By Colin Bynoe

THE Oxford English Dictionary defines the word ‘special’ as: “someone exceptional in quality, of degree, and distinguished from others of the kind by a particular quality or feature.”

A ‘hero’ is described as “a person admired and venerated for his or her achievements and noble qualities in any field”.
Whatever you choose to call them, there are many such persons in society who, every single day of their lives, give selflessly toward improving the lives of others.

The majority of them will never receive a national award, and the truth is that, if offered, they would probably decline because their motive is not to be rich and famous or to receive accolades, but rather to humbly make a positive difference in society, and by extension the human race.
One such person is current President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), Mark Lyte, who believes that education is the pillar on which our nation stands.

EARLY DAYS
Born to Charles and Joan Lyte on the July 12, 1971 in Bent Street, Workmanville, Georgetown, Mark’s father worked as a carpenter while his mother, who is now deceased, was a respected housewife. In his formative years, Mark attended Central Primary School. The family then moved to Nurney Village on the Corentyne in 1979 where he attended Kildonan Primary. He recalled, “I grew up in a humble and poor family,” Mark recalled. “I remember walking to and from school [before] I later acquired a bicycle.”

Later on in his cherished childhood, after successfully completing his Common Entrance Exams, he moved on to the Winifred Gaskin Memorial Secondary for five years. After completing his CXC exams, and gaining passes in six subjects, his first calling dawned upon him. In 1990 Mark studied Theology in St Vincent for two years. After his two years’ schooling, he returned to the country of his birth and began his ministry in 1992 at the Church of Christ Ministry.

But in addition to his ministry, Mark then found purpose in teaching when he moved to the town of Rose Hall in 1993. His desire to be gainfully employed began at his alma mater, Winifred Gaskin Memorial Secondary, where he started as a part-time teacher in 1993, for two years. “There was a need at the school, it was similar to ministry, which was my first calling,” he said. He was 22 at the time but even then, was sure that teaching was the way to go.

“Back then I taught Accounts, Business, and Office Procedure,” said Mark of his early teaching days. With a smirk on his face, he said that it was no small task to teach at a school that wasn’t remotely among the top performing. Coincidently, the first batch for Cyril Potter College of Education training (CPCE) opened in the Rose Hall area in 1995 where he ventured to improve his qualifications, majoring in Social Studies. To gain such entry into CPCE one had to be a permanent teacher. During this same period, he was then appointed to Corentyne Comprehensive High School on October 10, 1995. Mark taught there from his time of appointment to 2006; a span of 11 years.

ADVANCEMENT IN HIS PROFESSION
During that period, he moved from a Temporary Qualified Master (TQM) to an Assistant Master (AM). His sojourn to the University of Guyana (UG) spanned from 2003 to 2005 during which time he obtained his Certificate in Education. After completing his Certificate in Education at the University of Guyana (UG), ‘Sir Mark’, as he is now called, was then promoted to Head of Department (HOD) Social Studies at J C. Chandisingh Secondary in 2006. He, however, continued his schooling at UG thereby completing his Bachelors in Education.

As a result of his successful completion of his Degree, Sir Mark was again promoted, this time to the position of Deputy Head teacher at Tutorial Academy in New Amsterdam. His stint at Tutorial, however, was short as he served there for only about three months. His need for upward mobility swiftly increased and in 2010 ‘Sir Mark’ began reading for his Master’s Degree in Curriculum Instruction at the University of Guyana, completing it two years later. A decision by the educator saw him tutoring at the University of Guyana, Tain Campus, Corentyne for only 14 months, as he recognised teaching at the tertiary level was not his calling, as according to `Sir Mark’ he felt detached.

“I wanted to be involved in the lives of children; I found it more rewarding working with children, rather than working on a full-time basis with adults,” he said. That saw a twist of fate when he moved back to Tutorial Academy in 2014. Shortly after returning to the former school, `Sir Mark’ was promoted in September 2014 to post of headmaster at Port Mourant Secondary.

His prowess in education is due to having in excess of 12 years of experience at CPCE, where he is currently serving as a part-time lecturer, as well as the University of Guyana, Tain Campus. This educator has so far molded the life of students of four secondary schools -Winifred Gaskin Memorial Secondary, Corentyne Comprehensive High, J.C. Chandisingh Secondary, and Tutorial Academy Secondary. His skills are also imparted to teachers at the University of Guyana and the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) where he does part time lecturing.

“Students had to be taught everything back then in a more primitive manner. There were not enough textbooks; everything had to be notes; it was tedious,” `Sir Mark’ said.
“I believe that the education system has evolved tremendously now that each child can have a textbook, so it makes it a lot easier to work with children. I have recognised that the internet has now allowed our children to do their own research.

So, the internet has becomes the wider library, and once used properly our children will learn a lot,” he said. He stated that another challenge is “the distraction created by social media-` Facebook’; noting that some (children) use the internet for the wrong reasons. We have other social ills that pull the children away so the hardest thing is keeping them focused on what is important.”

‘I LOVE MY CAREER’
“I have enjoyed my teaching career and I believe as a teacher I have been able to impact and impart a lot of morals and educational principles in the life of our young people”, a proud `Sir Mark’ said

Presently, `Sir Mark’ is the President of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), a portfolio in which he serves well. He has had the opportunity to interact with teachers from all of the regions, as well as the educational districts. His main aim is to see a much better partnership with the Education Ministry, to make things better.

Mark also gave high praises to the new Chief Education Officer (CEO) Marcel Hutson. “I think he’s a very understanding person, and we have been able to get things done working with him thus far. However, there are other stakeholders in Education that make teachers’ life difficult,” he explained.

Mark believes that education must create a space where people can partner with parents and the business community, so that the country will produce people who will add to society and make it a better place. “One thing teachers are longing for is better facilities, in keeping with what is happening with the rest of the world educationally. I think we have a far way to go but we are on course as a nation. I believe education is the pillar on which our nation stands, and without education, our country would not go anywhere,” he posited.