‘You can’t go to classroom looking sexy’- Dr Maurice D. Smith tells teachers
This hard talk was given by Registrar and Chief Administrative Officer of University of the West Indies (UWI) Dr Maurice D. Smith, who was the keynote speaker at the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports Professional Development Day at Eileene L. Parsons Auditorium, H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) on Monday, August 28, 2023.
“You definitely need to have the proper perspective. When you take education and put it under a microscope, it is not so much the knowledge you impart to students. It is not so much what you give to them. It is your ability to reach into the lives, into the minds of those students and pull out what hidden potential is there.”
Dr Smith said in order to do this, teachers must be role models, be humble, and respectful, and demonstrate they are also educated. He added that there are persons with degrees upon degrees and yet they are no help to the education process.
Dress the part!
“If you are going to move full STEAM ahead you have got to have the proper perspective. If you are going to teach you have to dress the part. You can’t go to the classroom looking sexy, forgive me…There was a time when we as Caribbean people understood that undergarments were undergarments. These are the days when there is nothing left to the imagination. You can’t be a teacher and not be appropriately attired. Am I getting myself in trouble already?
“When you get to school everything must be in its rightful place, nothing pointing, nothing leading. You must have the proper perspective. You must understand there is a line of demarcation between the teacher the adult and the child in the classroom.”
Education transforms!
Dr Smith continued that he administers about 15 graduation ceremonies for about 9000 children each year, and he has said to his people he is quickly approaching the day where he is going to get up and walk off the stage, “because I refuse to sit on a platform administering ceremonies and you have people stepping up for first class honours degree and I can see their underwear, that is not what education is about.
“Education transforms what you know. Education transforms how you think. Education transforms how you dress, how you carry yourself, how you walk, how you speak, how you interact with other people. The more educated you are the more humble you are. The more educated you are is the better you are able to connect with other people,” Dr Smith stated.
Other persons giving remarks at the Professional Development Day were Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7), Minister for Education, Youth Affairs and Sports Hon Sharie B. de Castro (AL) and Acting Chief Education Officer Orlandette R. Crabbe.
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29 Responses to “‘You can’t go to classroom looking sexy’- Dr Maurice D. Smith tells teachers”
Unfortunately, that is not the case for some of us. Sadly the real victims of it all is the poor public school child and or children who does not have a parent or guardian to advocate for them.
SHOULD BE SHOWN TO THE PERSON THAT IS THERE TO HELP YOU ON YOUR WAY IN YOUR EARLY STAGES OF YOUR LIFE , AND THAT IS VERY ESSENTIAL FOR AFTER THEIR SCHOOL DAYS ARE FINISHED AND THEY HAVE GO OUT INTO THE WORLD SEEKING A JOB TO EARN AN HONEST LIVING ETC
Please men, find something more worthwhile to talk about. Women have had to put up with your unwanted opinions since the dawn of time and its boring.