— to help educators provide quality education

EDUCATORS from all districts across Guyana are participating in a two-day workshop that seeks to raise awareness on the importance of providing quality education to children during the early stages of their lives.

The Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Guyana-Jamaica Friendship Association (New York) Inc. on Thursday opened the ‘National Early Childhood Education Conference’ at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston.

It is being held under the theme, “Investing in quality early childhood education, stimulation and early intervention.”

Participants include nursery field officers, special education officers, and selected head teachers and district education officers, along with two representatives from the Childcare and Protection Agency.

A number of seasoned professionals who have spent decades in the education sector are on hand to provide the training on topics such as how to identify and support children with developmental delays, best practices for building a strong foundation in young children, the importance of engaging men in schools, understanding exceptional children, and understanding how nutrition impacts the first thousand days of life and children’s learning.
The facilitators include Dr. Michelle Semple-McBean, Mrs. Savvie Hopkinson-Hamilton, Dr. Gloria Thompson, Dr. Carmen Bovell, Dr. Desiree DeFlorimonte, and Ms. Ninian Blair.

Deputy Chief Education Officer, Ingrid Trotman, was also present to chair the proceedings.
Assistant Chief Education Officer Samantha Williams, who has responsibility for nursery education, said the Ministry of Education recognises the importance of ensuring that its educators are current and modern in their approach to teaching and learning.

“If we are going to achieve our said target and our objectives as a ministry, then we have to empower persons who will help us achieve our target,” she expressed, while giving an overview of the workshop.

According to her, the conference will raise awareness on how the educators can best suit the needs of young learners.

“The success of this conference will not be in the two-day exercise, but will be dependent on how much of the skills and knowledge learnt will be practised in all educational settings as the participants return to their various workplaces,” she said.

Gloria Thompson, from the Guyana-Jamaica Friendship Association (New York) Inc., offered that her organisation is happy to be working along with caregivers, educators, and human service providers who are striving to support young children and their parents throughout Guyana.

The conference will seek to deepen the knowledge and skills of the educators regarding quality, early childhood education. “What happens to and for young children during the first years of life has a lasting impact upon their ability to be productive members of society throughout their lives,” Thompson noted.

She said the workshop will provide plenty of opportunities for the participants to listen, learn and have dialogues with one another. She challenged each one of them to make a commitment to return to their places of work and implement at least one of the ideas learnt at the workshop.

Thompson encouraged the educators to pay attention to research about the brain, as it is during the early stages of a child’s life that educators can really make a difference. “As a child grows, the brain continues to develop,” she observed.