Driven to improve the delivery of knowledge… Senior Education Officer, Ms. Carol Benn, is a ‘Special Person’

Jul 08, 2018 Features / Columnists, News, Special Person

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““You get a lot of satisfaction from this work because you don’t just get a chance to point out where teachers are going wrong, but you get a chance to correct them and see them improve.”

 

By Sharmain Grainger

There is no denying the notion that teaching is a noble profession. In fact when one opts to venture into this profession, it is always for keeps. At least this is according to Ms. Carol Benn who during a recent interview firmly proclaimed, “Once a teacher, always a teacher.”

And she would know, as for a number of years, she was a very dedicated teacher who helped to make an impact on many impressionable young lives.

But today she is more than just a teacher. Carol Benn is currently a Senior Education Officer within the Ministry of Education who has been tirelessly helping to guide teachers to be the best in the field. She finds complete satisfaction in the service she is able to provide since she not only caters to the needs of students but teachers as well.

However, what might be surprising to some people is that delving into the field of education was not the path that she had imagined for herself.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Born on December 19, 1969 in Tucville, Georgetown, Carol was the eighth of 10 children born to parents Howell and Leah Benn. She recalled that since her father was a building contractor, this saw the family embracing a somewhat nomadic lifestyle for a period of her life.

Carol remembers her father building houses in each area that the family moved to. According to her, when the family first moved from Tucville, North Ruimveldt became their new neighbourhood.

She also remembers attending Tucville Primary and after completing the Common Entrance examination, she secured a place at North Georgetown Secondary. She would only spend one year at the latter school, since her father decided that it was time for the family to move to Berbice. Carol disclosed that this was particularly important to her parents, as they both hailed from that part of the country.

In Berbice, the young Carol gained placement at the Bushlot Secondary School and was soon proving to be an excellent performer.  She was, moreover, eligible to be placed in the Science stream and had every intention of eventually heading into the field of nursing.

Indeed, immediately after her secondary schooling, Carol eagerly applied to be trained as a nurse.

However, entering the field of nursing was not a very straightforward process. Carol recalled waiting for a lengthy period for her nursing examination results. It was during the wait her father encouraged her to apply for a job as a teacher.

As she simultaneously awaited her nursing results and a response to her application, Carol was able to land a job with the then Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security. She was retained to assist with the distribution of pension books.

However, it wasn’t long after starting that job that she received a call from the Berbice Department of Education informing her that her application to become a teacher was found to be favourable.

“I started teaching in 1987 as an acting teacher at the Number 29 Primary School,” recounted Carol, as she reminisced on how she got thrust into a field that would essentially turn out to be her destined forte.

TRAINING FOR THE ROLE

It wasn’t until a year later that she proceeded to become a trained teacher. This saw her leaving Berbice to take up residence at the Turkeyen Cyril Potter College of Education dorms. Her training continued until 1991.

As she fondly reflected on her days at CPCE, she considered how the training she received prepared her to become the person she is today.

Armed with her training, Carol was first afforded a place at St. Ambrose Primary school where she spent quite a few years teaching. She also taught at St Margaret’s Primary and St. Thomas More Primary. At St. Thomas More, she acted in the capacity of head teacher for a period and was able to make a number of changes.

“I changed the uniform; I was able to change the whole status quo at that school. I was able to have improvement in the attendance rate…parents were asking for their children to be transferred to Thomas More of all the schools while I was there,” revealed a smiling Carol.

But it wasn’t only public schools for Carol, as she also taught at the privately-operated Mae’s Under 12 where she stayed for about nine years.

Carol was indeed a well sought after educator as she not only completed a degree in education at the University of Guyana, but she also took advantage of a scholarship to pursue a Master’s in Education.

MORE TO OFFER

But Carol was certain that there was even more that she could offer to the education sector. Moreover, in 2010 she applied to the Public Service Commission for the position of District Education Officer and was duly appointed. Asked to describe her role as a District Education Officer, Carol said, “it was a rewarding experience. You get a chance to interact with more teachers rather than one group of teachers at your school, and you are able to make changes in the system.”

It was while she was still getting used to her new post that Carol recalled being asked to perform the duties of National Parent Teacher Association [PTA] Coordinator.

As PTA Coordinator, she was able to resuscitate PTAs across the country even as she worked with Voluntary Service Overseas to create a national PTA toolkit.

“I was able to host several parenting workshops and seminars and formed regional PTA bodies throughout the country. Basically, my role was to monitor and supervise PTAs throughout the country,” she disclosed.

However, by 2011, Carol was appointed Senior Education Officer, an expanded role, which gave her a chance to have direct input in the delivery of education at all secondary schools in the country. Among her most outstanding roles was one of the country’s Senior Education Officers, Carol was tasked with coordinating the Six-year Transitional programme. The programme is one that caters to students who have not been able to reach the benchmark after writing the National Grade Six Assessment.

“Instead of just leaving them in the primary school we put them over into a secondary school and we have this special programme designed for them,” Carol explained.

As part of her wide-ranging role as a Senior Education Officer, she is tasked with monitoring schools’ instructional records, giving keen attention to the classroom environment and even dress code, among other factors.

“We monitor schools in their entirety, we look at their methodology, how they are teaching, if they are using textbooks or not,” Carol related.

“You get a lot of satisfaction from this work because you don’t just get a chance to point out where teachers are going wrong but you get a chance to correct them and see them improve,” said Carol, who has been classified by many teachers as one of the most understanding Senior Education Officers in the system.

“As a Senior Education Officer it is expected that you should be assertive and known, and understand the policies of the Ministry of Education, and be able to explain same to the teachers who you supervise,” Carol underscored.

Our versatile ‘Special Person’ has also been playing an integral in role in the education sector’s Safe School project. The Safe School Project is one that was first introduced in 2017 through the Ministry of Education’s collaboration with the Civil Defence Commission [CDC] and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency [CDEMA].

“We are working towards making our schools safe and when we talk about safety we are talking about safety in its entirety…we are talking about safety in terms of your health, security, school environment – internal and external, and so many more areas.”

The project was introduced as a pilot project at three secondary schools – Tucville, Diamond and South Ruimveldt.  However, Carol revealed that plans are apace to expand the project, whereby all schools will eventually be required to conform to a standard Safe School policy.  “We know that it will not happen overnight, we have to do it incrementally, because some schools were built ages ago and there isn’t much you can do, but when it comes to building new schools we would expect that the new schools follow the standard.”

EVEN MORE

While a great deal of her life revolves around helping to improve the education system, Carol also finds time for other activities. In fact, she revealed that even from a young age she was very involved in youth groups such as the Scouts Association and GuyberNet. As she grew older and became more exposed in the world of work, Carol became a member of the Women Across Differences and even served as its chairperson for a number of years.

She also served at one point as the Secretary for the Kuru Kururu Training Centre and was a member of the Carnegie School of Economics Board. In her quest to improve the education sector, Carol also had a hand in coordinating a vibrant voluntary mentoring programme and the student council.

Today, Carol continues to be very active in her community of Plaisance where she holds the position of chairperson of the community’s CDC.

“I am very simple but firm and very straightforward…at home I am called ‘Teach’ and persons would come to me for almost anything,”  related our ‘Special Person’ who has over the years found time to nurture three strong young men – Winston, Clifford and Akeem – all of whom are ranks of the Guyana Police Force.

Carol Benn lives by the mantra “although life can at times be filled with challenges, it is those challenges that can help to make an individual even better at what they do. Despite challenges, I am very strong because I love what I do, so regardless of what happens I try to always be polite and humble.”

It is for her dedication in so many capacities, particularly as Senior Education Officer, that today we bestow Carol with the title of ‘Special Person’.

 

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