Dear Editor,
On Tuesday morning, while reading the newspapers, I came across the article Queen’s College celebrating 180 years of excellence and I bemoan the fact that in that lovely picture where I see maybe 1000 heads gathered at the Cultural Centre depicting current and past students of Queen’s College gathered at the National Cultural Centre (Photos, Ministry of Education), I was not there and was not even invited. Had I known about the event, however, I would have been present even without an invitation. It baffles me that in many cases in this country, we omit the significant, valuable contributions of those of the past, fail to refer to names but mention them skeptically in events like these. (A president of the past QC batch). Why do we reduce the valuable contributions of teachers in schools and in this country?
As I perhaps referred to in a previous article, I taught in recognized institutions of learning such as QC and I am proud as my hundreds of students – doctors, lawyers, teachers, civil servants and other professionals in other areas of life – have demonstrated their joy in meeting with me and congratulated me for nurturing and moulding them for the future. Such recognition and praise have done well for me and are always appreciated by my colleagues in the profession. It should be noted that teachers who receive regular recognition and praise are more productive and remain at the school.
My job as a teacher was not just to impart knowledge in the subject area and help students learn effectively but also to help them develop critical- thinking, problem-solving and judgment skills. I inspired my students by providing meaningful learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom. My teaching spanned a range of pupils/students primary, secondary and tertiary. I guided my pupils/students through engaging them in learning opportunities which they enjoyed and loved.
When I attended a minor get-together in New York kept by the students of Winifred Gaskin Secondary School of Manchester, Corentyne, some years ago, I was so pleased with the greetings, joy, emotion, commendation, etc. meted out to me by students whom I taught in Letter Kenny to Eversham area on the Corentyne. Teaching is a wonderful profession and even though the salary may not compensate for this challenging profession where one has to constantly prepare and re-think every part of the job – students in mind, the tools and techniques employed, the curriculum – a teacher is so pleased with the successful outcome of students who are socially, culturally, and economically involved in the health of the nation that the joy and satisfaction outweigh the onus, time, and minimum remuneration.
From the reading of the two newspapers (K N, and Stabroek News) I do not think enough mention was made concerning the arduous work of the teachers of the institution to cause it to maintain excellence throughout the years. They were the ones to instill values and skills in students for QC to have that rich legacy. We should never be ungrateful to the teachers who formed the core of the institution and they should never ever be left out in the celebrations. Praise for the teachers should not be only during Teacher Appreciation Week (I have a couple plaques which I treasure). I worked at QC for several years where I served under the following principals: Mr. Taylor, Mr. Trotz, Ms. Downer, people with caliber who dedicated themselves providing quality and service to this institution of excellence. May we continue to be ‘faithful and useful everywhere.’
Sincerely,
Hilmon Henry
