Educators encouraged to bring about positive growth and development

At the recently held Teachers’ Colleges of Jamaica (TCJ)/UWI graduation on November 5, some 219 of the 665 students representing the eight teachers’ colleges across Jamaica, were awarded first-class honours, of which 82 were from the Anglican-owned Church Teachers’ College in Mandeville.

In his message to the graduates, dean of the TCJ, Dr. Garth Anderson, charged them to “be mindful that you are the chief architects whose singular purpose it is to enable the future hope for and at the same time craft solutions for our current dilemmas.” Quoting Brene Brown, Dr. Anderson said that “you either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.”

The graduation address on the occasion was from Dahlia Harris. She reminded the educators to distinguish themselves, in that they were influential for the positive growth and development of Jamaica. Harris emphasised the importance for teachers to engage in acts of kindness, as the modus operandi of transformation in the lives of the students, “because an act of kindness people will never forget. They will forget what you say. They will forget what you do, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

In looking at the nation’s current dilemmas, Harris pointed out that “before one life is lost or a drop of human blood is split in conflict, the mind is where wars are conceived.” Therefore educators “have the ability to shape thought, condition reasoning, and influence constructed orientation.” She charged them to remember that they “have the capacity to change the world.”

Musical presentation was by the Church Teachers’ College, Mandeville Choir under its musical director Everton Clarke. They performed an arranged spiritual, Something inside so strong by Labi Siffre.

The designated Valedictorian was Daniel Morgan from Church Teachers’ College, Mandeville, an English major whose life story “is a testament to the power of dedication, resilience, and relentless faith”.

In Morgan’s valedictorian address, she encouraged the new teachers of the Class of 2023 to enter the classroom in the right attitudes, skills and knowledge using the principles of the profession garnered from the varied teachers’ colleges; implementing of the wide collective cognitive and pedagogical skills from the experience of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), in order to instill love for learning and a sense of curiosity to excel in the students.

The Teachers’ College of Jamaica was established on October 7, 2014 when the University of the West Indies (UWI) signed a heads of agreement with eight teachers’ colleges, to now offer the Bachelor of Education as a UWI-approved degree. The participants are Bethlehem Moravian College, Church Teachers’ College: Mandeville, College of Agriculture Science and Education, G. C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sports, The Moneague College, Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College, Shortwood Teachers’ College and St. Joseph’s Teachers’ College.