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Oct 13, 2019 News, Special Person
“As a teacher, my simple motto is to nurture lives and build futures. When you become a teacher, you realise that it is more than just teaching. You have to love what you do; you have to be a parent to the pupils you teach. In most instances, you have to provide guidance and support, and that of course, serves as a building block for the child’s future. I find joy in doing what I do. I won’t change this career for any other.”
By Feona Morrison
Teachers play a very pivotal role in moulding minds and characters of children. Their relentless efforts to feed knowledge that can last for a lifetime make them stand out as the most selfless individuals who the world will always need. One such teacher is Senior Mistress Monique David who started out in the teaching profession when she was just a teenager.
For David, who is now in her late 30s, in looking back at her journey 20 years later, she has no regrets. In fact, she has served her country with distinction and pride. And though she has already made her mark in the field of academia, David confessed that she has years more of nurturing to give to her pupils, who would often times refer to her as ‘mom’.
David was promoted to Senior Mistress in 2015 but took up the post in 2017 and is presently attached to the La Retraite Primary School, Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara. She is grateful for the promotion but disclosed that it comes with a bit more responsibility since she now has to account for both staff and pupil performance, a task she will continue to perform exceptionally.
EARLY DAYS
David is a “country gal”. She was born at the New Amsterdam Hospital, Berbice to parents Neibert and Michael O’Donoghue. Unfortunately, her father passed away when she was just five years old in a vehicular accident. Along with her stepfather, Leon Robertson, David’s mother, was able to give her a modest upbringing.
She grew up at Onverwagt in Region 5 and revealed that her life there was no different from any other person in the countryside. The mother of three recalled, “It was a typical countryside. You could go fishing, catching crabs, playing games in the pasture, and of course, going to church. It was fun and different from what many children experience now, in terms of the influence of technology in the home.”
Growing up, David said she was heavily influenced by her mother whose profession was in the field of business. She said that she, too, was determined to enter into this field. But after writing CSEC and gaining six subjects, David remained at home for about a year before gaining employment in the teaching profession.
She recounted, “I was at home for about one year because in the country side, you didn’t have many job opportunities. My ambition originally was to work at a bank/financial institution; but there was only one bank in Region 5 at that time.” An aunt of hers, who was a teacher, however, convinced the young David to join the teaching profession and even assisted her with sending out applications. A week later, David was employed to teach at the Bushlot Secondary School.
Opportunities were definitely working in her favour. Around that same time, she was accepted to pursue training at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) in New Amsterdam. David went on to do her teacher’s training and was moved to the Bath Settlement Primary School where she taught from 1999-2002. According to her, being a full time teacher and attending CPCE was “very very challenging”.
“But as teachers together in training, we supported each other. When I tell you it was challenging, it was very challenging because you had to ensure that you prepare your lesson plans and all your other materials to teach as well as get to college on time, which was at 3’o clock in the afternoon. You were also required to complete all assignments and study for examinations without excuses. The lecturers at CPCE in New Amsterdam, they also supported and encouraged the teachers because they knew of our situation.”
She, nevertheless, graduated from CPCE in 2001 and was transferred to the Providence Primary School, East Bank Demerara after marrying the love of her life, Lloyd David, and moved to Nandy Park on the East Bank of Demerara.
FAMILY
Life has not always been about work for David. She spoke fondly of how she met her husband, Lloyd who she married in 2002. She disclosed that she and her husband dated for about two years before they tied the knot. Together, they have three children. Asked to narrate how she met her husband, David laughed whole heartedly as she revealed how she, without hesitation, ignored letters he would send to her home.
According to her, “We were actually from the same village. He attended New Amsterdam Multilateral School and I was at Rosignol Secondary School and around third form, he started sending letters to me with children who were attending his school. But I took it as a joke. So I ignored those letters but I would read them at school with my friends and we would laugh and make mockery. After he finished secondary school, he went on to the Guyana School of Agriculture and there I figured this one must be one from the countryside that has ambition. So I began responding to the letters because he never stopped sending them.”
She said that even after he husband left Berbice to attend the Guyana School of Agriculture, he made it his duty to post letters to her. Growing up in Berbice, David was accustomed to picking fruits and vegetables right from her backyard; but with her relocation to Nandy Park, things were no longer the same. In fact, she described moving to this urban location as a “culture shock”.
The Senior Mistress intimated, “It was a culture shock for me. Rural and urban lifestyles were so different. In the countryside, if you wanted fruits, you could have got them from right in your backyard. But in Nandy Park, you had to purchase everything. I had also moved away from my family for the first time. It was then I realised that life in the urban area was far different from the life I was accustomed to in the country side.”
After acquiring land at La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara in 2010, David and her husband began construction and the next year, the family moved into their dream home and began moulding minds at the Parfaite Primary School also on the West Bank of Demerara for several years.
ANOTHER MOVE
Prior to moving into her own home, David and her family had resided at La Bonne Intention, East Coast of Demerara to facilitate her pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology at the University of Guyana (UG). This was in 2004, and she would then take a transfer to the St. Paul’s Primary School, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara. Again, she would encounter challenges with attending evening classes.
“The school had its full complement of teachers and I wasn’t given approval to pursue studies at university.” Though she had initially intended pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in English, David encountered some difficulties and settled for Sociology.
Apart from this, she holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Education majoring in Administration from UG; she also completed studies in sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS at the Faculty of Health Sciences from UG. This stellar teacher has also acquired certificates in Supervisory Management and Education Management from UG and National Centre for Education Research Development (NCERD), respectively. Apart from these, she has certification in a number of other courses, and has also attended various workshops.
UNFORGETTABLE
No matter what school she is placed to teach, David has always managed to develop an unbreakable bond with her pupils. She related that such a relationship is not only important to a child’s academic upbringing, but also contributes to their social well-being. It is her belief that a strong teacher-student relationship helps students to achieve better results.
Reflecting on one of her most unforgettable moments as a teacher, David proudly recounted, “It was a Valentine’s Day morning; I cannot recall the exact year. And it was with my Grade Six class at St. Paul’s Primary School. I can remember all of the pupils and some of them still call me mom. When I walked into the class, the entire class stood up and they started singing and there was this particular student, Antonio, he is from Plaisance.”
“He started singing ‘Hey pretty lady with the high heels on’ and he started dancing and the motion and the movements, it was confusion in the class that morning. What struck me is that they were able to plan this without me knowing and they did it by themselves, no other teacher was involved. I deemed that my best class because that year, one child got St. Stanislaus College, nine of them were going to St Joseph, four of them to President’s College. So that year was very outstanding.”
CONTRIBUTIONS
Currently, she contributes towards the development of education in her region. She works along with Region Three’s Mathematics Monitor Coordinator to do training sessions for teachers and to host the region’s Mathematics Tent. She also facilitates cluster workshops. “It is a cluster of schools from the regions and you are given half of a day each month to do teacher training/development sessions. Different subject areas are selected based on what difficulties teachers are experiencing.”
OTHER SIDE
While David admitted that she never takes a break from teaching, she said she finds time to give back to her community.
She stated, “I also do a bit of charity work on my own in my community. I would acquire school supplies and donate them to families in my community that are in need and to churches. I am into gardening; I do both flower and fruit plants. I do not sell the produce. I share them with my fellow teachers, my students and I use them in my home.”
A look around her garden would reveal a wide variety of plants: aloe vera, mint, sweet pepper, croton, cassava, banana, golden apple, lemon, just to name a few. She is also a nature lover. “So you would find me in the outdoors. I am not a party person. I am very spiritual so you would also find me in Church.”
TEACHING THEN AND NOW
“As a teacher, my simple motto is to nurture lives and build futures. When you become a teacher, you realise that it is more than just teaching. You have to love what you do; you have to be a parent to the pupils you teach. In most instances, you have to provide guidance and support, and that of course, serves as a building block for the child’s future. I find joy in doing what I do. I won’t change this career for any other,” the longstanding educator revealed.
She further revealed, “If I were to compare teaching in my early years to now I would definitely say that teaching in my early years was easier in that you would find children who are driven and self-motivated, less distracted and parents were there to support the children. However, now, what I find is that you, the teacher, have to actually spend a lot of time encouraging children and even their parents to assist their children with their work. So what happens is that you spend quite a considerable amount of time talking with the children showing them the importance of education to their lives.”
“To me, it is not that parents do not have the interest, but now most parents are out working so many children are left alone and do not enjoy the benefit of parental guidance and supervision when they get home from school. Some children are also burdened with parental responsibilities, taking care of themselves and other siblings, while the parents are out fending for the family. And, of course, if children are left alone, they will prefer to engage in other activities rather than study and get school work done,” is an observation made by this veteran educator.
Her advice to teachers is “Develop a love for what you do and do it with passion. You have the power to influence and change the lives of the children you teach. These children become our future and we need to play our part to ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to make that future bright.” For her continued contributions towards the teaching profession, we at Kaieteur News bestow Senior Mistress Monique David with our title of ‘Special Person’ of the week.
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