ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) — President of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), Howard Isaacs, has urged members to constantly remind themselves of the principles under which the association was formed.

Addressing the opening of the JTA’s annual three-day Education Conference, at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, St James, on April 18,  Isaacs noted that the founders of the JTA, in setting out clearly defined guidelines, wanted members to adhere and be guided by a certain type of behaviour.

“When our forefathers established the JTA, they established an association that would focus on us as members,” he said.

“They itemised categorically where they wanted the association to go. And quite early in the objectives that they established, they said that we should be developing professional, ethical and high moral standards,” Isaacs said.

The president said he has personally taken the time over the past month to do some reflection on what is happening with education, and the programme that would be presented for discussion at the 16th annual education conference.

“The only conclusion I could draw is that we are indeed connecting the dots today. When you look at the programme, you will recognise that we have a plethora of issues that are going to be addressed by different persons. It’s not going to be educators in the truest sense that are going to be here. We have brought in other persons who have been impacting our society and who we want to hear from. We also want them to hear from us as we connect the dots,” he said.

For his part, the JTA’s Secretary General, Byron Farquharson, said that whilst the JTA is seen more for trade union activities, the organisation also wants to be recognised and embraced as a professional organisation that strives for excellence in teachers and the whole learning experience.

“We readily embrace the opportunity to create forums such as these where our members can be stimulated, encouraged and where their ideas can be reinforced and expanded, so that ultimately the education of all our children will be improved,” Farquharson noted.