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Mr Filipe N. Bole, CBE, Minister for Education, National Heritage, Culture & Arts, Youth & Sports, Industrial Relations & Employment, Local Government Urban Development, Housing and Environment ADDRESS • YOUR GRACE, ARCHBISHOP PETERO MATACA, • MEMBERS OF THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION BOARD, AND THE BOARD OF CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, • THE PRINCIPAL AND MEMBERS OF THE STAFF, • PARENTS, GUARDIANS AND FAMILY MEMBERS, • INVITED GUESTS, • STUDENTS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE 2008 GRADUANDS OF CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, INTRODUCTORY REMARKS I AM PROFOUNDLY GRATEFUL AND HONOURED BY THE TRADITIONAL CEREMONY OF WELCOME THAT WAS ACCORDED TO ME, EARLIER ON THIS MORNING. FURTHERMORE, I THANK THE MANAGEMENT OF CORPUS CHRISTI FOR INVITING ME HERE, AND FOR THE DISTINCT HONOUR OF PARTICIPATING IN THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. I LOOK AROUND HERE, THIS MORNING, AT THE SEA OF HAPPY FACES, ON THIS JOYFUL OCCASION, WHICH MARKS THE CULMINATION OF THREE YEARS OF HARD WORK AND STUDY, AND I AM HAPPILY REMINDED OF MY OWN GRADUATION. NATURALLY, ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN COMMISSIONED TODAY, ARE PARTICIPATING HERE WITH GREAT EXCITEMENT AND ALSO WITH GREAT ANTICIPATION. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE INVITATION TO OFFICIATE AT THIS CEREMONY WAS MOST PROBABLY ONE OF THE LAST GRADUATION INVITATIONS THAT I RECEIVED THIS YEAR. LET ME ASSURE YOU THAT MY INITIAL RESPONSE WAS ONE OF GLEE AND OF A VERY STRONG SENSE OF PLEASURE. I CONSIDER IT AN IMMENSE PRIVILEGE, TO BE PRESENT HERE, AT AN INSTITUTION THAT HAS CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH TO EDUCATION IN FIJI, OVER THE LAST FIFTY YEARS. INDEED, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I AM GREATLY HONOURED TO BE PARTICIPATING TODAY IN THE RITES OF AN INSTITUTION, WHICH THROUGH THE YEARS, HAS PRODUCED AN ENVIABLE ROSTRUM OF GRADUATES, SOME OF WHOM, I HAVE HAD THE DISTINCT PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH. AN INSTITUTION WHOSE COMMITMENT HAS REMAINED STEADFAST IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN, MEN AND WOMEN IN OUR COUNTRY – AN EXTRAORDINARY RECORD! MOST IMPORTANTLY, AN INSTITUTION THAT HAS PRIORITISED THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS OF THE HUMAN PERSON, IN ADDITION TO A HIGH STANDARD OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE. AND HAVING SAID THAT, ALLOW ME TO CONGRATULATE CORPUS CHRISTI AND THE WHOLE ARCHDIOCESE OF FIJI AND ROTUMA, FOR THE COLLEGE’S FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR. INCULCATING MORAL VALUES – A HALL-MARK OF CCTC SINCE ITS INCEPTION, IT HAS BEEN TRADITIONAL HERE AT CORPUS THAT GRADUATES ARE ISSUED TWO CERTIFICATES. ONE, APPARENTLY, IS THE GOVERNMENT TEACHERS CERTIFICATE AND THE OTHER, A SPECIAL RELIGIOUS CERTIFICATE, UNIQUE TO THIS INSTITUTION. THE TEACHING OF MORAL VALUES OR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, AS IT IS KNOWN HERE, IS WHAT SEPARATES CORPUS CHRISTI FROM OTHER COLLEGES. AND WHEN ONE CONSIDERS THE FACT, THAT AS TEACHERS, WE ARE TASKED TO -- FIRST AND FOREMOST -- MOULD CHARACTERS AND TO INCULCATE MORALS, THEN WE CAN ONLY MARVEL AT THE IDEALS AND THE ASPIRATIONS OF THE VISIONARY BISHOP FOLEY, WHO LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF THIS COLLEGE, FIFITY YEARS AGO. FURTHERMORE, GIVEN THE CURRENT SITUATION IN THE WORLD, WHERE MORALITY SEEMS TO BE ON AN ENDLESS DECLINE, IT IS EVIDENT THAT MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, WE NOW NEED TO PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO MENDING THE MORAL FIBRES OF OUR SOCIETY. OBVIOUSLY, THE NEED IS MORE URGENT NOW THAN IN 1958, WHEN THIS COLLEGE WAS ESTABLISHED. ON THAT NOTE, MAY I ALSO ADD, THAT THE MORAL VALUES WHICH ARE VIGOROUSLY PROMOTED BY THIS COLLEGE, ARE AS OLD AS LIFE ITSELF, AND THEY SHOULD BE APPLIED IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE. THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF ETHICS, OF ETHICAL LIFE, ARE EVERYWHERE THE SAME -- IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS NON-CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. WHILE THE SCHOOLS MIGHT BE DIFFERENT, THE CHILD, ATTENDING ANY SCHOOL, WAS CREATED AND IS LOVED BY THE ONE AND SAME GOD THAT BOTH YOU AND I BELIEVE IN. THE CHALLENGES FOR THE TEACHER OF THE 21ST CENTURY LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE DREAMS AND THE VISION OF THE LEGENDARY BISHOP FOLEY, I BELIEVE, ARE VERY APTLY SUMMED UP IN THE MOTTO OF THIS COLLEGE – CENTRED IN CHRIST. AND TODAY, WE CAN ALL BE CONSOLED BY THE FACT THAT THE COLLEGE HAS STEADFASTLY PROMOTED THIS VISION. HOWEVER, I AM SURE THAT FOR ANY STUDENT, WHO LIVES AND STUDIES WITHIN THE CONFINES OF CORPUS CHRISTI, THE MISSION TO DO AS CHRIST DID, MIGHT NOT BE AS DAUNTING. I SAY THIS, BECAUSE WHENEVER ANY STUDENT FALLS ON THE WAYSIDE, THE COLLEGE HAS IN-BUILT SUPPORT MECHANISMS AND SYSTEMS WHICH GENEROUSLY HEAVES HIM BACK ON TRACK, SO TO SPEAK. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE GRADUATING TODAY, THIS HAS BEEN THE TREND OF LIFE FOR YOU IN THE PAST THREE YEARS. AND AS YOU CLOSE THIS DOOR, IN YOUR YOUNG LIFE, LET ME ASSURE YOU, THAT LIFE BEYOND THE CONFINES OF THIS COLLEGE WILL NOT BE AS KIND AND ACCOMMODATING. I DO NOT INTEND TO BE PESSIMISTIC HERE, I’M ONLY BEING HONEST! THE WORLD OUT THERE, AS THEY SAY, IS A DIFFERENT BALL GAME. THE CHALLENGES ARE MANY AND THE SUPPORT SYSTEMS ARE NOT AS ACCESSIBLE. IN THE FIRST INSTANCE, AS IS TO BE EXPECTED, YOU WILL BE SETTING UP HOME FOR YOURSELF, IF YOU ARE POSTED TO A SCHOOL AWAY FROM YOUR FAMILY. THIS IN ITSELF IS A CHALLENGE. A SECOND CHALLENGE, WHICH IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO YOUR PROFESSION, IS THE MANNER IN WHICH YOU WILL APPROACH AND CONDUCT THE TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS THAT TAKES PLACE WITHIN YOUR CLASSROOM. WE HAVE ALL HEARD ABOUT THE 21ST CENTURY LEARNER, AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT WHEN YOU ENTER YOUR CLASSROOM, ON YOUR FIRST DAY IN SCHOOL, YOU WILL BE CONFRONTED BY A CLASS OF HIGHLY-CHARGED 21ST CENTURY LEARNERS. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE 21ST CENTURY TEACHER, WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE IN A 21ST CENTURY EDUCATOR? AT THE 47TH SESSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION, THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNESCO, DESCRIBED THE CHILDREN OF THIS NEW CENTURY, AS CHILDREN WITH “DEMOCRATIC MINDS.” WE OBVIOUSLY ALL HAVE OUR OWN DEFINITIONS OF DEMOCRACY, BUT I BELIEVE THE COMMON THREAD THAT RUNS THROUGH ALL OUR INTEPRETATIONS, IS THAT OUR CHILDREN ARE NO LONGER PASSIVE AND SUBMISSIVE. THEY’RE CURIOUS, BURSTING WITH NEW IDEAS, AND ARE RESTLESS, WHEN IT COMES TO THE ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE. GIVEN THIS SITUATION, THERE ARE NO TWO WAYS ABOUT THIS - THE 21ST CENTURY TEACHER WILL HAVE TO BE A SWIFT ADAPTOR AND HE WILL HAVE TO BE ABLE TO ADOPT A DYNAMIC TEACHING EXPERIENCE. THE 21ST CENTURY TEACHER MUST BE A COLLABORATOR, AND AS AN EDUCATOR, SHE OR HE MUST BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE THE MODERN TOOLS OF EDUCATION TO ENHANCE AND CAPTIVATE LEARNERS. THE WORLD IS MOVING AT SUCH A FAST RATE, AND INDEED, YOU WILL FIND, THAT IN SOME SITUATIONS YOU WIL HAVE TO SURRENDER YOURSELF TO STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE. THE LEARNING PYRAMID SHOWS THAT THE HIGHEST RETENTION OF KNOWLEDGE COMES FROM TEACHING OTHERS. SOMETIMES, YOU WILL HAVE TO TRUST YOUR STUDENTS TO TEACH YOU AND ONE ANOTHER. FOR SOME OF US, THIS WILL REQUIRE SOME MEASURE OF HUMILITY. THE WORLD IS NOW CLUTTERED WITH INFORMATION, AND GIVEN ITS EASY ACCESS, YOU CAN EXPECT STUDENTS TO BE MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN THEIR TEACHERS ON CERTAIN ISSUES. FURTHERMORE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WHILE WE EXPECT OUR STUDENTS TO BE LIFE-LONG LEARNERS, SOMETIMES, THE REMINDER EVADES US. TO BE AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER, WE ALSO MUST CHANGE AND LEARN AS THE HORIZONS AND THE LANDSCAPE CHANGE. WE MUST ENDEAVOUR TO STAY CURRENT. THERE ARE ALWAYS NEW THINGS HAPPENING, AND THE ONUS IS ON EACH OF US TO FAMILIARISE OURSELVES WITH THESE CHANGES. IN OUR PRIMARY SCHOOLS, CHANGES ARE OCCURING IN THE CURRICULUM, WITH THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK, BEING IMPLEMENTED. A NUMBER OF NEW POLICIES ARE ALSO BEING IMPLEMENTED, ONE OF WHICH IS THE POLICY ON LANGUAGE. THE FIJI ISLANDS LITERACY AND NUMERACY ASSESSMENT PROGRAMME, BETTER KNOWN AS FILNA, IS ANOTHER RECENT DEVELOPMENT THAT SEEMS TO BE VERY POPULAR WITH PRIMARY SCHOOLS AT THE MOMENT. THEN THERE IS ALSO A PROGRAMME WHICH IS BASED ON STANDARD MONITORING AND SCHOOL REVIEW. AND OF COURSE THERE ARE THE BIGGER ONES, LIKE THE HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION AND THE TEACHER REGISTRATION BOARD. IF WE WISH TO BE EFFECTIVE TEACHERS, WE WILL NEED TO EMBRACE THESE NEW CHANGES. HOWEVER, LET ME REMIND US THAT WHILE WE CAN BECOME INUNDATED WITH ALL THESE NEW ENTITIES, LET US NOT FORGET THAT OUR CORE-FUNCTION IS THE TEACHING AND THE LEARNING PROCESS THAT TAKE PLACE WITHIN THE FOUR WALLS OF THAT CLASSROOM. THESE OTHER PROGRAMMES ARE MEANT TO ENHANCE THIS CORE FUNCTION. OBVIOUSLY, AS WE CONTINUE TO TEACH, WE WILL ALSO NEED TO CONTINUE TO LEARN, AND LEARN WE MUST, IF WE WISH TO BE ON PAR WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE QUALIFICATION WHICH HAS BEEN CONFERRED ON THE GRADUATES TODAY IS OF THE CERTIFICATE LEVEL. ALLOW ME TO REMIND YOU THAT WHILE THIS IS A MILESTONE ACHIEVEMENT, A CERTIFICATE IS NOT THE HIGHEST QUALIFICATION FOR ANY TEACHER. I SINCERELY HOPE, THAT AS THIS DOOR CLOSES IN YOUR LIFE, YOU WILL OPEN YET ANOTHER DOOR IN UPGRADING YOUR QUALIFICATIONS. FIJI NOW NEEDS TEACHERS WHO ARE HIGHLY QUALIFIED, WE NEED INNOVATIVE THINKERS WHO CAN DEVELOP THE MINDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY LEARNER. INDEED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY WHEN EVERY TEACHER IN FIJI WILL HAVE A FIRST AND EVEN A SECOND DEGREE. EDUCATION, WORLD-WIDE HAS BECOME EASILY ACCESSIBLE, AND THERE IS NO REASON WHY ANY TEACHER CANNOT UPGRADE HIS OR HER QUALIFICATION. THE CATCH PHRASE “ANYWHERE, ANYTIME” APPLIES PRETTY WELL, IN EDUCATION IN THIS 21ST CENTURY. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WHILE TEACHING SKILLS ARE HIGHLY IMPORTANT, I BELIEVE, THAT AS TEACHERS, WE ALSO NEED TO REMIND OURSELVES, TIME AND AGAIN, THAT THE MANNER IN WHICH WE CONDUCT OURSELVES, OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL PREMISES, IS JUST AS IMPORTANT. THE CONDUCT OF OUR LIVES IN THEIR ENTIRETY IS EMBRACED IN THE LIFE OF A PERSON. IF INTEGRITY IS TO BE ACHIEVED, IT HAS TO BE ACHIEVED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE RANGE OF DAILY AFFAIRS, INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM, IN OUR DAILY EXISTENCE. THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCLUSION THAT SHOULD BE INFERRED IS THAT OUR LIVES, AS TEACHERS, ARE NOT REDUCIBLE TO A COLLECTION OF THE DIVERSE AND DIFFERENT ROLES WE PLAY. A LEARNED LAWYER IN THE BOSTON COLLEGE SCHOOL, STATED IN A GRADUATION CEREMONY THAT A LAWYER WHO BEHAVES LIKE A JERK IN COURT IS NOT AN “AGGRESSIVE ADVOCATE” WITH AN “ASSERTIVE STRATEGY”, BUT A JERK! UNQUOTE. IN THE SAME VEIN, YOU CANNOT BE A BAD PERSON AND A GOOD TEACHER, NOR CAN YOU BE A GOOD PERSON AND A BAD TEACHER. THE FAMOUS ARISTOTLE QUITE APTLY SUMS UP THIS CONCEPT, SAYING: THE MAN THEN, MUST BE A FOOL WHO IS UNAWARE THAT PEOPLE’S CHARACTERS TAKE THEIR BIAS FROM THE STEADY DIRECTION OF THEIR ACTIVITIES. IF A MAN, WELL AWARE OF WHAT HE IS DOING, BEHAVES IN SUCH A WAY THAT HE IS BOUND TO BECOME UNJUST, WE CAN ONLY SAY THAT HE IS VOLUNTARILY UNJUST. UNQUOTE, AND I COULDN’T AGREE MORE. NONE OF US, OBVIOUSLY, IS SO EASILY DIVIDED INTO BITS AND PIECES, AND WHEN YOU ARE A TEACHER, THE THIRTY OR SO INNOCENT PAIRS OF EYES THAT VIEW YOU EACH DAY, FROM BEHIND THOSE SIMPLE CLASSROOM DESKS, VIEW YOU IN YOUR ENTIRETY. AS TEACHERS, WE ARE THE MOST CONSISTENT ASPECT OF A STUDENT’S LIFE. ON A TYPICAL SCHOOL DAY, STUDENTS SPEND MORE TIME WITH THEIR TEACHERS THAN THEIR PARENTS, OBVIOUSLY. IN GRATITUDE AND ON THAT NOTE ON PARENTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT WOULD BE REMISS OF ME, IF I DID NOT PAY TRIBUTE TO THE PARENTS AND GUARDIANS OF THE 2008 GRADUATES, IN WHOSE HONOUR WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY. THERE IS NO DENYING, THAT THE SIGHT OF YOUR DAUGHTER OR SON, ASCENDING THE STAGE TO COLLECT HIS OR HER CERTIFICATE, WAS A DEFINING MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE AS MOTHER, FATHER OR GUARDIAN. CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU FOR NURTURING THIS WONDERFUL BEING. I AM SURE, THAT RIGHT NOW YOU ARE OVERWHELMED WITH MIXED FEELINGS. OVERRIDING ALL THESE, WOULD DEFINITELY, BE AN IMMENSE FEELING OF JOY, AS YOU NOW SIT HERE AND SAVOUR THE SIGHT OF YOUR ONCE FRAGILE SON OR DAUGHTER, BEING COMMISSIONED TO SPREAD HIS OR HER WINGS TO FLY TO NEW HORIZONS. TO THE GRADUATES - WHILE TODAY IS YOUR DAY, IN THE MIDST OF ALL THE ACCOLADES THAT WILL BE SHOWERED UPON YOU, SPARE A MINUTE, TO OFFER A THOUGHT, OR WHISPER A WORD OF THANKS TO YOUR PARENTS AND TO THOSE WHO STRUGGLED TO GET YOU HERE. TO THE BOARD, THE STAFF OF CORPUS CHRISTI AND ALL THOSE OF YOU, WHO HAVE MADE THIS YEAR A SUCCESS, I COMMEND YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK. WE ALL KNOW THAT THIS YEAR HAS BEEN A SOMEWHAT CHALLENGING YEAR FOR THE COLLEGE. THANK YOU FOR PERSERVERING THROUGH THESE HARD TIMES. CONCLUDING REMARKS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I WISH TO CLOSE WITH A TONED DOWN VERSION OF A POEM TITLED, WHAT TEACHERS MAKE, WRITTEN BY THE SLAM POET, TAYLOR MALI. THE SETTING IS A DINNER TABLE WHERE ONE OF THE GUESTS REMINDS OTHER GUESTS THAT IT’S TRUE WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT TEACHERS: THOSE WHO CAN, DO; THOSE WHO CAN’T, TEACH. HE TURNS TO TAYLOR AND SAYS: I MEAN YOU’RE A TEACHER, TAYLOR. BE HONEST WHAT DO YOU MAKE? STRUGGLING TO SWALLOW HIS ANGER, TAILOR REPLIES: YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I MAKE? I MAKE KIDS WORK HARDER THAN THEY EVER THOUGHT THEY COULD, AND I CAN MAKE KIDS SIT THROUGH 40 MINUTES OF STUDY IN ABSOLUTE SILENCE. I CAN MAKE A “C-PLUS” FEEL LIKE A CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOUR, AND AN “A” FEEL LIKE A SLAP IN THE FACE IF HE DIDN’T DO HIS VERY BEST. TAYLOR THEN STOPS AND CLEARS HIS THROAT: YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I MAKE? I MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND THAT IF YOU GOT THIS [BRAINS], THEN YOU FOLLOW THIS [HEART] AND IF ANYONE EVER JUDGES YOU BY WHAT YOU MAKE IN MONEY, YOU PAY THEM NO ATTENTION! TAYLOR THEN PAUSES: LET ME BREAK IT DOWN FOR YOU, SO YOU KNOW WHAT I SAY IS TRUE: I MAKE A GODDAM DIFFERENCE! WHAT ABOUT YOU? TO THE GRADUATES OF 2008, BOTH THE WORLD AND THE FUTURE ARE YOURS FOR THE TAKING, GO OUT AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE! YOUR GRACE, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, AND OF THE FACULTY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION, I AM TRULY THANKFUL. VINAKA VAKALEVU AND MAY GOD BLESS US ALL! _______________ |
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