Affirming teachers
published: Thursday | February 5, 2004
THE EDITOR, Sir,
IN THE Gleaner dated Wednesday January 28, 2004, it was pleasing to note that a high school principal stated that "in the past three or so years, some excellent teachers have been coming out of the Teachers' Colleges". This is indeed good news considering recent discussions in the media have stated that the entry level qualification for our colleges was too basic.
To give the impression that the recently graduated students from the Teachers Colleges were primarily not of a high calibre was most unfortunate. The teachers' colleges have consistently upgraded their programmes so as to developed students' critical thinking, their analytical skills and their ability to think outside the box. Attempts are also made to continue to introduce strategies, methods and innovative ways of improving the teaching, learning environment in the nation's classrooms.
In addition to the statement above, the principals also concurred that across the board the cadre of teachers in the education system in terms of training and experience is of a high standard. There are many teachers in the system who can ably fit these descriptions. Many teachers have made sterling contributions to their school communities and country and may unfortunately never be recognised for their sacrifice.
The principals should be commended for their positive affirmation of the role of the facilitators within the schools.
