Teachers can help students develop positive self-image

Teachers are well positioned to help their students develop a positive self-image.

This was the view expressed by Dr. Patricia Saul, Principal of the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College, as she spoke during a ceremony held as part of the College’s African Awareness Day celebrations yesterday.

“Too many of our young people have low self-esteem, fuelled in a large measure by how they have been socialised. Too many of them have heard nothing but harsh words. Too many of them have been crushed by condemnation.

Too many of them have had their spirits broken. Our Black youth need to be reminded of their beauty, their brilliance, their potential and the amazing possibilities in their lives,” Dr. Saul observed.

“Teachers are well positioned to help children develop a positive self-image. We need to speak words to our students that motivate and empower them. Many children are not aware of their true potential. So teachers, we need to help students become more aware of themselves and what they can achieve if they put their minds to it,” she maintained

Noting the significance of celebrating African Awareness Day at the College, Dr. Saul said it allowed staff and students alike “a wonderful opportunity to pause and reflect on the challenges that we have had as a Black race and how we have been able to overcome these challenges and thrive as a people.

“It is true that we are now in the month of March and that History Month is usually celebrated in February, but we thought it important enough to draw attention to the day, even though February has ended, for indeed, we should be aware of our African heritage,” she explained.

“Who we are as a people, is extremely important, as we try to make sense of our day to day existence” she added.

“So African Awareness Day is not just about the dressing up. That is part of the (celebrations) and the reflecting on the past. It is about forging a path forward, being fully cognisant of where we have come from, but being more impelled by where we want to go and what it will take to get us there,” Saul told those gathered.

During the celebration, staff and students gathered also heard from Dr. Nlandu Mamingi, Professor of Economics at the UWI, Cave Hill Campus who was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located on the continent of Africa. He was able to enlighten those present about various misconceptions held about the people from Africa and their way of life. He also shared about the natural resources in Africa and the social, economic and political impact globally. (RSM)