Basseterre: St. Kitts, Friday, July 30, 2021: Prospective teachers, celebrated the end of the two-week preservice training in a closing ceremony that was full of excitement. The event was preceded by a panel discussion focusing on the opportunities that are available to decrease the learning gap and inequalities due to the early school closure.
This enlightening discussion brought to the forefront the need for improved collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the Private sector as well as ways in which we can harness the knowledge and skills of the population to create learning apps catering to the specific needs of the learners within our federation.
Addressing the attendees, Minister of Education, Honourable Jonel Powell extended congratulations for successfully completing the training.
“Congratulations on passing this two-week training program. For those of you who will ultimately be selected to go and teach, I encourage you to remember the things you learnt from the last two weeks. They would keep you in good stead as you deal with not only the students but also your colleagues,” expressed Minister Powell
Chief Education Officer Dr. Debbie Isaac in her remarks, shared with the participants sound advice as they close this first chapter of their journey into becoming a teacher. She also encouraged the participants to model the virtues of a teacher in their professional life.
“Teachers should model the virtues. Some virtues that you should model as a teacher are friendliness, truthfulness, honesty, caring, generosity and courage. You model these virtues through your actions and the manner in which you organize every aspect of your classroom life,” she said.
Several participants expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Education for affording them the opportunity to enroll in sessions that will prepare them to be effective teachers during this unprecedented time.
Ms. Kerise Williams one of the many participants during the preservice training, shared her views. “I would like to say thank you to the Ministry of Education as well as the supporting teams that provided us this opportunity to further improve our professionalism. I really enjoyed all of the sessions, genuinely, there was always something to take away that I know would mold me into a better person, not only a better teacher but a role model that could step out into the community and motivate young people to appreciate the gift of learning.”
The next step for these prospective teachers is their interview session which will be conducted during the period of Wednesday, 4th to Tuesday 10th August 2021.
