Joseph Cunningham, Gleaner Writer
THREE TEACHERS from Jamaica have been awarded with the International Excellence Award for Teachers.
The Canada-based International Scholarship Trust Foundation, the parent company of the local agency for the Heritage International Scholarship Trust Plan (HIST), gave the award at a reception held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston last Monday.
The awards focus exclusively on teachers from pre-school through to grade four, who have made significant contributions to education and who have helped to raise the status of the teaching profession in Jamaica, Bermuda and the Bahamas.
The International Excellence Award winners are Vernie Wisdom from the Marjam Preparatory School in Ocho Rios; Simone Kelly of the Shortwood Teachers' College; and Doreth McFarlane of Denham Town Primary School.
ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
Ms. McFarlane, while giving the acceptance speech on behalf of the awardees, told The Gleaner she was elated that teachers at the early childhood level were appreciated. Furthermore, she said: "We (early childhood teachers) are the foundation in more ways than we should even be. When the little ones come to us totally misguided re moral values and attitudes, we have to become their parents."
The Canada-based International Scholarship Trust Foundation grants US$1,000 to each of the winning teachers who are nominated by parents or the school community.
Guest speaker at the reception, Fay Saunders, past principal of St. Andrew High School for Girls, emphasised the importance of the early childhood curriculum.
"We need to prioritise with social education at this stage. A more balanced approach to education instead of an academic process is required to sensitise children with good moral values," Mrs. Saunders said.
Dr. Adolph Cameron, secretary general of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), agreed with Mrs. Saunders about what early childhood education is supposed to accomplish.
Dr. Cameron said: "When Jamaican parents send their children to pre-school, they are upset with teachers who do not give their three-year-old home work everyday."
He added that there is sometimes a premature academic focus at the early childhood stage by teachers who are untrained.
