Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 22, 2014 News
– as Parent/Teacher meetings for nursery entrants get underway
The final in a series of consultations into the Professional Standards for teachers, is set for next Tuesday (July 29). To date, 61 consultations on the Professional Standards for Teachers have been held across the country.
A statement from the Ministry of Education states that “in a coordinated effort to craft a model professional standard policy document for teachers, the Ministry is hosting a series of public consultations countrywide with a number of key stakeholders.”
This process is designed to gain feedback on ways to improve the Standards, and to invite engagement from the profession.
Through the establishment of professional teacher standards, the Ministry strongly believes the teaching profession will be significantly strengthened, further recognized and aptly placed among the other leading professions in Guyana.
Copies of the draft Professional Standards for Teachers were made available to teachers in the printed form for their perusal and comments. The ministry has also placed the document on its website, www.education.gov.gy to allow for additional comments to be made and to facilitate those who would like to contribute but are unable to physically be present at consultations. In addition, members of the public were invited to submit their comments on the document via email to [email protected].
According to the Ministry, Professional Standards for Teachers set expectations for achieving desired educational outcomes. “These standards are not intended as a tool for punitive action. Rather they reflect professional consensus of what is desirable in the supervision, leadership and delivery of education. They also provide a framework that permits professionals to engage in self-assessment,” added the statement. The proposed standards are aligned to the Organization of American States (OAS), CARICOM and other international standards therefore offer the professional community specifications against which teachers are able to set goals for personal development and progress in the profession.
Moreover, the standards are multi-dimensional and give cognizance to the key props for learning to take place, namely: (a) a motivated and willing learner; (b) effective teaching and learning and, (c) an enabling environment.
Meanwhile, the Ministry in another statement revealed special parent teacher meetings to enlighten parents on the numerous ways in which they can prepare their children for entry into nursery school is gaining considerable momentum.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, during the past week met with parents and teachers of the Smyth Street Nursery School. At that forum she encouraged parents to be their children’s first teachers even as she complimented the parents for attending the meeting, since this suggests that they are serious about their children’s development.
At the meeting too, the Minister highlighted a number of important developmental areas such as, “the child being able to use the toilet and eat independently, knowing their correct name and each of the parent’s names.”
She also noted that it is important that parents teach their children the correct name of their body parts, the alphabet, letter sounds and alphabet recognition. Other skills parents can teach their children in preparation for the first year of nursery include the development small muscles, social skills and manners.
Minister Manickchand made mention of the fact that “this cohort of pupils are coming into the school system at the best time of the history of our country, where every single nursery school child will be benefitting from: a snack every day provided by the government, readers and workbooks, the highest number of trained teachers and $10, 000 each.”
In 2013, the Ministry changed its admission policy into nursery school to allow younger children to enroll into nursery from this year. According to Manickchand, last year it would have been impossible for more than 3,000 children to enter nursery school.
However, the new policy states that a child must be three years-old on or before June 30 of the year their parents enrolled them in a public nursery school.
A number of parent/teacher meetings have been scheduled where the Ministry of Education will be meeting mainly with parents of all the first year nursery school students. This is with the view to inspire parents to play their part in starting the education process at home.
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