Diamond Gov’t School holds library improvement march

Children of the Diamond Government School chorused “If you’re happy and you know it give a book GIVE A BOOK” at their library improvement march through Diamond Village on Monday, November 28.{{more}} The school sought to sensitize parents and community members on the importance of a library in promoting reading development in children.

The Diamond Village community has a history of progressiveness that was displayed in the speeches of support from Education Officer Hannah Browne and PTA President Simeon Greene.

Browne spoke about her regular visits to the mobile library on Tuesday afternoons with her friends. She reminisced about eagerly waiting on the yellow bus to roll into the Diamond School yard where she and her friends would choose their one Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book for the two-week period. In the 1970s and 1980s, the mobile library was instrumental in building child and adult literacy as it traveled to communities on the Windward side of the island.

Greene spoke about one of the frequent users of the mobile library, Molly Jacobs, who could always be found with a book. Although she didn’t succeed in finishing her secondary education, her love of reading prepared her for the English Language examination. He said that she outdid the teachers in the examination by receiving a B in her studies.

The Diamond Government School library seeks to work with parents and community members to refocus attention on literacy. The library project will enable children to read in the home, receive tutoring, and participate in after-school homework programmes. Also, the library will be open for adults and community members to check out books.

The time for reading development is now. The World Bank reports that students in the Caribbean are leaving school without the necessary skills and training to gain professional employment. An inability to adequately prepare our children today will increase the number of underemployed and unemployed youths in the future. The World Bank report states that this can have a negative impact on the GDP as more persons will resort to crime, teen pregnancy, and alcohol and drug abuse. As the population in St. Vincent and the Grenadines decreases, the country’s dependence on man labor will decrease and the economic future will depend on its ability to craft a skilled, technically advanced labor force.

The community of Diamond seeks to refocus its attention on literacy and reading. The school is asking parents and community members to join them at their next fundraiser, a Fun Night, on Saturday, December 3 at 4:30 pm at the Diamond Government School.