Mrs Carmen Weir – Principal’s message
W.B. Yeats once said “Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” Schools should be transformational- they should expand the powers of the mind, and they should enrich the spirit.
At Tyger Valley College Pre-Preparatory School we believe in fulfilling both these roles. In mental development, the main aim is to produce a love of learning that lasts through life, and an ability to learn. It matters greatly what children learn, but it matters more that they get the habit and skill of learning and of life! To enrich the spirit, we believe in training the habits of the heart. There is no conflict between the objectives of harmonious living and academic excellence. We believe in teaching our children to have a spirit of giving and to make ‘getting’ less of an imperative.
Children who grow up like this are likely to lead happy lives. They will not be happy all the time. but they will learn to treat a setback as a challenge, and eventually to rise above it. Equally important is that they will then contribute to the happiness of others.
Ultimately we want our children to flourish and they do this when they have a sense of meaning in their lives, which comes from both social engagement and enthusiastic development of their own interests and talents. The aim of the Pre-Preparatory Phase at Tyger Valley College is therefore to act as a values-based community promoting mutual respect between all members of the school and involving parents closely. Unless parents are intimately involved in the life of the school, and the life of their children, it is not possible to achieve our goals.
Every decade brings new developments and changes to society, but it is our duty to stop and reflect on its impact on children and young people and re-evaluate the place of childhood in modern society. In a book I read recently entitled “A good childhood – searching for values in a competitive age” children are referred to as a ‘sacred trust’ and at Tyger Valley College Pre-Preparatory School we firmly believe this and keep this at the core of all we do with your children.
Key to happy children at a school such as ours, are the teachers who implement and live out the philosophy and ethos mentioned above.
These teachers…
Believe they have been called by God to teach.
hey believe in children, young and old, black and white, rich and poor; each in need of learning
They believe in blackboards, chalk dust, textbooks and computers for each have a part in imparting knowledge.
They believe the love they give to their students will someday be reflected in their lives.
They believe the gift of teaching is not measured simply by marks, enrolment, or the end of the school year.
It is the witness they give and the fullness of the life lived by those they teach.
They believe they have the power to lead those in need of learning, to the threshold of their own minds.
They believe in their giftedness to use each tool available no matter how new or old, for the light of knowledge in the eyes of another is their goal.
They believe teaching is more than test, diplomas, paperwork and fundraising.
It is the values they breathe daily into one another…slowly
It is the faith they share in Jesus…ever changing and growing….never ending.
They believe their success today goes unnoticed….until these they teach and touch can stand alone and say “in my life I have learned…”
They believe if they have taught and touched one person… in God’s name…they have used their gifts justly…and can humbly say…
They believe in teaching.
