Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for the provision of government-issued textbooks for my children in secondary school. As a parent of three children, this is the first time I saw all three of them come home with all their textbooks and actually working from it. I am not only talking about Mathematics and English Textbooks, but I am also referring to sciences like HSB, Chemistry, Arts, Physical Education.
Access to this text is paramount, and amidst these teachers’ strike, I was able to leave them with the text and let them work exercises and my mind was at ease that they were doing something meaningful with the time that they are at home. Not only textbooks, but each of them also came home with these ‘fancy’ composition books, and graph books and I was telling them how lucky they are because we never had those types of exercise books given to us at schools. Although, we got the exercise books, half of the term is already over and this is something I wish the ministry can fix.
With the current economic climate, it has become increasingly challenging to afford all the necessary school supplies, and the burden of purchasing these textbooks for three children would have been overwhelming for our family. Imagine, three kids at three different Grade levels. This has saved me as a single parent over $50,000. On this note, I wish to appeal to teachers to please get back into classrooms, don’t allow petty issues and union to come between you and your passion. Remember the reason why you joined the teaching profession. My kids are missing school terribly and I know you must miss your job as well.
Once again, thank you for this invaluable support. The provision of these materials have made a difference in our lives by saving us a good sum of money, and we are deeply grateful for this assistance. Please extend our appreciation to everyone involved in making this program a reality.
Sincerely,
Ms. Safeena Persaud
