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| (L-R) Dr Henry Hinds Head of the OECS Education Reform Advisory Service, Junior Minister of Education Hon Livingston Herbert and Premier and Minister of Education Hon Vance Amory. |
CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (February 15, 2006) -- Junior Minister of Education in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) Hon Livingston Herbert stressed the importance of leadership and the need for the island's top educators to lead from the front, engage the community now more than ever and to take ownership of their schools, mindful to guard against the behaviour of indispensability and information hoarding.
The Education Minister's remarks came while he delivered the keynote address to some 40 participants including principals and senior teachers at the opening of a three-day Principal's Leadership Training Seminar hosted by the Department of Education at the Mount Nevis Hotel on Tuesday February 14, 2006. The facilitators are Dr Henry Hinds of the OECS Education Reform Unit-Advisory Service and Dr Bronte Gonsalves, Education Advisor. The theme for the seminar is "Equipping our School Leaders to deal with the Educational Challenges of the 21st Century".
"The cardinal responsibility of leadership is engendering teamwork. We have to trust others, we have to work with others and we have to help others grow"as we equip ourselves to deal with the educational challenges of the 21st century, we must become the change we seek. It is not enough to say that everyone is now going to do things differently we have to lead by example," Mr Herbert said.
He explained that the Department of Education had embarked on the training exercise in an effort to prepare the teachers to deal with the educational challenges of the 21st century, challenges being presented as a result of the constant changes occurring around them.
"These changes emanate first from within the family structure and their influences have impacted and are impacting on our homes, our communities, our schools and our social institutions. For many of us, we ascribe these changes to exogenous factors such as technological advancement particularly in telecommunication " cable television, computer, internet and cellular phones -. We are responsible for providing our children with the wherewithal to satisfy their interests and to ensure that they are in conformity with their peers.
"By yielding, we bring pressure to bear that is manifested by the less than desirable behaviour in our schools. We say that children are rude and unruly, yet as parents and adults, many of us are not modelling the behaviour that we expect of our children," he said.
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| Participants at the Department of Education's Leadership Training Seminar |
According to Mr Herbert, less than desirable behaviour had implications for the administration of institutions of learning particularly in the areas of declining school discipline, mediocrity, lack of verve in the delivery of educational institutions, inadequate succession planning, routine performance appraisal and wholly sponsorship for one"s professional development. He said sometimes there was also the feeling among school leaders that once they had attained a leadership position, they no longer had aspirations to achieve.
Notwithstanding, Mr Herbert noted that one of the ways to equip school leaders to face the challenge, was the creation of an environment which would assist in the promotion of self worth The only way I know how to promote self worth is the cultivation of an inherent desire to develop one self.
"Whatever we (senior educators) do we must have that indomitable gumption not only to succeed but to excel. For this to happen, we must nature the habit of reading and studying relevant texts associated with our profession of choice. We must engage those who share our profession as we endeavour to develop ourselves. We must also invest in our own personal development," he said adding, "this requires, to my mind, a thirst for knowledge and a relentless pursuit to satisfying that thirst. We cannot afford to wait and react to circumstances as they unfold, we must anticipate and be proactive so that we are better positioned to manage the challenges when they occur."
Mr Joseph Wiltshire, Senior Education Officer explained that the seminar, the first of its kind, entailed seven working sessions each followed by a session for group work. The format he said would provide all participants with the opportunity to express their ideas and views and to contribute to the overall success of the seminar. He said the knowledge and skills acquired by the participants would serve to strengthen the participant's resolve to continue their thrust to secure the future for the nation's children.
The national anthem was rendered by Mr Michael Sutton the invocation was delivered by Ms Vertelly Weekes while the profile and introduction of Dr Henry Hinds was delivered by Education Officer Mrs Palsy Wilkin Education Officer. Mr Wiltshire served as chairman.
Also present at the opening ceremony was Premier and Minister of Education Hon Vance Amory, Permanent Secretary, Human Resources Mrs Vinetta Hobson moving and Permanent Secretary, Education Mr Elvin Bailey and Dr Bronte Gonsalves.
