The Hon. T. Desmond Bannister, Minister of
Education;
His Excellency Hu Shan, Ambassador of the
People’s Republic of China to The Bahamas;
The Hon. Alfred M. Sears, Member of Parliament
for Fort Charlotte;
Other Government Officials;
Mrs. Elma Garraway, Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Education;
Mr. Lionel Sands, Director of Education;
Members of the family of the Late Theodore Grant
Glover;
Bishop Carl Lafernier and other Members of the
Clergy;
Ministry and Department of Education Officials;
Mrs. Cassandra Forbes, Principal;
Administrators, Teachers, Staff,
Parents and Students;
Good Morning.
I am pleased to be here
this morning for the official opening and dedication of the new T.G. Glover
Primary School.
I wish to acknowledge
the family, friends, and former colleagues and students of the late T.G. Glover
in whose memory we rededicate this institution of learning and character
formation.
Theodore Grant Glover, a
son of Inagua, was what we might call a natural-born teacher. He began his teaching career as a
Monitor, at the age of 12. He came to be known and regarded as a dedicated
educator committed to the development of the whole child.
He taught during a
period in our history when respect for authority and the value of obtaining a
good education was of paramount importance He made it his business to reinforce
these virtues consistently to students and peers alike. Over almost 50 years, he served as a
teacher and headmaster in a number of Family Islands and in New Providence and
as an administrator at the Board of Education which subsequently became the
Ministry of Education.
Throughout his tenure as
an educator he was known for taking a keen interest in the welfare of his
students, visiting many of their homes to meet with parents and to discuss the
progress of his charges. He exemplified the role of both teacher and
administrator.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The first institution
named for Mr. T.G. Glover was a junior high school.Subsequently, with the closure of a number of small primary
schools the name T.G. Glover was attached to a primary school. Then, as my Government began during the
1990s to amalgamate, upgrade and expand inner-city primary schools like the Woodcock
and Albury Sayles Primary Schools, which were made like new, and converted the
Willard Patton into a preschool for 4 year olds, the poorly constructed T.G.
Glover School was closed and its administrative and teaching staff and students
temporarily dispersed to different school campuses.
I want to apologize to
the Principal, staff, and students of the T.G. Glover Primary School for the inordinate
time during which they have been housed in trailer classrooms. To your credit,
you persevered and sought to excel under difficult circumstances. Today, I wish
to publicly commend all of you for the patience and commitment displayed while you
awaited the completion of this facility.
The completion of this
new campus has been long in coming.Construction commenced in October, 2006 and was to have been completed
in March 2009 at a cost of some $10 million. In fact the facility was only finally completed in September
last year at a substantially higher price – some $16 million.
The project was plagued
with difficulties: first caverns and sink holes at the site had to be backfilled
and stabilized; then debris had to be removed from what appears to have been an
early landfill on the grounds - for abandoned cars and old furniture; then a
skin malady affecting some of the construction crew had to be investigated and
addressed; and then the roof of the Assembly Building collapsed- due to
deficiencies in its design. An
extension of the contract to September, 2010 proved inadequate and it was not
until last year, September, 2011 that the school was able to commence
occupation.
But, this is a new
day. And, it is a good day for
this school community.This is
quite a facility. I await
recommendations from the Department of Education as to how this school will be
populated! I note that the opening
of this school permits us to close the Naomi Blatch Primary School which will,
like Willard Patton, become a pre-school for 4 year old children. It is possible that those
recommendations could propose the amalgamation of the Mable Walker Primary
School with T.G. Glover and the conversion of Mable Walker into another
pre-school for 4 year old children.
This would necessarily involve the busing of children from the catchment
area of the Mable Walker School.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
In human society, the highest
duty is the education, training and development of social skills in the next
generation. The development of children and young people involves many rites of
passage through which females grow into womanhood and males into manhood.
It is the shared
responsibility of the family, the church, civil society and schools to offer
our youth firm guidance and opportunities for growth, personal fulfillment and
the appropriate socialization.
This guidance and growth are essential facilities to these rites of
passage in enabling our youth to progress from one level of learning or
competency or skill to the next in proper sequence.
There are both positive
and negative rites of passage.
Children are a blessing and gifts from God. They must be nurtured and reared with love and discipline so
as to receive the maximum of all that is right and good, and so as to minimize
negative influences.
Too often in our society
today too many children have to fend for themselves, even from an early age.
Too many children, even in our primary schools, are burdened with the
responsibility, too early, of helping to rear their younger brothers and
sisters. One result of our societal failings is that some children are themselves
becoming parents when they should be finishing school or starting a
career. Having a child early in
life and before the completion of high school is certainly not the proper
sequence in this rite of passage.
As a people we must face these social problems, among
them the prevalence of dangerous drugs and the influence of neighbourhood
gangs, and must do everything in our power to discourage troubling rites of
passage that ruins the prospects and lives of too many, especially young
men. I speak, particularly, of
membership and active participation in gangs, the use of narcotic drugs and the
dangerous and often criminal gang activity. Our information has invariably
revealed that such street gangs are led and inspired by older persons who,
thereby, prey upon and exploit such children by enticing them with the false
“social security” of gang membership.
The sad spectacle of
young men in chains and handcuffs on our television screens going to court or
prison has become a badge of honour and a rite of passage for some. There is no honour in this and the sad result
of such a rite of passage is one of wasted lives, blighted hopes, stunted
employment prospects and often early deaths.
For those who believe
that possession of a dangerous weapon or the selling of drugs makes them a man,
this is a fool’s courage. Trading
in dangerous weapons and guns may both have deadly consequences. And, both will
lead to the sad ritual of mothers and fathers seeing their sons going to their
graves at an unnatural age.
As a people, we must
encourage and strengthen the rites of passage which will encourage our young
people to realize their gifts and potential while discouraging attitudes and
behaviour which destroy their lives, and too often the lives of others, and which
cripple our society.
This is the place where
the students of T.G. Glover must concentrate their attention on learning to
read and write, add and subtract and become good at all those things taught in
our primary schools, courtesy and good manners, cleanliness and good hygiene.
These expansive new, state-of-the art facilities will serve the children of Pitt
Road, Fort Charlotte, Chippingham, Ardastra Estates, and surrounding
communities.
Students,
I cannot say too often that you must do your very best to learn to
read, and that you should read often.
A person who is able to read and understand cannot be stopped from learning. Reading is the foundation of all other
knowledge whether you pursue an academic future, a technical or vocational
future – instructions always come in written form. You must learn to read so
that you can succeed, so that you can lead!
Teachers and
Administrators:
Let this be the school that will not pass on to the Junior High in
your catchment area – T.A. Thompson Junior High – any students who only read
far below their grade level and who are never able to catch up.Let’s ensure that they learn their
grammar here; that they learn their arithmetic here; let them leave here
knowing their multiplication tables and knowing how to add, subtract and
divide.
Parents:
Your children’s teachers
can never be a substitute for the love, care, discipline and firm guidance that
a parent or guardian can bestow. Teachers cannot be expected to be substitute
parents. Each of you has a duty, not only to your own children, but to the
wider society, to fully perform the vital job of a good parent, and to seek to
encourage your friends and neighbours, and those parents or guardians who are
not here today also to do likewise.
Parents, I know that you
have waited a long time for this day. So let this day and every day hereafter
be a day for you to cherish this school as a valued community asset. Let this
school be a beacon which will light the way towards a revitalization and transformation
of not only the community, but of the lives and potential achievements of every
child who graces its halls.
As a result of the
efforts that I urge you to make, not only today, but at all times, let this be
the primary school with the best attendance by parents at PTA meetings. Let this be the School Board that
receives the best support from parents and guardians. Let this be the primary school where parents respect the
teachers and make every possible effort to ensure that their children attend
school regularly, complete homework assignments and set some time aside for
study. You must show them that
learning is important and that you take special pride in their achievements in
school.
Dear Students of T. G.
Glover:
Learn your lessons well.
Let this be the primary school
with a reputation for having good students, who take pride in their school
facilities, and who take great care to keep their school in excellent
condition. Take a page from the
students at Woorcock Primary who ensure every day that their school is well
maintained; indeed they refer to their school as their palace. Let T.G. Glover be your castle. Let this be the school where discipline
and hard work, fortitude and vision are evident. Let this be the primary school that actively encourages
community service.And, let this
be the school that teaches us about generosity and self-sacrifice, teaches us
about the demands of citizenship and the demands of love of neighbour as oneself.
In the end, every
positive rite of passage requires networks of generosity in which adults --
parents, guardians, mentors, teachers, coaches, big brothers and sisters --
lend a caring heart and a guiding hand.
Those societies which
flourish and maintain their traditions are one’s in which children and young
people are guided to adulthood and fuller citizenship through rites of passage
which tell the next generation how to be men and women.
We have much to be proud
of in many young Bahamians. But,
we can always be better as a nation.
So let us ever discourage those negative rites of passage which burden
the nation. And let us encourage
those positive rites of passage that will manifestly unleash the goodness,
generosity and gifts of the greatest investments in our future.
These investments are
these beautiful children here today, of whom we have been given the privilege
of guiding.
I wish to acknowledge
the work of all those involved in the completion of this project: the staff of
Ministry and Department of Public Works, the Hon. Neko Grant, Minister of
Public Works and Transport, Mr. Ashward Ferguson and Mr. Timothy Johnson,
Architects; Mr. E.R. Hanna, General Contractor, and all of the Sub-Contractors
and workmen who laboured to bring this building to the state of the art
institution that we see here today.
I thank the Minister of
Education, the Honourable T. Desmond Bannister and the personnel of the
Ministry and Department of Education for their commitment to the children of
our nation.
Once again, I
acknowledge the Principal, Mrs. Cassandra Forbes and the administration,
teachers and staff of the T.G. Glover Primary School for the dedication,
perseverance and hard work that they displayed throughout the process of
re-opening the school and their part in organizing the festivities for today. I
also thank the Members of the School Board for the role they play in assisting
with the smooth operation of the school.
I close by thanking the parents and guardians who recognize the
importance of parental involvement in the school’s success and are present
consistently to support their children and the work of the school.
It now gives me great
pleasure, in honour of an outstanding Bahamian educator, to declare the T.G.
Glover Primary School officially re-opened.
