Teaching is a calling
Dear Editor,
Last week the nation paused to salute and recognise teachers. I believe this should not just be an annual event because truth be told teachers deserve to be recognised daily, especially in this millennial age when it is so challenging socioculturally to be in the classroom.
Unquestionably, the teaching profession is foundational to our lives as without teachers there would be no lawyers, no entrepreneurs, no dentists, no doctors, no electricians, no plumbers, no politician. Without teachers we would not be able, in all fields of endeavour, to plumb the depth of our chosen vocation.
To this day I remember the impact of my teachers in the formative years of my life and the building blocks they laid to make me numerate and literate. If they are still alive, I salute them: grade 1, Erna Mullings; grade 2, Phyllis Channer; grade 3, Mirael Warren; grade 4, Pedian Blackwood; grade 5, Shelia Wright; and grade 6, the indefatigable Dulcie Maudlyn Roach.
These giants, all women, formed for me a solid foundation that has caused me, as they always say, “to reach for the stars” and having “drunken from the Pyrean springs …I have discovered that shallow draughts intoxicate the brain but drinking deeper sobers me again”.
Ignorance is not bliss, it is a detestable state to be in, but thanks to teachers who move us away from unconscious ignorance to enlightenment.
In light of the stellar contributions that teachers make to society, I believe strongly that society owes it to them to ensure that they are better paid and have a better working environment in which to shape tomorrow’s generation.
In preparing to write this letter I consulted a senior, experienced teacher friend of mine to find out what her salary was after committing her life’s vocation to the classroom for more than a quarter century, and she was almost ashamed to utter the paltry amount she gets from the Ministry of Education monthly — an amount of less than US$1000.
It is sad to say, but a scammer can acquire that in three minutes of a phone call.
My teacher friend has to supplement her income by doing some informal commercial activities during off-school hours in order to live above substandard conditions. Yet, in my discussion, I sensed her pride as she spoke of her students, past and present, and how they are performing and contributing to nation-building.
She told me that, if she were to live her life over again, she would still choose to teach. What commitment, what dedication.
These are the mentors and motivators who have challenged impressionable minds to achieve greatness. We just can’t afford not to lift their standard of living and make the profession more attractive to today’s generation.
Therefore, our nation should invest more resources in ensuring that those who take an interest in this field are not deterred by factors surrounding a pay gap.
So, since teachers are indisputably the most important members of our society, let’s take time out to recognise these valuable assets and salute them for being moral compasses, for giving our students purpose, for making our children future-ready, and for awakening in our students the joy of creative expression and knowledge, thereby impacting our world through these changed lives.
Happy Teacher’s Day every day, dear teacher, and thanks on behalf of all the grateful for providing us with a passport to the future. May you continue to awaken the giant in us, and like poet Abou Ben Adhem puts it, “May your tribe increase.”