Governor General of Barbados, His Excellency Sir Elliott Belgrave, speaks with Infants A pupils of Workman’s Primary, as (standing from left) Principal Anthea Newton-Gadsby and teachers Gavin Alleyne and Desiree Mapp look on.
“Parents from middle and upper class families, the children have the edge, because their parents can help them and they don’t leave it all up to the teachers. Children from the working class districts don’t always have somebody to help them and it makes the responsibility of the teacher that much harder. So the teachers at a school like this must be aware of these problems which confront their charges and go the extra mile. Don’t throw up your arms and say, that is not my problem,” Sir Elliott advised the teachers present.
Turning his attention to the students he told them, “One does not secure a solid education by just hoping for it. One must work hard in order to get it. And as I said earlier, the child from a humble home has got to work that much harder, especially if your parents are not qualified enough to provide the extra assistance of which I spoke.”
Noting that he was once a teacher and that he is well aware of the “heavy responsibility” teachers have in getting a child that is either not too bright or simply not willing to work hard to learn, the Governor General nevertheless noted that a good teacher who loves teaching and is happy at work, will find creative solutions to get students interested in learning.