Dame Jennifer’s Speech: BDA Union of Teachers

November 9, 2010

In her first official address to the Bermuda Union of Teachers [BUT] this morning [Nov 9], Minister of Education Dame Jennifer Smith spoke of Bermuda’s education system as being at a critical juncture. She also emphasised the importance of the Ministry and the BUT being in unison in order to ensure the success of Bermuda students.

The full text of Dame Jennifer’s speech is below:

Good morning…to Mr. Michael Charles – General Secretary,

Ms. Keisha Douglas – President, Mr. Shannon James – Vice President and Conference Organiser, to the Executive Members of the BUT and to our Keynote Speaker Dr. Robyn Jackson of MindSteps Washington DC, to our other Overseas Presenters, our distinguished local Presenters and last but not least…to our Teachers

Well, it feels like old times!

Thank you for inviting me to make a few remarks at your 27th Annual Conference.

Let me begin by stating the obvious…all is not well!

Our education system is at a critical juncture – and we are called on to ensure that every student is on the path to success.

The challenges we face in public education will be solved when we support public education.

In the 400 years of our existence, I know of no entity that has ever come by sea or by air to solve our problems.

Our problems are ours to solve. And I know that – collectively – we can find the solutions.

Bermuda – please understand that the majority of our students get up and go to school and do their best. They are talented, marvelous young people and we must herald their accomplishments and support them.

We must – as the old song says: “Accentuate the positive”.

We must learn to dialogue with each other when we have disagreements. Solutions can always be found through dialogue with the correct entity.

As you have already heard through the media, I will be calling on the community as a whole to give public education the support it needs. There are a few projects that will be announced over the coming weeks that will demonstrate the public/private partnerships that I am looking for.

Although the school day coincides with the work day, I am sure that together we can come up with a workable solution that will see parents being allowed to play an even more active and meaningful role in their children’s education day.

Over 30 years of statistics has proven that when an adult is involved in a child’s education the child experiences:

  • higher grades
  • higher test scores
  • higher graduation rates
  • lower rates of suspension
  • decreased use of drugs and alcohol
  • greater enrolment in post secondary education.

And this is what we all want for our young people, and for our country.

From the top of the Ministry, right down through to the classroom and the parents in the home, we all have a role to play in Education.

We have a lot to do and as we move forward, we will be mindful of your desire to cause as little disruption as possible.

I can assure you – there will be no surprises. I intend to communicate and to listen; but I also intend to make decisions and – when I do – I will set out clearly the rationale for those decisions. I believe that we are united in our desire to give our students the best opportunity for success. And I am committed to regular meetings with your Union so that we have a regular forum in which to discuss issues.

I wish you all the best with your conference.

Please know that I appreciate the work that you do on behalf of our children.

Thank you.

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Comments (2)

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  1. Dee says:

    Dame Jennifer…I love that you used the word “adult” and not parent(s). Teachers, aunts, uncles and even neighbors can make that difference. I pray that we can all care enough to get involved and make the difference!!!

  2. andy p says:

    Well said! I think the Dame is the perfect minister to care of what needs to be done for our education system. She’s been pretty quiet on the political scene since Brown’s tenure that you almost forgot she was even Deputy Speaker, but she’s back and i’m interested to see what ideas she has planned to shake up our school system!