NATHLEE R. GRANT
As far as I recall, I have been teaching, in some way, shape, form or another. Nevertheless, being a teacher is not a career I embrace. For me, the act was simply sharing my knowledge, i.e. sharing what I have learnt or discovered with those I believe would have benefited. These included members of my family as well as friends, classmates and neighbours.
Upon enrolling at the Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI) as a student of Information and Communication Technology, my passion for programming developed. It grew during the early phases of my study. As a strong student in the area, I was often found in classrooms, after classes, explaining challenging topics to my fellow classmates, who were convinced that I had loved to teach far more than I loved programming. they would encourage me to channel my gift into the field of education.
As years passed, the experiences gathered and the studies completed have provided me the opportunity to delve deeper into my greatest passion, finding solutions. This has even shaped one of my philosophies which says, “there is a solution to all problems”. These two reasons, my passion and philosophy, are why I am on the journey to pursue the Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and Management. I intend to use my passion and philosophy to provide a solution to a system which has students who spend over 14 years in schools from pre-school to secondary and yet leave unable or just plain demotivated to read and write.
I have chosen to switch my area of specialty and thus pursued the Post Graduate Diploma in Education and Training at the VTDI. Research for particular courses, especially “Issues, Reading and Research in Specialized Areas” revealed the effort my country, Jamaica, has placed in combating issues riddled in our education system. One such effort is class size reduction. Another is resourcing. Both have been experimented with improving the achievement of students across the island. However, in my estimate, these factors may not be sufficient and could be further strengthened by redefining the meaning of school. Presently, the definition of school, in summary, is an institution established for teaching and learning. This concept may suggest that it is up to children to learn as long as teachers teach. But I put it to you, what if school is conceptualized as the place that shapes and prepares a mind for the future. As a solutionist, I therefore believe new approaches, perceptions and strategies can be implemented to combat problems if they were properly explored. consequently, the presence of strong leadership must be established, as leadership is expected to change the school culture Levin (2009 as cited in Courville, 2011)
