Outgoing ISSA boss explains politics move.
Outgoing ISSA boss explains politics move
OUTGOING INTERSECONDARY Schools Sports Association (ISSA) president Dr Walton Small says that his commitment to service was the leading factor behind his decision to enter representational politics.
Small, who is set to step down as principal of Wolmer’s Boys School in August, is likely to become the People’s National Party’s representative in South St James as the replacement for veteran Member of Parliament Derrick Kellier.
The experienced educator, who noted that he is very familiar with the area, having served at Anchovy High School, which is located in the constituency, also shared that he grew up in the parish of St James and is expecting to be well-received when the time comes for him to start that chapter of his live.
“Service has always been my call, I love service and I love working for people. I have been offered jobs in the private sector that could have made me better off many times over, but they would not have given me the same satisfaction,” Small told The Gleaner. “I remember a hotel chain offering me a regional job and when I looked at what they were offering, it was encouraging, but I felt I would not get the same satisfaction. Money is not all. When you serve people and see where they are benefiting from it, it gives a greater sense of satisfaction.”
Small has been at the helm of ISSA since 2007 and is credited for increasing the commercial stock and marketability of the organisation.
While underlining that his focus for now is entirely on his obligations at Wolmer’s and ISSA, Small is hoping that his upcoming assignment will bring added value to the lives of those he will be charged with serving. He pointed to an erosion of moral standards and insufficient infrastructural development, as two areas that he believes require immediate attention.
“I am from western Jamaica, and I believe I can contribute to making those individuals’ lives better. I was born in Trelawny, but I moved to Montego Bay because my family migrated there. I went to Cornwall College. I ,basically, spent all my life in St James,” said Small.
“I had been asked before to go back to Trelawny, but I loved teaching too much. I have taught at every level just so that I could experience it all – technical schools, upgraded high schools, traditional high schools, college, university. I love to interact with our young people,” he added.
“The most important thing I would want to do apart from improving the infrastructure as soon as I demit this job at Wolmer’s (in August) and ISSA (In June), is to go and work on values and attitudes with our young people,” Small noted. “I think if we can make a change in how people operate with each other, we can reduce a lot of our problems. We are too intolerant of each other. That communal living is gone.”
GOODWILL FACTOR
Small was principal at Anchovy High from 1998 to 2008 and believes his impact there will bring goodwill among the constituents.
“I have no doubt in my mind that I will be well-received. I am well-known. They know me for my hard-nosed leadership and soft skills.
At Anchovy I made a change there and they know I can make a change in their lives, too,” said Small.
Small started his career as an intern at Dinthill Technical in 1979 and the following year, moved to his alma mater Cornwall College, where he taught for 10 years. He was vice-principal at St Elizabeth Technical from 1996 to 1998 and left there to take up the post of principal at Anchovy High, which he left in 2008 for Wolmer’s Boys School.
He has also lectured over the years at the University of the West Indies’ School of Continuing Studies, Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College, Bethlehem Teachers’ College and Jamaica Institute of Management. andre.lowe@gleanerjm.com