Flavours Restaurant at La Vue Boutique Hotel and Conference Centre was crowded to capacity by a mass attendance of teachers from the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School and the six Government-owned Primary Schools. The event, on Friday, September 2, was dubbed “Teachers’ Welcome Back Ceremony” in celebration of the reopening of the schools in Anguilla, this week, following the long summer vacation.
The event had as its theme: “If children excel, teachers must be excellent”. It was a noted quotation from a previous statement by Anguilla’s Minister of Social Development, Mr. Evans McNiel Rogers.
Mrs Chanelle Petty Barrett, Permanent Secretary, Education, told the teachers: “We are blessed that all of you have chosen to dedicate yourselves to teaching our nation’s children. We are blessed that you have played a leading role in ensuring their success over the years. While I applaud your efforts in preparing our students for examinations at all levels of the system, when I speak of success I am not speaking of success measured by an examination, but their success as human beings – citizens of the world who are patriotic, celebrate their individuality, respect others, can coexist peacefully, give back to their communities and strive towards the fulfilment of their personal aspirations. Such success can only be achieved because you have moulded their minds and characters through your own example of dedication and reliability, your standards of discipline and deportment, your high expectations of the quality of their work, and your guidance and encouragement in their life challenges.”
The Permanent Secretary continued: “The vast majority of our students are a success, by my definition. However, there is a disturbing minority who are not. At the beginning of every year I look in the mirror. As we make a fresh start for this new school year, I encourage all of us to think seriously about what each of us can do (whether in the Ministry, Department, office, classroom) to improve the educational experience of our students, and commit to making at least one change in what we currently do to ensure their success as global citizens.
“Teachers, you are in a position of greatest influence when it comes to making a tangible difference with our students. I am sure that when you think about a teacher who impacted you in a meaningful way, you do remember a whole lot about the content of their lesson. What you remember is how they made you feel, something they said that made you see things from a different perspective, their carriage and the soundness of their character, the expectations they had of you, the level of their effort and their genuine interest in your wellbeing. These are the things that your students will remember about you, and will probably have the greatest impact on who they become. Every student deserves to have a teacher who impacts him or her in a meaningful way and inspires him or her to become a better person. Be that teacher.
“On behalf of the Ministry and Department of Education, welcome everyone and best wishes for the school year.”
Ms. Michelle Queeley, President of the Anguilla Teachers’ Union, said the ATU was dedicated to core values of teacher responsibility, teacher equality, teacher integrity with its attendant virtues of teacher honesty and teacher security.
The ATU President went on: “Your executive has been hard at work, over the course of the summer vacation, to ensure that each member of this fraternity feels belonged, appropriately respected and supported. We have worked diligently to plan a full programme of activities for our coming Teachers’ Week. We have worked to establish the Teachers in Crisis Fund; and we have already set the wheels in motion for the establishment of a Teachers’ Services Commission. These you will hear about later.”
Mrs. Natasha Welcome, Vice President of the Early Childhood Association, thanked the Ministry and Department of Education for annually organising the Back to School Ceremony. Mrs. Welcome added: “It is a ceremony we look forward to as it sets the tone for the school year. I would also like to commend you, the teachers, for the work you have done and continue to do to mould our young children.”
Chief Minister Banks took the opportunity to congratulate teachers of all levels for their part in the overall education system and examination results. “Our students’ success depends on all of you working together towards that end result – the examination results,” the Chief Minister told the teachers. “Your efforts make us all proud. It gives us bragging rights when our results are outstanding.”
Mr. Banks assured the educators that the Government of Anguilla is “committed to the national educational plan that includes support and training for teachers.
The main portions of the Chief Minister’s address are as follows:
“…I must thank the teachers of Anguilla for their dedicated service to the education of our society despite the more than occasional lack of resources and other constraints.
“I also can identify with the demanding nature of the teaching profession. This is especially so in the case of dedicated teachers — as I believe you all are. You want to see your students succeed. And you can become frustrated – even depressed – when your efforts seem to be wasted.
“Most of us are, who we have become, because of the dedicated efforts of our teachers. Indeed it has been said that it is the one profession that creates all other professions. And so in retrospect we are often both sorry and ashamed for the pain and stress that we may have caused our teachers as they have pursued this noble enterprise.
“Of course there are some teachers, thankfully just a few, who according to an anonymous writer, believe that “there are three good reasons to be a teacher, namely, June, July, and August.” But today we are here to show our appreciation for those dedicated teachers who continue to ensure that our future as a nation is secure through their willingness to go beyond the call of duty to educate the children.
“I must confess that, like many persons in the community, I too may have expressed some doubt about the existence of teachers with the dedication of those stalwarts of the past. My question, and I am certain your question as well, has been: “Will we be able to cultivate the kind of personalities in the teaching profession of the caliber of those stalwarts of the past?”
“I am pleased to admit that my doubts are unfounded. I have come across a number of young persons who have embraced the teaching profession with much enthusiasm and passion. They are concerned about their students; they are concerned about conditions at their schools; they are prepared to use their own resources – financial and otherwise – to get the job done; they take pride in their classrooms; they are professional; they have a desire for further training; and they want to be good teachers.
“This is indeed both refreshing and promising. As a community we appreciate you. And I would like to advise the Department of Education that whenever they hear of young persons who express a strong desire to be teachers — grab them. They are a national treasure!
“I also want to celebrate our teachers for not giving up on our young people. Indeed youth have been behaving in the same manner over two thousand years ago in the time of Socrates. Socrates wrote around 400 BC: “The children now love luxury; they have bad manners; contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders; and love chatter in place of exercise.”
“This is not unlike the complaints we make about our young people twenty-four hundred years later. The challenges of teaching have therefore not changed substantially — as a result the principles of the art of teaching have not undergone any drastic changes either. However, in this rapidly changing world in which we live our teachers must adapt.
“This quotation from Ignacio Estrada is therefore appropriate: “If a child can’t learn the way we teach; maybe we should teach them the way they learn.” We therefore must show appreciation to our teachers for their willingness to adapt to new systems that improve the effectiveness of the learning process.
“Recent results from external examinations have highlighted the successes of our overall education system. Again I must congratulate teachers of all levels for their part in the final product. Our students’ success depends on all of you working together towards that end result — the examination results. You efforts make us all proud — gives us bragging rights when our results are outstanding. We appreciate you because as B.B. King said: “the beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”
“Finally, let me assure you that we are fully aware of your worth. The famous American Journalist Bob Talbert wrote: “Good teachers are costly, but bad ones cost more!” The Government of Anguilla is cognizant of the important role that you are playing in securing our nation’s future by creating the foundation for informed and qualified leaders in all spheres of society. This comes at a cost that must be sufficient to attract and maintain the best teachers.
“We are also committed to the national educational development plan that includes specific support and training for teachers. Our vision for national development requires your continued dedicated service in keeping with the admonition of that well-known Chinese Proverb:
“If you are planning for a year — sow rice; if you are planning for a decade — plant a tree; if you are planning for a lifetime — educate people!”
“May God Bless you all! May God bless Anguilla!”
