Two-week teachers’ workshop begins this week

Teachers taking part in the 2013 Summer Institute workshop have been urged to take the sessions seriously.{{more}}

The St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union (SVGTU) has collaborated with the Ministry of Education, the Canadian Teachers Federation (CTF), Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) and MacMillan to offer a two-week workshop for teachers, which includes courses in Early Childhood Education, Trade Union Education and Special Education.

In his remarks, president of the SVGTU Oswald Robinson urged teachers to take play an active role in the programme.

“I want you to work in harmony with all the facilitators,” he said.

“Enormous amounts of training has been taking place in our country from ICT, early childhood…we want to see the fruits of this training”.

Robinson noted that the Government has invested a significant amount of money into education and that teachers should not let their training go to waste.

“When we equip our teachers with the skills and the knowledge, we expect to see quality service. The responsibility is on us, because it is an awesome responsibility to mould the young minds,” said Robinson, who described teaching as one of the best professions on earth.

A team from the CTF is expected to play a significant role in the sessions.

Team leader George Huezek echoed Robinson’s sentiments in his short remarks, while stating that special education should be treated with a level of courtesy.

“I prefer not to use terms like disabilities or handicaps or even special education, because they tend to be pejorative. I prefer the word inclusion or inclusive education, to recognize that in our classrooms we have a wide variety of diversity of students,” Huezek said.

He highlighted that initiatives that will be pursued in the workshop will be focused on the theme of inclusion.

“What we hope to accomplish, among other things, is to be able to give you some skills to allow you to identify the range of exceptionalities that are in the classroom,” he said.

Huezek requested from the teachers full participation in the training sessions, stating that “you will get from a workshop like this what you put into it”.

Chief education officer, Lou-Anne Gilchrist also noted the importance of not labelling a child.

“Too often we hear, ‘Oh he can’t learn because this is wrong with him or that is wrong with him’,” the chief education officer said.

“Let me tell you something. If a child is not learning, it’s because we are not teaching. I have come to believe that no matter what the challenges are, everyone can learn”.

Gilchrist encouraged teachers to attend as many of the sessions as possible.

“In order for the Teachers Union and other partners and stakeholders to get maximum efficiency out of this initiative, you must attend, you must participate and there must be a multiplier effect,” Gilchrist said.

“You are to go back to your schools and share the information with your colleagues”.

Course director James Wilson shared the course outline with the participants at the opening ceremony. Week one will consist of the foundation practices in special education, including strategies and practices, while week two will focus on the implementation of these strategies in the various subject areas.

Other addresses were made by Ezekiel Richards, MacMillan representative and Kenny Douglas, representative from BNTF.

Other team members of the CTF include Joe Jarrett and Irnice Eliassaint.

The 2013 Summer Institute, which is implemented in seven other Caribbean countries, began yesterday and will conclude on July 26. All sessions will be held at the Girls’ High School from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. daily.(BK)