Re-elected President of the Dominica Association of Teachers (DAT) Mervin Alexander has a message for the main employers of teachers.
“Teachers deserve better,” said Alexander. He delivered these remarks during the DAT 17th Biennial Convention held at the Goodwill Parish Hall this week.
“To the government, the main employers of our teachers, I say to you our teachers deserve better,” Mr. Alexander said.
According to him, teachers’ salaries are low, many of them hold temporary appointments for too long and they are working with little or no resources at all, yet they are producing. Hence, he paused to thank the Ministry of Education and by extension, the government for the effort being made to permanently appoint teachers in positions, “and that is after much talk from the DAT.”
“Think of what they can achieve if they were receiving better salaries and adequate resources to perform their duties,” Mr. Alexander stated.
He continued, “The limited resources that they have, they are producing so much, so I think if they had much, they were given better salaries and more resources what they could do, because we have some very good teachers in Dominica.”
He believes that given all that is expected from teachers, they should not be burdened with the extra task of fundraising to get resources to perform their duties.
“I ask the question, which other category of workers in the government service has to do that?” Mr. Alexander asked. “The police don’t have to do it…the nurses don’t have to do it, the firemen don’t have to do it, the resources are provided for them, but teachers have to raise funds to do their work.”
This, he said, is not fair. Meanwhile, Mr. Alexander stated that the influence a teacher has on his or her students is huge.
“No matter what, a student looks up to the teacher for help and guidance,” he said. “Teachers are like second parents.”
Furthermore, he pointed out that teachers have a fair share in molding a child from age 3 to 5 years old.
“So, it is important that children have good teachers who can make them intellectually, emotionally, morally sound and strong,” he noted.
Mr. Alexander also stated that being a teacher is a great responsibility as the present, and future, of children are in their hands.
“Hence, I will say to people who are in the profession simply because they cannot find another job, you should consider leaving since you might just be destroying some children’s lives,” he remarked. “Teaching is like a candle; it consumes itself to light the way for others.”
He added, “Teaching has always been considered as a noble profession.” Mr. Alexander pointed out that no good teacher looks for their own success and endeavor, rather they always have their students’ present and future in mind.
Some teachers deserve to be no where near a education institution
Teachers deserve more money, better pay, more lajean, more dinero…..
From your statements, you seem to be sending mixed messages. Why are teachers underpaid, in the service for over 5 years and not appointed, have to use their already meagre ressources to purchase school supplies and all the others to which you refer ? From where I sit am tempted to conclude that they enjoy this ” misery ” since all they are prepared to do is talk and beg. No one who doesn’t love and care about his/her well-being should expect any simpathy whatsoever from anyone else. You seem to be content to have your members foreward on their knees and not on their feet.
Teachers don’t benefit financially from students success. They and their parents do and ultimately the state due to their human capital expertise . So sit there and continue to speak with a forked tongue and see how quickly all that you are calling for come your way .
Respectfully submitted.
Hello and good morning my people. Well Mr Alexander my sister is a teacher in Dominica and yes they deserve better pay. Why can’t you stand in front of a school in Dominica instead of where ever you are posing because the background isn’t in Dominica. You are making the case for the government since you submitting a photograph with such modern buildings. There isn’t any school in Dominica that look like that so do a better job representing our dedicated teachers.