2004 Speeches

Hanifa Aziz Nursery School Graduation

May 20, 2004

Dr. Roy Austin
United States Ambassador

The Chairman of the Hanifa Aziz Nursery School Board, Dr. Mohamed A. Aziz; other board members; the Head of Programmes for Servol's Early Childhood Education, Mrs. Marcelle de Govia; the Secretary of Trinidad and Tobago Nursery Associations, Inc., Mrs. Ruth Antoine; the Founder and Past Administrator of Hanifa Aziz Nursery School, Mr. Mahmud Dean Aziz; corporate citizens from the Point Lisas Industrial Estate; the business community of California and Couva; members of the press and media; parents, special guests and students.

As I look out at the audience today, I see so many young people. Good morning, students. I want to tell you something this morning. “To earn, to earn, you got to learn.” These are the words of one of Trinidad and Tobago’s greatest sons, the Mighty Sparrow, and they are as true today as when he first said them forty years ago.

Ladies and gentleman, it brings me great pleasure to visit the Hanifa Aziz Nursery School today and to know that the United States was able to assist this worthy institution through its partnership with SERVOL. For me, this school and these surroundings feel like home. You see, before coming to Trinidad and Tobago, I was a teacher for over 30 years. And so, schools hold a special place in my heart.

As an educator, I know how absolutely vital institutions like this school are to the positive development and well being of our children. As a parent, I know how many hopes and dreams, and how much trust, are placed in the capable and caring hands of these teachers, and of this school.

Today, I want to highlight why schools such as Hanifa Aziz are so important, and how they can literally change the course of a child’s life. I’ll also discuss the important role parents have in their children’s education. And I’ll conclude by reviewing society’s responsibility to our children.

The family may be the most important institution in a child’s life; but the school is not far behind, and that is why I am here today. Research has demonstrated time and again the importance of positive influences early in a child’s education. One program in particular, the Perry Preschool Project of Ypsilanti, Michigan, has studied the effects of early childhood intervention for over 40 years.

The Perry program targets underprivileged children that are at significant risk of future delinquency. It strives to develop children’s learning and social skills, and it empowers them to become active and independent learners. The program strongly supports a band of dedicated and proficient teachers. And, most importantly, it actively engages parents by increasing their involvement with their children and helping them to develop better parenting skills.

This program has achieved encouraging results. Perry children are 31% more likely than a carefully selected comparison group to graduate from primary school, twice as likely to become homeowners; three times as likely to earn significantly higher salaries; and they demonstrate markedly higher achievement and literacy scores. What’s more, they significantly less likely to become habitual criminals, to get involved in drugs, or to become dependent on welfare.

The Perry Preschool Program demonstrates the profound impact early intervention can have on children’s lives. But you’ll note that the program does not rely on schools alone … it relies on parents, as well.

More important than any school or program, parents ultimately hold the keys to their children’s success. Parents fulfill so many roles for their children: guardian, provider, role model, moral compass, advisor, sometimes checking account, and source of unconditional love. We must take an active role in our children’s education, and indeed their lives, if they are to fully realize their potential.

It is true that schools work with our children during the day, teaching them valuable lessons about mathematics, language, and the social sciences. But how much more important are the lessons learned at home? Lessons about morality, love, honor, respect, and responsibility are all the purview of parents. A child that learns all of the lessons of the classroom but none of the home is empty in spirit, adrift in the turbulent seas of life.

And so, it is the responsibility of all parents to take an active role in their children’s education, and their lives. Parents must prepare their children for adulthood and foster in them the skills they’ll need to become responsible and dynamic members of society.

And society, too, bears a great responsibility to children. Society must provide opportunities for children to realize their potential and contribute meaningfully to their communities and to their nations. But, as you know, the pace of change in today’s world is accelerating rapidly. Breakthroughs in the areas of science, technology, and communications are quickly transforming the world as we know it. The adults of tomorrow will need greater technological skills, greater flexibility and a boundless capacity to learn to be successful in the future. Because of the rapidly changing employment landscape, societies are becoming less and less able to provide basic employment for the undereducated and the underskilled. Consequently, education is now a more important determinant than ever of a child’s future.

As President George Maxwell Richards pointed out in a recent address at the University of the West Indies, preparation for the new world begins “at the earliest stages of education”. He said “institutions of higher education cannot be expected to achieve the best results with mediocre candidates from the secondary schools. Likewise, secondary schools must have students who are equipped with a good foundation at the primary level in order to prepare them to go forward. Pre-school education also needs careful attention in order for the education system to shape persons of substance.”

And so we have come full circle, finding ourselves today at the very beginning of the educational journey. The foundations of our children’s future success begin here, at the Hanifa Aziz Nursery School. The lessons to heed are clear: support schools and institutions that prepare our children for the years ahead; parents, take an active role in both your children’s education and their holistic development; and be aware that, in an ever-changing world, education is the key to future prosperity.

As an educator for 36 years, I have learned a thing or two about commitment to education. That is why I am here today, and that is why I am happy to partner with SERVOL on behalf of the United States to support Early Childhood Education Centers throughout Trinidad and Tobago. I now ask that you renew your commitment to these children here today, and to those that will soon follow. The time, resources and energy we invest now will undoubtedly pay dividends for decades to come. Can there be any better investment than our children?

Thank you.