Walden - VISION AWARD NOMINEE
In just four months, Dr Cecile Walden will leave the teaching profession, which has been her passion since she was a young girl.
Dr Walden is one of five nominees for the second annual First Global Vision Award in association with The Gleaner's Flair Magazine.
"I was born into a school," she told Flair. Her father, Lloyd George Cooke, was principal of Catadupa Elementary in the Cockpit Country in St James.
"I knew I wanted to be a teacher from I was about 10 years old. One day my father took me to the school with all the classrooms and the noise and asked if I still wanted to do this. I said yes."
And that's what she has been doing for the past 41 years, 33 of which have been spent at the Sam Sharpe Teachers' College (SSTC) in Granville, St James. She served as principal for 23 of those years.
The beginning
Walden has been with SSTC since the very beginning. Today, she says she is proud of how the institution has grown.
"I wanted it to be right," she noted of the embryonic years. "I wanted to see a campus that was a tertiary-style campus." Has she achieved her dream?
"I'm satisfied, but there is still a lot to be done. I hope I have inspired others to carry on the dream."
But what she is most proud of is the expansion of the college in meeting the needs of young people in the community. She leaves behind the blueprint to develop the library, not just for students of the school, but for the entire Granville community.
The college has evolved and now offers master's programmes in two post-graduate courses in partnership with Central Connecticut State University. This sense of service to community is a quality the school has managed to pass on to students. "They (graduates) have a strong commitment to community, which we promoted from the beginning." The school seems to have succeeded, as there is a very active past-students' association with chapters in the United States and Jamaica. The local branch has even set up a bursary to assist second- and third-year students.
Teaching teachers
As Dr Walden retires, she reminisces on the interaction with the young people who entered the institution. This, she will miss, greatly.
Having experienced the gamut of the educational system in front of the classroom and as an administrator, she prefers "being an instructional leader, focusing on personal development and developing curriculum".
She noted that, "Teaching is not a one-off thing but lifelong learning. Teaching now must be a career that has other alternatives; you are an educator, specialist, administrator or curriculum developer."
She sees one of the pitfalls of our education system as schools being too large.
"A class of 40 needs two teachers to share the work." She noted that more specialists are needed on hand in the system to decrease the number of students who may fall through the cracks. "Not everyone is going to go at the same pace. A child acting out may be a cry for help."
She noted that the way teachers are being trained also needs to change. "Students can get knowledge anywhere, it's what you do with it. Teachers have to help them to fashion their personality, their values."
Dr Walden noted that the education system is also preoccupied with the end product. "Educators are too keen on product. Education is for life, a holistic development, it's the skill set that's developed and not just pouring in content. It's not a one-way street or factory line. Everyone is different."
Though, technically, she will be retired, Dr Walden shows no signs of slowing down. "I might write. I'm an open person, always seeking activities. Where I can help I will, if I have the gift and talent to help."
Dr Cecile Walden checks to see if this pomegranate is ready to be eaten, as she walks her garden at home in Coral Gardens, Montego Bay. - Photo by Noel Thompson