Ann Marie — an excellent teacher

THE Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) within recent times has placed great emphasis on quality training at the Teachers’ Colleges, as they believe if quality education is to be facilitated, it must be done by highly qualified persons.

According to TTUTA President Trevor Oliver, “We believe that because of our efforts, the situation at these institutions has been greatly approved.” Today’s hero is a recent graduate of the Corinth Teachers College, who currently teaches at the Salazar Trace Government Primary School, Point Fortin. Ann Marie Girdharie, of Esperance Village, San Fernando, has been described as an excellent teacher by many. Questioned as to what attracted her to the teaching profession, Girdharie replied that she always had a love for teaching, and that this was a wonderful way to help develop the nation’s human resources. She revealed that she applied to primary schools because “I felt I would make more of a difference in the formative years of the child’s education.”

Having been schooled at the Pleasantville Junior Secondary and the Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive schools, Girdharie graduated with seven CXC subjects, and achieved success at Advanced Levels in Geography, History and Literature. However, before moving on to mould the minds of our young people, Girdharie taught adult education classes at Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive for a number of years, while teaching English Language at private secondary institutions at the same time. She also taught at the St Phillip’s Government Primary School in Port-of-Spain for three years, before going to the Corinth Teachers’ College in 2000. Ann Marie was successful in garnering several awards while at Corinth, but said the award she earned in Practical Teaching was the most cherished award.

This, she claimed, indicated that she was able to deliver the curriculum competently, while the Maths, Sociology and Psychology aspects prepared her to deal with some of the negative ills of society, which affected some of  the children in school. Additionally, this afforded her the confidence and self assurance to enter the teaching service, she claimed, as she interacted with many different children on a daily basis. Girdharie said while teaching at various schools, she met many children of different backgrounds, and that it was a learning experience for all persons involved.

Ann Marie also excelled in the following areas of Literature, Maths and Science, while majoring in Guidance and Counselling. Girdharie believes that these areas are of critical importance, as they help teachers to deal with indiscipline and violence in children at school, as well as enabling the teacher to cope with these persons. She expressed hope that more teachers would be trained in these areas, as they were now being required to be able to deal with increasing violence among persons at school, on a daily basis. Wife of well known chutney singer Rooplal Girdharie, and mother of two, Ann Marie was named “Female Teacher of the Year” from 2000 to 2002.

Asked to give a bird’s eye view for the educational sector in TT, Girdharie said she one day hopes for a multi-faceted one, which caters to the needs of different types of children, and which prepared children to become productive individuals in a globalised environment, able to contribute to the well-being of the country. Ann Marie revealed that she enjoys reading, cooking and drinking tea while socialising with persons, and that her personal motto was “Believe in Yourself.” She concluded by revealing that her personal belief was that “Every child has the potential to be a great individual, and that as good teachers we must find ways and means to help each child reach that potential. We must view children not as empty vessels to be filled, but candles to be lit,” Girdharie added.