Schools take look at ‘how far we’ve come’

A new tradition was started this week, when a local history exhibition among schools was hosted for the very first time in this country.

Under the theme, “Look how far we’ve come! Don’t forget your history, know your destiny!” 14 schools participated in the one-day event on Tuesday, where a number of historical, cultural and foods items were on display.{{more}}

In her brief remarks at the opening ceremony, senior education officer with responsibility for Curriculum, Aldia Gumbs-Dyer highlighted a number of objectives, with the main ones being to provide students with the opportunity to showcase their work, offer general information to the public and to serve as a meeting ground for persons interested in history and culture.

“We expect that students will be more engaged since they must explore deeply the topics that they study,” Gumbs-Dyer said.

“Ultimately, we hope that they will not only improve their own competence, but they will also be motivated to become more involved in research and in critically analyzing social and other issues that affect us. We especially hope that our people would see that history is not static, but rather it is a dynamic and lively subject that allows for multiple perspectives and serious engagement.”

Featured speaker and headmaster of the St Vincent Grammar School, Curtis King opined that the event was “pregnant with hope”.

King also stated that there is evidence that will support that Vincentians have come a long way in terms of heritage.

“Today, we can use material, as well as our non-material culture for the evidence that will support that we have come a very long way from where we were,” he said.

“Not too long ago, it was not common to hear folk songs…Instead we were learning about cow jumping over the moon and all foolishness, London bridge falling down; things that had no relevance to our existence. Today, as I’m saying we have come so far that we can talk about our own experiences.

“We no longer have to depend on writers and historians…who were writing from their own experience, their own Eurocentric experience. We have our own. We have Dr Adrian Fraser and we have the wonderful pioneering work of Dr Kirby and what about our literary writers, we have them too. We no longer have to depend on Shakespeare, because we have our own St Clair Jimmy Prince; we have our own Shake Keane and Cecil Blazer Williams,” he said.

The featured speaker stressed that persons should never forget their history and commended the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Health and the History Teachers Association for putting on the event in their effort to “ensure that people have history of civilization at their fingertips.”(BK)