Primary school celebrates week with children and careers

They may be the country’s youngest citizens, but Belize’s children continue to outnumber us adults. And today, even as organised activities celebrated their vital role in the nation’s future, I found out that education is still not the number one priority for many parents.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
These children may be years away from entering the workforce, but these young students of St. Joseph?s primary school already have a good idea of what career they would like to pursue. As part of Children?s Day celebrations this week, the boys and girls focussed on their career aspirations under this year?s theme: Educating Our Children for a Better Future.

Marilise Leslie, Wants to be teacher
?Because when I get older I want to educate younger children too… That is important because you never know what might happen in the future and if there will be enough teachers. So I want to be a teacher and teach the younger children.?

Jahshield Blades, Wants to be a lawyer
?You get to help people who are in need of your help to prove something that they have not done or anything that needs to be proven.?

Robbyn Vernon, Wants to be a soldier
?And I chose a career and I am in the B.D.F. scouts and I am proud of what I am right now.?

?To me it just brings me down to see when nobody noh want to be anything. I noh know, it just brings me down because I noh see no kind of spirit.?

Principal Glorycela Torres says the past week has been full of activities organised entirely by the teachers, students, and parents.

Glorycela Torres, Principal, St. Joseph School
?We need to instil in our children value and morals, especially in the society that we are living today. Our children are our gold for our future.?

?We want our children from very young to know what they want to be and if they have that goal or that objective in mind they can aspire to be what they would want to be in the future.?

But while Children?s Week ends today, Torres emphasised the importance of attending school. Today the principal highlighted a disturbing trend that continues to concern administrators at St. Joseph?s Primary School.

Glorycela Torres
?We are having a major problem especially on Fridays where our parents are, I would say some parents, but it is a major problem for us that Fridays they believe that Friday is a holiday and Friday is not a holiday in our school. Friday is a special day just like any other day. So we want the parents to know that our children are special from Monday to Friday and we encourage our parents to send them to school every day.?

This afternoon the students from St. Joseph’s paraded through the streets in their neighbourhood in their career costumes. Other primary schools throughout the country celebrated Children’s Day today with similar activities as well as field trips and parties.