Teachers urged to find purpose in native land
Published:Tuesday | August 22, 2023 | 12:09 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
FREDRICK INGRAM, the secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), wants Jamaican teachers to identify and establish their purpose as educators in their native land.
He noted this, even while he giving an assurance that his organisation supports the educators’ efforts to secure proper wage agreements with the Jamaican Government.
“We are teachers and it is in our DNA to hope. Plus, it is in our DNA to give a young person, the kid across the street, your grandkid, the kid you care about, your niece, your nephew a chance and a shot at life to be better,” he said while delivering the keynote address at the opening session of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association’s (JTA) 59th annual conference in Westmoreland on Monday.
“In the midst of a teaching shortage, find your purpose in this beautiful country, and find your purpose in the schools of your homeland,” said Ingram. “Sometimes I have to remind people that everything is not greener on the other side. I am proud of my country, but I know what it is to go to America today, in our public schools and it is not easy. So I want to remind you to find your purpose.”
Ingram’s call comes at a time when Jamaica is grappling with teacher-migration issues as the desire for better-paying jobs see many educators leaving Jamaica to take up offers overseas.
FEWER RESIGNATIONS
Last August, it was reported that 600 teachers would not return to the classroom for the September 2022 school term, with 13 percent of those teachers being retired, 43 percent having resigned, and 44 percent being on pre-approved leave.
On August 16 this year, Education Minister Fayval Williams told a post-Cabinet press briefing that there has been a 73 percent decline in the number of teachers who have resigned from the public sector between January and September this year. However, critics argued that the data was incomplete or incorrect as, up to that point, August had not yet ended.
Addressing the issue of wage negotiations, Ingram told the educators that the Government must be willing to pay teachers what they are owed.
“Today, I want to declare the AFT’s solidarity with the JTA in your desire to have the Government live up to its promise and meet its obligations to support teachers in this country. You all deserve more. You all should be better in the eyes of the Government here today,” he said.
“We stand by you and demand that the Government meet the agreements to award teachers overdue backpay and benefits. It is no more and no less than what you truly are owed for your years of dedicated service to the community,” Ingram added. “We have watched from abroad and we find it very disturbing that some politicians have chosen to undermine public education rather than adequately invest in schools and in kids’ learning.
“Sadly, much of what is happening here is happening at home [in America] as well; simply put, education is under attack globally, all over this world, so you are not alone in this fight.”