Dear Editor:
WHEN I wrote the Common Entrance Examination for the first time I got Alleyne’s High School and on my second try, Richard Ishmael Secondary School. My six years at Richard Ishmael shaped my life in ways I could not imagine it would when I held the Common Entrance results in my hand. Richard Ishmael was an education. The teachers were dedicated.
My first exposure to debating was at high school; those experiences live with me. My first chance at leadership was serving as a Prefect. Some of the lessons from that simple task I still carry with me. The extra-curricular activities were a blessing, I grabbed the opportunity to help organise concerts etc. and was an eager spectator at sporting events. What was a greater blessing was a good family and more particularly, a great mother who inspired me every step of the way.
The empowerment of my mother in making sure I had all I needed for school and the motivation she gave told me very early in life I could do anything with my life. I went to Richard Ishmael Secondary proudly. It was not considered by any measure a “top school,” but that did not stop me from going on to higher education, earning certification in Industrial Relations and Management, a diploma in Communication Studies and Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB); currently,I’m in the stages of the Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies.
Richard Ishmael inspired me to give back more than 10 years teaching experience to the sector. I would go on to work for the Office of the Prime Minister and serve in the second highest position in the largest municipality in our country. The salient point I leave with you is that the school you go to is not the final word on who you become in life, the same way the Bible tells us a man’s life is not determined by its beginnings. I leave with you another biblical injunction which has served me well: “The race is not for the swift, nor the battle for the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11) Good teachers, great family, some motivation and encouragement, self-determination and the purposes of God being fulfilled in our lives all go towards who we become and not just the high school we go to. Congrats to all Guyana’s children who wrote these exams. God bless you.
Regards
Sherod Avery Duncan, LLB, JP.
Deputy Mayor, Municipality of Georgetown