“It’s in your hands.” That’s the advice of Chief Education Officer, Wendy Griffith-Watson, to local teachers, regarding their approach to the teaching of the National Schools Curriculum.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Erdiston Teacher Training College’s Diploma in Education (Primary and Secondary) and the Certificate in Educational Management and Administration programmes, Ms Griffith-Watson urged teachers to “redesign the national curriculum to suit their students.”

“School management must seek to engage both the high flyer and the slower child,” she stated. Ms. Griffith-Watson also told teachers and principals that while they were free to make the national curriculum suitable to the needs of students, the present curriculum could not be significantly altered.

“Barbados cannot be an island by itself. We have to be on par with the rest of the world. Our National Curriculum meets world standards. If we are not on par, we are doing something wrong,” she stated.

Ms. Griffith-Watson also urged teachers to be more pro-active. “The time has come where more schools should be writing to the Ministry saying things like ‘there are 20 students who cannot do homework at home and need extra time to do it at school’. Where are the voices of our teachers?” she questioned.

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