An opportunity for all ???to pause, take stock and fresh guard???.
Acting Chief Education Officer, Karen Best, told this to educators today as she addressed a service at Christ Church Parish Church that marked the official start of Education Month, themed Transforming Education: Imagine, Explore, Create.
Mrs. Best said: ???It is an opportunity for us to evaluate the status of our commitment to this noble profession which we have chosen. We need this kind of honest reflection if we are to grow as professionals and provide the kind of education and guidance that our children and young people need.???
She added that transforming education at this time required a paradigm shift in our thinking and functioning as teachers were being confronted with challenges which they had been spared previously. ???The level of deviance and violence which is now threatening the peace and safety of our school, and indeed our entire society, calls for a new resolve from all teachers,??? she said.
Parents and students were also told it was an opportunity to reflect on their stewardship. ???We in Barbados are blessed with universal access to education from primary to secondary. Do not take this for granted. It is a thing which many countries in the world have not yet achieved. Value the educational opportunities and services that are provided for you. Do not flaunt or waste them. Use them to develop your potential to the utmost,??? she encouraged.
As she urged students across the island to use their imagination to become innovative and critical thinkers, Mrs. Best also challenged them to use the tools of the connective world to express ideas, tell stories, to succeed in their personal careers and to move the nation and the world forward.
joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb