Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Orville London told school principals in Tobago he believes they deserve a raise in pay but at the end of the exercise they also have to do a lot of work because there is no one else to do it. “All of you have the responsibility that goes beyond half past eight to three. All of you have a responsibility that goes beyond mastering the curriculum. All of you have a responsibility that goes beyond the walls of the classroom,” he told them at the Tobago Principals’ Conference at the Vanguard Hotel, Lowlands. The conference, hosted by the Division of Education, Youth Affairs and Sport, had as its theme—Creating the Image of School Leadership In a Dynamic Environment.
London, who delivered the feature address at the conference, also urged the principals to determine what it meant for them to be a leader. “Can I be a leader of a school without seeing myself as a leader of society, of Tobago society? Am I guiding and conducting students only to pass examinations or do I have a bigger role to play?” he asked. London said no one could do that for them, adding that “the teachers of the past saw themselves in that role; that is why teachers became choir masters, Scout leaders and so on because they saw themselves moving beyond the classroom.” The Chief Secretary continued: “I am saying if you don’t do it you just wouldn’t be able to get it done and I just want your conscience to prick you a little bit because that is the responsibility as teachers. “I think you deserve the raise of pay, you deserve plenty money but at the end of the exercise you also have to do plenty work because there is no one else to do it.”
London said principals had to recognise two things—the magnitude of the task ahead and that it would only be performed with success if they understood the need for balance. “It is a task which you cannot do alone but you need the support of your teachers, support of your students, and support of the parents. “I am suggesting that it is a task you only have a chance to succeeding at if you recognise that in the final analysis it is all about respect,” he said. London told the principals what happened to Tobago in 2031 depended to a large extent on them. “You have got to ask yourself what I am teaching? Am I teaching a student? Am I teaching somebody who I might want to contribute as a Tobagonian to Tobago? “There are some things that have to be taught, there are some attitudes that have to be developed and I am saying that in the present circumstances you the teachers have to do it, and the church and the groups.”
London said “one of the biggest challenges facing us as Tobagonians is whither goes Tobago and whither goes Tobagonians.” He asked: “Ten years down the road are Tobagonians going to become second and third class citizens in their own space? I am saying this has got to do with how prepared they are intellectually, how prepared they are physiologically, how prepared they are spiritually and you have got to understand that it is not just how many people pass for SEA, for their first choice or improved because we have got to get beyond the numbers.” The Chief Secretary added: “There is an arithmetic of education but there is also a sociology of education with which you all have to treat and except you are in that mindset and understand the importance of that, you are going to end up nurturing and educating bright young Tobagonians who are going to grow up in an environment as second and third class citizens because they don’t have the correct attitude.
“I am concerned about the future of Tobagonians and I am saying that we cannot and should not insulate or isolate Tobago from the rest of the world. Our only hope is preparing Tobagonians to be able to control it and that is not just about which we are, it is about the kind of attitude,” London said.
