Senior Programme Officer in the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development, Simeon Joseph believes that more focus should be placed on teachers, particularly young teachers.
Joseph made the remarks while delivering the feature address at a World Teachers Day activity which was organized by the Dominica Teachers Association (DAT) recently).
“Too often our focus is on the student and student learning, and students’ outcomes and school achievements, and standards without concurrently giving some due attention to our teachers, particularly our young teachers,” Joseph told the gathering.
He added, “This generation of teachers bring much to the table if we sometimes stop and ask what do you need to teach…?”
Joseph is suggesting that the time has come for a wakeup call for those who tend to simplify the problems facing the teaching profession, “particularly our young teachers.”
He said through interaction and observation of these young teachers, he has found that their needs are vastly different.
“More teachers seek more frequent feedback on their teaching than their more veteran colleagues, but they also want more assistance from their peers, their Principal, and their administrators,” the senior educator stated. “Young teachers want more time and opportunities to improve their practice through meaningful collaboration.”
He said young teachers believe that their effectiveness cannot be measured through test scores alone and noted that they are enthusiastic about new networking technologies that can improve teaching and learning.
Simeon Joseph is a talk shop. All he does is to tell u what the problems are, to make it appear like he cares. What a hypocrite
He needs to familiarized himself with the word pragmatic . Simeon Joseph needs to be pragmatic and stop sounding politically correct.
pragmatic
adjective
UK /præɡˈmæt.ɪk/ US /præɡˈmæt̬.ɪk/
C2
solving problems in a sensible way that suits the conditions that really exist now, rather than obeying fixed theories, ideas, or rules:
In business, the pragmatic approach to problems is often more successful than an idealistic one.
Become this person Simeon then i will believe you
in the absence you are fool of ….!
Remember you were the principle of the Dominica Grammar school when it turn bad
I would like to ask the Senior Education officer what is he doing to solve the problem. Is he part of the problem or part of the solution.
If he was part of the problem he would not be saying to solve the problem
We need to fix the system from all angles. The question is where should we start. There are a lot of examples to follow internationally so we as a country must see which one will work best for us and prove to show positive signs in the next decade.
Teaching is the noblest of all the professions. This profession should attract the best and brightest from colleges, universities and institutions of higher learning. This is unlikely to happen in Dominaca. The meagre salaries of teachers are a huge disincentive. One cannot get the best from employees who have enormous difficulties paying their bills and cannot save anything from their starvation salaries. In fact, too many teachers live in subtle poverty. When employees are happy, they tend to give their best. Why we don’t treat these Nation Builders much better is beyond me. Teachers and nurses deserve better. While on salaries, civil servants need a well deserved increase to cope with the ever rising cost of living. Skerrit, why can’t you do the right thing for once to improve the living standards of your people? Come on man!
Well said Mr. Joseph. More individuals like yourself is needed in this noble profession as teachers.
Teachers should be paid 21st century wages, and not 19th century wages. This is the first step in showing that teachers are appreciated.