The Dominica Association of Teachers (DAT) will convene at the St. Alphonsus Parish Hall on Wednesday, April 12th for the association’s 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM).
The AGM is being held under the theme ‘Health and Wellness: Make Yourself a Priority’ and will begin at 9:00 Wednesday morning.
President of the DAT, Mervin Alexander, told Dominica News Online (DNO) that the theme was chosen to remind Dominica’s educators of the importance of their personal wellbeing.
“We really want teachers to think of their health as well”, he said. “Sometimes they are so concerned about students and other things, they forget their own selves. We want them to care first and foremost about themselves, because if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anyone else.”
National Coordinator of Health Promotion, Nurse Mignon Rolle- Shillingford, will be the Featured Speaker at the event. She revealed to DNO that her speech will focus on showing educators how to prioritize their wellbeing in various aspects of life, to ensure their healthcare goes beyond dieting and exercise.
Meantime DAT President Mervin Alexander says retired nurses and students of the All Saints University School of Medicine will be at the meeting, conducting blood pressure and blood sugar checks for teachers.
The Annual General Meeting is part of the DAT’s Health and Wellness focus this year and follows a special Cardio Jam for teachers that was held last Tuesday at the Dominica Grammar School, in collaboration with Jolly’s Pharmacy.
At the Cardio Jam, Jolly’s Fitness University Dean, Josiah Moses, ran teachers through an hour of rigorous, but fun, exercises.
While teachers will discuss improving their personal wellbeing on Wednesday, voting in a new executive will not be on the agenda. According to the Association’s president, deciding on a new executive is a biennial function that teachers can look forward to in 2024.
Mervin Alexander has been the President of the DAT since 2018.
All these are nice positions. I’m looking for a position as a teacher.
More hogwash! Wellness is not just in word but in deed. How do you all expect teachers to maintain proper health when you all accepted 0-0-1 salary increase from the government? Let’s put things into perspective. One’s ability to eat healthy and visit his/her doctor regularly is inextricably linked to his/her income. The ability to afford proper housing is also linked to income. The ability to ensure one’s safety is also linked to income. The ability to afford all of these things may also be linked to reduced stress. You should also note that seeing the mingy salary at the end of the month induces stress. Providing teachers with the tips to live healthy lifestyles is great. However, this must be coupled with the creation of avenues that ensure healthy lifestyles are maintained. First step, salary increase that surpasses the cost of living, thus ensuring that teachers can actually afford to live a health lifestyle. This is not political, it’s simply the economics of the issue.