A prayer for Jamaican teachers
THE EDITOR, Madam:
I THINK it quite appropriate to pray for our Jamaican teachers at this particular time. O Lord, They have committed themselves to selfless service and nation building. They have taken up the task of care-giver, facilitator, motivator, peace-maker, educator, and inspirer of our next cadre of leaders of our beautiful island home. We have experienced the sad loss of Gregory Williams, Antoinette Banton-Ellis, Ann Marie Johnson Lindo, Carlos Gordon, and Donnalee Wright. May the families of these teachers who have laid down the burdens of this life be granted comfort in their loss and light for this period of darkness.
Without Your grace, Lord, without Your divine guidance, the ardent servants – the teachers who remain alive, will not be able to successfully complete their work in the classroom. Please bestow Your bountiful help to these, our educators. We are confident of your continued intervention. Grant Your blessings for their stability, creativity, and safety. Their work is second to none. They give constant attention to and vigilance for the learning and development of our children. Encircle them with Your presence.
May their support teams rally around them. They hold the strength of our nation in their hands. May they find continued assistance from the parents who unite with them for the success of the learning experience. May they receive the required remuneration for their exceptional service to humanity. May they receive adequate and relevant resources from the institutions in which they work. May the results of their efforts be seen in increased learning outcomes. May their stress levels decrease and their pupils’ learning levels increase. May their teaching methodologies be varied and their classroom atmosphere breathe the peace of heaven.
O God, give them revitalising and re-energising rest as they sleep each night. Give them wellspent days in the learning space. Let their hearts find lasting joy with the superb products that they create and the eternal reward You have prepared for them. May the troubled parents maintain calm as they discuss with them the learning difficulties, behavioural issues, and the attention deficit of their children. Keep the teachers’ love and tact constant in the equation of reaching out to those students who are below average and whose behaviour are out of range. Let them re-enforce the positives and reward outstanding performances. Show them how to speak a word in season to calm the troubled students and to redirect the distracted.
Bless their intervention strategies. Bless their comprehensive assessment plans. Bless their inclusive evaluation methods. Bless their attentiongetters, their questioning techniques, and their cooperative group strategies.
O heavenly Father, bless Jamaica and its teachers whom we love, forever more, amen.
ODIAKA WALKER Instructor, SRT, Northern Caribbean University odiakaw1@gmail.com