Being away from home and your family is often a difficult move but when it comes to your career, at times we act simply off of the interest and love for work. This is the case with Natasha Spencer who moved from Region Three to the remote Morakobai to fill the position of head teacher for the Nursery School.

Spencer left her home village of Stanleytown where she taught at the village school and took up the Head Teacher position at Morakobai Nursery School, three years ago.

She resides in the teacher’s house which is located a stone’s throw away from the school. It is a tidy well put together place which has creative teaching aids, flowers , swings, slides and a play area.

Spencer describes her three-year stay in the village as interesting. She said that the change of environment was good and today, she has blended in quite well in the community and has the support of the locals.

She has been in the teaching profession for the past 25 years and it is evident she loves what she does for a living by her demeanour and the effort she puts in.

Spencer told the Pepperpot Magazine that she enjoys moulding the minds of the young because it brings her joy and seeing them grow academically is rewarding.

“The key to a good future is education and as a teacher, I would give every child the same opportunity to grasp what is taught in the classroom so they can develop into qualified professionals to take up jobs,” she said.

Spencer explained that being a remote village has its disadvantages because textbooks and other materials needed would often arrive late but they do benefit.

She stated that there are 24 learners on roll and she would ensure the school doesn’t lack the basic tools needed to promote face-to-face learning.

Spencer is supported by two other teachers, Bernita France and Crystal Henry, locals of Morakobai Village.

“It was my dream as a child to become a teacher to serve my village and it happened and I am very pleased about it,” France said.

Meanwhile, the young teacher, Crystal Henry reasoned that she always took a liking to small children and her way of giving back is by becoming a teacher.

She has been on the job for only two months but so far, she is loving it.

The three teachers divide the children into groups and take charge of the teaching in sessions.

Salomie Calistro and the Morakobai Primary School
Just next door is the Morakobai Primary School which is headed by the Head Teacher Salomie Calistro, a local of the village who is passionate about teaching.

She has been a teacher since 1992 and it was a career path she took due to inspiration and encouragement of others and coupled with the fact the community needed teachers she took on the challenge was successful.

Today, Calistro has no regrets becoming a teacher because she got to like the job and being back in the classroom is just what she prefers.

She has on roll 97 pupils which is managed and taught by seven teachers.

Calistro explained that they have a special needs class with six children and two teachers are specially attached to that class leaving them in need for two teachers to work on a full time basis.

The Head Mistress told the Pepperpot Magazine that teachers would often multi-task in terms of teaching in sessions due to the shortage in Grade One and Two and it is challenging.

She reported that Morakobai Primary School is a multi-grade school and they have a feeding programme for lunchtime where a meal and a beverage are provided through the Ministry of Education.

The feeding programme was established in 2019 with three cooks in the school’s kitchen and it was a good initiative which saw an increase in enrolment.

“If we get a teacher for every classroom our service will be boosted because we can concentrate on specialised teaching,” she said.

Calistro added that electricity and an internet-ready computer is needed at the school for research and receiving emails and work sheets as a remote village.

She reported that the pupils would benefit from sessions with the Guyana Learning Channel but as a result of their electricity woes it would only take place when they get power for two to three hours during school hours.

In addition to Amerindian Heritage Month, September is also designated Education Month and the Pepperpot Magazine extends kudos to all teachers across Guyana for going beyond the call of duty and their invaluable contribution to society.