This remains true today, as we get ready, in Trinidad and Tobago, to usher in a new year with new inspirations and new directions for our future.
Today is my first Christmas day as Minister of Education and my third as Member of Parliament for the great, wonderful constituents of Caroni East and it is - and continues to be - very humbling and inspiring to have been elected by the people and Prime Minister the Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar in this position of true service to our nation and its best hope for the future-our children.
I’ve been in office for seven months now and what a time this has been!
As a nation and a people, we went through many trials, change, triumphs and true achievement this year.
The wonderful thing about these moments is that they have brought us closer as a people and inspired us to work together in unity for the betterment of our country’s future.
This is especially true at this special time of the year, when we revive in our inner child’s spirit, the sense of wonderment at the story of the first Christmas in Bethlehem, over 2,000 years ago.
Indeed, this is celebrated in many ways- that this Child was a great and good philosopher and teacher or the promised Saviour. Whatever we believe, there is no denying that this story of a miracle is the first great lesson of kindness, compassion and giving that should always be our guide in how we deal with our fellow human beings.
As Minister of Education, it is even more important to me that the story of a Child bringing peace, salvation and the hope for a better future is one that inspires this beautiful holiday.
The great English author Charles Dickens once said that “it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.”
Truly, it is a lesson to us all about how we should and must cherish our nation’s children and indeed every child in this globe, for they are our best hope for the future development and betterment of our lives, our families, our communities, our societies, our countries and our world.
Let me therefore urge all citizens that, as we get ready to usher in a new year, to all resolve once more to always put our children first -in thought, words and deeds.
Let us as parents, teachers, guides, leaders and human beings realize once more that just like our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime, that we owe it to our children to keep these memories alive to inspire us as to how we deal with them.
Our nation has strayed too far from our values of caring for and respecting children and the time to recapture these values is now.
The Ministry of Education, under my stewardship, and through policies of the People’s Partnership Government, has undertaken several key reforms to ensure that our children are nurtured in our education system in a holistic manner, where their every need- psychological, academic, emotional, physical and mental-are tended to.
Our reforms, when implemented, will go a long way to ensure that the nation’s children have solid foundations to become well rounded individuals properly equipped with all social and educational tools for progress and development of self and country.
I wish to stress, however, that all our policies will not be successful if parents, teachers and caretakers of our children, as well as citizens in the general public, fail to give our children the care, respect, nurture, love and compassion they need and deserve as equal citizens in law for their growth and development.
Let us all therefore work towards ensuring that our children get the best from us as human beings and this will certainly go a long way in ensuring that the many problems in our school system, particularly violence and other issues brought on by low self esteem in our children- are truly eliminated.
Today is usually the day when we shower gifts upon our children and tell them we love them.
I urge all to let today be more than that- let it be the beginning of the day that we decide to love, care and respect our children throughout the year by spending quality time with them, being present in mind, spirit, body and heart for them to guide them, hear their problems, listen to their hopes and fears, counsel them, take an active interest in all aspects of their lives, know where they are at all times, protect them and ensure they are safe and let them always know they have love, attention and discipline and boundaries.
It is said that when we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness.
The memories that most inspire us from the past are truly the ones of love and affection we felt as children from our parents and caretakers on this day, and I urge all to let us use those memories to ensure that we too as adults give of this glow of happiness and inspiration to our children.
It is in this spirit of hope and gratitude for what we've been able to achieve together as a people over the past year that I look forward to us to continue working together to achieve the great task of ensuring that our children’s future is indeed our priority as a nation.
On this note, let me extend my very best wishes to all citizens and especially the nation’s children for a very Merry Christmas 2010. May this day be filled with family, cheer and goodwill and may you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope; the spirit of Christmas which is peace and the heart of Christmas which is eternal love.
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