Basic school teachers complete Toronto study tour
TORONTO, Canada – Jamaica’s Acting Consul General in Toronto, Dale Jones has reiterated that a sound early childhood education was the most solid foundation for social and economic advancement.
Jones was speaking recently at a reception held at the Jamaican Consulate General for seven Jamaican early childhood educators who were wrapping up a two-week study tour with Toronto-based George Brown College.
“In this highly informative age, early childhood education (ECE) is of paramount importance,” said Jones. “The George Brown Centre for Early Childhood Development is very cognisant of this fact and they have also recognised the strides we have made in Jamaica, in early childhood education.”
Five of the participants, including Dave McNeish, Clinton Smith, Sandra Minto, Wilma Reid and Christine Nembhard, attend Shortwood Teachers’ College (STC). Accompanying them were Faye Dixon, a lecturer at STC and Maisie Hunt from the DRB Trust.
The teachers visited a number of Early Childhood institutions in Toronto from February 11 to 25 to gain first-hand knowledge of best practices in the ECE sector.
Christine Nembhard thanked George Brown College for giving the students the experience of a lifetime. “As educators, it is good for us to go into another country and see how they do things. We get fresh ideas. We are going back to Jamaica with a wealth of knowledge and this experience is going to enrich and enhance our effectiveness as early childhood educators,” Nembhard noted.
The reception was facilitated by Women for PACE (Canada), a charitable organisation that has adopted approximately 140 basic schools across Jamaica.
The Acting Consul General praised the organisation and thanked its members for “their tireless efforts to facilitate Early Childhood education in our homeland,” noting that their partnerships with different educational institutions and agencies have spelt “improvement for ECE in Jamaica and Canada”.
Also in attendance were George Brown, Professor Lynn Wilson and 13 ECE students, who did a two-week field placement in January at several basic schools in Portmore, St Catherine. The students shared their experiences and knowledge gained from spending one week at Sabina, Silverstone and Marlin Avenue Basic schools, as well as at the Portmore Daycare Centre.
