By Claude Mills, Staff ReporterGOOD SUBSTITUTE teachers are often hard to find.
However, all that may change soon as a small army of some 170 'substitute teachers' from the managerial ranks of 42 branches of the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) will be injecting verve and spirit into the public school system throughout the Corporate Area and rural Jamaica to give teachers a much-needed break today Teachers' Day.
This effort, the first of its kind by the bank, is a major part of a BNS initiative to invoke the spirit of voluntarism in the bank's interactions with the public.
Last night, the managers were busy practising their introductory speeches and brushing up on the gerunds and the conjugation of verbs, as well as those tricky algebraic equations. Today, they are rearing to go.
MANAGERS EXICTED
"The managers are all excited about being substitute teachers for a few hours on Teachers' Day," Joylene Griffiths, senior manager of public and corporate affairs, told The Gleaner yesterday. "We have been planning for this for several weeks."
Some of the schools which will be getting 'subs' include St. Peter Claver Primary, Sts. Peter and Paul Primary, Denham Town Primary, Portmore Missionary Preparatory, Falmouth All-Age School, Black River Primary, Titchfield High, and Montego Bay High.
The subjects run the gamut of the school curriculum and include the 'usual suspects' like English and mathematics, as well as integrated sciences, religious studies, geography, social studies, phonics, chemistry, principles of business and even language arts.
MOTIVATIONAL SPEECHES
"This initiative for Teachers' Day, signals a new level of involvement of the (BNS) staff in education," Marie Powell, BNS' general manager for corporate affairs and marketing, said.
A trio of senior managers, deputy managing director Minna Israel, senior general manager of retail products and marketing, Wayne Powell and senior manager of public and corporate affairs Joylene Griffiths, will deliver a motivational speech this morning beginning 8:30 a.m. at the St. Peter Claver School in Kingston 11 for 300 students in grades four through six.
"We hope that we can share our experiences with them, and help to motivate them to be great students. The school has been doing a lot to inspire the community through its fantastic music group, and we want to contribute to that by helping to build the self-esteem of these students," Ms. Griffiths said.
Other senior managers such as Roger Cogle, assistant general manager of retail and electronic banking, will be teaching the concept of savings at the Denham Town Primary School.
"I am really excited about the class I will be teaching tomorrow, it represents a great opportunity to reach these children in a real way," Mr. Cogle said.
Marie Powell, senior manager of corporate affairs, will deliver a one-hour grooming and etiquette class at Papine High School, while Fiona Bloomfield-Brown will captivate students with a story hour at Paradise Basic School in Montego Bay.
The bank will be providing each teacher who is substituted this morning with a token of gratitude. The bank contributes to education through the Scotia Jamaica Development Foundation providing furniture for schools across the island. Between late 2003 and the end of 2004, some $170 million would have been spent on health and educational projects through the foundation, Mrs. Powell noted.
