The quote above is from Teacher Ivan Francis who delivered a sterling address on Teachers’ Professional Development Day at the Campus B Auditorium on Friday, October 4th, under the theme: “Teachers Taking Charge of Our Destiny”.
Teachers from all the primary schools and the comprehensive school, along with their professional support staff, converged together as one united body in the auditorium to reflect on their vocation, to be encouraged in their service, and to be inspired by their most noble calling — the task of teaching.
Teachers’ Professional Development Day, which was organized by the Anguilla Teachers’ Union, opened with a Call to Order and prayer by Teacher Cherise Gumbs. Teacher Cynthia Gumbs then led the gathering in a session of inspirational praise and worship songs, backed up by the musical accompaniment of Teacher Lennox Vanterpool on the keyboard, Teacher Michael “Dumper” Martin on the steel pans and Teacher Trevis Rouse on the drums.
It was following that worship session that Teacher Ivan made his sobering address dubbed “Reflection on the Word”. In it, he recounted the Bible story of Joseph whose father had made him a present of a wonderful multi-colored coat. He started by saying: “I believe that teachers do a fantastic job, as they do the biggest job in the country. We are here on this earth to perform some wonderful miracles that no one else has the privilege to perform. No one else is gifted to do the things that teachers do on a daily basis. Though it may look hard and hopeless, at times, we teachers still manage to get things done. We get everything done with scarce resources.”
In bringing out the point about the Bible character of Joseph and his coat, Teacher Ivan observed: “Jacob loved Joseph more than all of his other sons because he was the child of his old age, and this father’s affection for Joseph caused him to make him a coat of many colors. From the time Joseph got that coat, he was identified not as a special son but more so as a leader. He was called to stand out as someone special. He was put on a pedestal, as it were. He was placed in a class by himself.
“We too, when we become teachers, were placed on our pedestals, because there is something special that would come out of us to influence the lives of others. Joseph’s multicolored coat was of skillfully crafted embroidery. It was a garment of quality. The teaching profession is not just a job – it’s a calling. It is a multi-faceted profession of quality that God has called us into. It is a profession that ought to be cherished just as Joseph cherished his coat.”
The President of the Anguilla Teachers’ Union, Ms. Michelle Queeley, also delivered an address to the teachers. She greeted the gathering and commented on the level of inactivity for the week by saying: “I wish to welcome all of you to the culminating activities of what has turned out to be a quiet Teachers’ Appreciation Week. It was intended that, as a union, you would have been more engaged over the course of this week but some inadvertent errors were made. However, we need to remind ourselves of the three things that we can glean from making errors: (1) admit it; (2) learn from it; and (3) don’t repeat it.” And she apologized on behalf of the union for any misgivings.
The newly appointed Chief Education Officer, Mr. Bren Romney, introduced the new, and transferred, teachers and congratulated them for their zeal in the teaching profess sion. He also expressed his gratitude to the ATU for so cordially accepting him back into the education arena.
The feature subject of developmental interests for Teachers’ Professional Development Day was an explanation of the new and revised electoral process for the upcoming national elections in 2020. The lecture on this issue was facilitated by Ms. Aurjul Wilson, Supervisor of Elections.
Prior to the lecture, however, an item of entertainment was rendered by Ms. ATU, Teacher Regine Niles, who admirably performed a poem/pantomime entitled “Fat Girl”. It showed the emotional ill feelings that obese persons are prone to endure and the stigma of discrimination held against ladies who may not be deemed physically normal due to their propensity to be plump.
Overall, as the President of the ATU alluded, the week of showing honor and appreciation to teachers — the first week of October — passed rather quietly.
– Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
