC results over the last few years. We see that our future as a nation is one with much potential.
However, I must also ask you to consider the other ways in which we need to consider developing the minds of our youth and moulding the nation towards national development. A good place to start is actually in a document which is quite close to us, our Education Development Plan. And if you would permit me to quote for you a section of the EDP 2010-2015 document where its states “We must have a clear philosophy with regards to the purpose of education and this must be shared by all. We must ensure that the graduates of our education system are ready to function in a rapidly changing technological world and to take advantage of the opportunities that exist. Their level of communication, professionalism and customer service skills must be adequate and on par with best practices. Our teaching staff therefore must be qualified and adequately prepared for the task ahead, both in terms of content and pedagogy. They must also be culturally grounded.
Morals and values and general respect for authority must be reinforced at all levels of the education system. Our graduates must possess a high level of national pride and awareness which others would strive to emulate. They need to be confident, self -motivated individuals forever striving to improve on past achievements and embracing the concept of life long learning”
So we see that just emphasizing the academic side is not enough. We see that education and the role that teachers must play is a critical one because you are moulding, you are creating a society, one individual at a time. And whether or not we are happy with the end result we must each reflect on the role or part that we have played in creating our society.
I believe it was William Butler Yeats who best described this when he said “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire”. Hence education and the role of teachers is not simply the imparting of facts. It is about inspiring students to be the best that they can be, to be self-motivated, to be emotionally secure with a high level of self- confidence and self-esteem. It is about encouraging our students, not discouraging them. It is about challenging them to do better in a positive way.
It is about caring and offering that emotional support. Sometimes we are not aware, that students bring with them to school so much emotional baggage that they are unable to carry even a message (as we would say). Yet we expect them to perform as a student who has had the full support of two functioning parents, a comfortable home and has had a healthy breakfast. Students often behave the way they are treated. Take a few minutes just to get to know your students. This can make a world of a difference to them. Just be that listening ear that they might need and this could possibly make the world of difference in the conduct of your class and your classroom management.
In the final analysis, it is about the entire person, not just the grades. In our EDP we define the ideal Anguillian Individual as someone who is “Knowledgeable, Skilled, Respectful, Empowered, Culturally Aware, Imbued with National Pride, Literate, Of Sound Character, Globally Aware, Creative, Disciplined, Possess a Sense of Civic Responsibility, Aspires for Excellence and Has a Positive Attitude”. So as teachers, I urge you to take these things into consideration as you go about your daily routines. Ask yourself, “what can I do to instill character?”. How can I teach Math and Morals at the same time? Your students must show perseverance and pride in doing their SBAs thereby learning a crucial skill for life and work. From as early as pre-school, please and thank you should be part of the daily routine. There are ways to inculcate these soft skills and attributes into your lessons without them even being aware of it. At the end of the day though, we must be mindful, that we to should also practice what we preach.
It is critical that our students become productive members of society living in peaceful coexistence. Let us ensure that we strive to do whatever is possible within our power, when the opportunities arise, to develop the minds of our students in a positive way in an effort to mould the nation.
With these few words, I wish you a fruitful and productive school year.
Thank you.
