What’s up with these school fees?
Is it possible to have the shadow person in the Opposition ask the Minister of Education at the next sitting of Parliament about these registration and other fees such as PTA fee, student data system fee, security fee (imagine that) etc which public and assisted secondary schools are charging pupils in SVG?
It appears according to The Education Act Cap 202 of the Revised Laws of St Vincent and the Grenadines 2009, Act no 34 of 2006 that as per Section 16 some of these fees are illegal. The Education Act makes it clear that any costs for “specialised services” and “other items” charged to students “MUST” be specified by the Minister of Education and Gazetted.
We need to know if these specialised and other fees these schools are charging are approved by the Minister and Gazetted. I propose (subject to correction) that they aren’t as empirical evidence suggests that.
If the school is sourcing ties and PE shirts etc for pupils to use it is fine for the school to pass these costs, without profit, onto students as parents would have had to buy them from private entities anyway but all operational costs charged are illegal if not gazetted.
We need an answer to this question or we may have to sort it via the courts namely – Jane Doe – V – XYZ School, The Minister of Education, The Chief Education Officer and The Attorney General.
Thank you.
Guevara Leacock
What makes one a good teacher?
There is no agreement on what makes a person a good teacher. However, it is widely perceived that good teachers are a rare species indeed. Students, parents, a
nd the wider community tend to lament on what they see as the absence of good teachers, and good role models in the nations’ classroom today.
Recently, I came across an article online in which the writer identifies certain observable characteristics of a good teacher. I would like to share them with you.
A good teacher
• possesses good knowledge of subject area
• constantly engages in learning
• has an abundance of energy
• collaborates with other teachers
• possesses knowledge of child development
• respects children and parents while still authoritative
• possesses a sense of humour
• wants to teach; sees teaching as a lifestyle, not a job
• cares about children even after they have left school
• shows passion for teaching
• makes effort to differentiate the curriculum to challenge every student
• seeks outside resources and integrates them into the curriculum
• sets high standards for self and students
• ensures that students are engaged
• gets students excited about learning
• causes eyes to light up when teaching (kindles this passion even when tired or burned out)
• is regularly named by students as one of their best teacher.
After several years as a teacher I often wonder if I do measure up. It is not easy being a good teacher. However, we must keep on trying. Perhaps, someday a stranger would walk up to you and say, “Hi, I remember you! You were one of my best teachers!.” I look forward to that day.
SchoolTalk 