Today was celebrated as Teacher's Day and while all teachers are special, tomorrow night the Anglican Church will select 5 Super Teachers from within their schools. The selection process began months ago when 18 teachers from Anglican run schools were nominated. A selection committee then vetted the nominees. Tomorrow those nominees will be honored at a "Spotlight on Excellence" banquet at the Princess. Today we caught up with two of the nominees for Super Teacher, Joy Ross and Lynette Flowers-Collins. They have a combined teaching experience of 73 years. So what makes them super? Well we asked we these teachers.
Lynette Flowers-Collins, Teacher, St. Mary's School
"I just didn't really believe. It was unbelievable because I didn't really want to be a part of it. I just felt there was somebody else more deserving than myself."
Keith Swift,
What do you think you do different than other teachers?
Lynette Flowers-Collins,
"I just give of my time. I am always the last one to leave the compound, always going that extra mile."
Keith Swift,
What keeps you in the classroom?
Lynette Flowers-Collins,
"The children. The children most of all. You go to sleep thinking about how can you get across to some child that is having problems. You wake up in the morning and you keep thinking how can I do this, how can I do that, so it's a continuous job whether you are on the job or out of the job."
Joy Ross, Teacher, All Saints' School
"I look at teaching the entire child. Its not only one aspect. I teach the whole child and I try to interact with them in group work and also I find that those who have difficulties I work with them on a one to one basis."
Keith Swift,
After 40 years what keeps you in the classroom?
Joy Ross,
"I love children. At my parent teachers meeting i told them I have three biological children but all these children here I take care of. I have a love for children, a passion. Its not really the paycheck but its really fun to teach and you see the progress children make as you teach, and as I said before, I teach for a long life process; I'm educating children for life."
Lynette Flowers-Collins,
"You really get the credit from the people, the children, who you have touched because I have produced lawyer, doctor, policeman, and thief. When the children respond back to you then you feel like you have been up to heaven because of the feedback you get from the children. Once a few years ago I went to a dentist, I taught her at St. Mary's in Infant 2, and she said, 'no Miss Flowers you won't pay,' because she remembered that I taught her so you feel good."
Fortunato Noble,
You feel good about the lawyers but how about the thief?
Lynette Flowers-Collins,
"Yes because I talk to the thief and I know one of them. He keeps breaking into St. Mary's School and I taught him. He hails me and I talk to him and everything. I can't do anything, that's just nature at work."
Tomorrow's fund-raising banquet will cost $50 per person. The money raised will go towards sending the Super teachers to the International Reading Conference later this year.
