Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
I believe that those words of wisdom are ever true no matter the generation or the year. At this moment, those words also beckon us to perhaps rethink the direction of our society and thus the direction that our young people are heading in. Fellow Virgin Islanders and friends, I believe that the opportunity we have here today to go before God and ask his blessings upon our young people, the future leaders of our beloved Virgin Islands should be sought with much urgency.
In this day and age, there are many competitors for the attention and opportunity to influence our young people. But which way will they go?
What or who will determine who they will be? What role will our community play in shaping the lives of these young people? I believe the answer can be found in that simple, yet eloquent bible verse;
Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Within the Ministry and department of Education and Culture, we are taking a bold stand to “Create a Culture of Excellence” within our schools and the lives of our students. We believe that by training our young people to pursue excellence, they will understand and appreciate that they must endeavour to be the best in all that they attempt to do, in school, in their careers, socially and spiritually, so as they journey through life, they will not depart from these ideals. Today we ask that you join with us as we encourage our youth to attain excellence by putting God first.
Over the course of this year, the Ministry has undertaken the challenge to reach into the past and provide a bridge of cultural understanding and appreciation so that we Virgin Islanders can be fortified with the knowledge of who we are. It is that knowledge that is indeed, needed to face our current challenges.
Everything that we have been doing within the ministry; developing our cultural dress, identifying a territorial song and respect for our flags, has not been for a short ceremony and a few clips in the media. These have all been opportunities to help our young people identify with who they are as Virgin Islanders and for those that have come to live among us, to have an understanding and appreciation for who we are, so that together, we can all work to advance these beautiful islands.
As a government, we want to ensure that every single child that goes through our Virgin Islands education system has an appreciation and respect for our culture. A culture that not too long ago reverenced our Lord a little more than we do today; a culture that saw late-night prayer sessions when a neighbour was ill; a culture where big issues of the community and the country needed to be taken first to God in prayer. My fellow brothers and sisters, a profound respect for God and appreciation for his mercies towards us is the heritage of these islands and its people. That goal of excellence, I dare say, cannot be achieved unless we restore that respect of our heritage and put God first.
Students, throughout the bible you will find examples of God’s servants in pursuit of excellence. What I want you to understand today is that excellence should not just mean getting straight A’s. Yes that is good and we want you to aspire to such academic accomplishments, but excellence should be part of your personality and everything you attempt will therefore be done with a divine spirit, at school and in life.
One of my favouirte Bible references of excellence comes from Daniel. We learn that though Daniel was taken into captivity, he prayed to our God for relief and God blessed him with a spirit of excellence and the talent of interpreting dreams.
Daniel worshiped God and was a faithful and brilliant servant. Because of his disposition and talent, kings loved Daniel and he was soon elevated through his service to these earthly kings.
As we are told, members of the King’s court, jealous and unable to pursue excellence as Daniel had done, plotted against him and soon Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for going against the King’s command and worshiping the one true God. Even though Daniel found himself in a dire situation, he did not lose faith and with the same spirit of excellence, he prayed to our Lord who protected him from the hungry lions. In the morning when the King woke and realized that Daniel was still alive and indeed his God was the one and true God, we are told in Daniel chapter six and verse three, that:
Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
Students this biblical story reminds us of the rewards that awaits us when we pursue excellence in our lives and that excellence is unattainable if you do not put God first. During this time in your life you will face many challenges, but always remember, you should never be too cool to get on your knees in reverence or to ask God for guidance and for strength.
Every adult in this room will tell you that it is by God’s grace that we all are here today, so I encourage you, go before the Lord and pursue your academics. Chase it with a spirit of excellence that comes from God. I have every assurance, that just like Daniel you will become distinguished and have your chance to contribute to these Virgin Islands.
Training a child in the way they should go, is not an easy task. I am not sure if there are any expert trainees or trainers in understanding our 21st century children, and I say this from experience. In my day, you had two lashes and you knew to sit down and behave. Today’s children are a little smarter, and they come with so many human rights and protections that sometimes you feel as if you need to engage the services of a lawyer to deal with your own child. Nevertheless, I want to encourage our parents.
Many of you are experiencing personal challenges to varying degrees. Sometimes those challenges and the day-to-day demands of providing for a family can take away from the much-needed attention that our children need from you at home.
Parents, I want to tell you that our teachers in our education system’s primary job is to educate our students, to prepare them for their academic and social challenges and to ensure that they are ready, and well equipped to compete with their global counterparts to help advance these Virgin Islands. That is their job. However, they cannot be successful unless as parents, we do our job. We provide and support the physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs of our children.
That includes ensuring that they are in school, on time and in uniform, that they are equipped with the tools they need to learn, that they are where they are supposed to be outside of school hours, that the TV or computer is turned off when the homework isn’t being done and that we are the first example to them of what it means to be respectful to adults and to be good citizens.
Within this congregation, I am sure that many of us can remember teachers that have influenced our lives, and helped develop the persons that we are today.
For me, it has been teachers like the late Mr Elvin “Soupy” Stoutt, Mrs Helen Penn who is here today and Teacher Inez Brathwaite, that played an integral role in setting the tone and an appreciation of learning for me.
Teachers, in your classrooms you may very well have the next Premier, or who knows, the next Prime Minister or if you will, the next President of the Virgin Islands. You may have doctors that will man our hospitals, businessmen and women, engineers and tradesmen. By the selection of your profession, you have agreed to abide by the high standards of one of the oldest and the most honourable of professions. You have chosen to teach your people; you have chosen to take charge of the academic training of our young people, and that is a profound responsibility.
As we pursue excellence, I encourage you to maintain elevated standards and expectations of our students. Challenge them; ensure that when they leave your classroom, they are better students and better citizens. Who wants to go to a doctor who doesn't know what he or she is doing? Everyone wants the best doctors, and those doctors shouldn’t have to come from outside our borders; those doctors should be identified from this very crop of students that we have here in this sanctuary.
But we must first challenge our children to be the best, never second best, but simply the best. In our classrooms, you have the opportunity to share with our young people an appreciation for knowledge and learning. You have the occasion to train our children to appreciate excellence, so that when they become adults and professionals, our community has the chance to further gain from their level of expertise. That is the responsibility of our teachers and I cannot thank you enough for the work that you have already done, but as Minister, as a parent and as a member of the Virgin Islands community, I ask you to pursue excellence as you educate our children and I implore you to lead by example.
I ask all of us today to say a special prayer for the Acting Principal of the Elmore Stoutt High School, Mr Wade Tobin, who was admitted to the hospital on Friday. I had a chance to visit with him on Saturday, and though he is in good spirits, we need God to continuously strengthen him, both physically and spiritually, as the task he is charged with is significant in so many ways. I will ask for us to pray for our students, to also pray for our parents and teachers, to give them the additional strength to support our students in their journey to excellence.
In closing I want to encourage all of us to do our part as adults to be role models for our young people, and even if you do not have school-aged children, please support our students and encourage them in pursuing sound Christian principals.
May God richly bless the students of the Virgin Islands and may His hand guide us all, as we strive for excellence and the opportunity to hear him say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” Thank you and I wish all of our students an enlightening 2012 – 2013 school year.
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