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OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR – American Samoa
PRESS RELEASE
(for immediate release – Wednesday, December 19, 2007)
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Gov. Togiola gives keynote address at COHORT graduation
(UTULEI) – Governor Togiola Tulafono today presented the keynote address at the graduation ceremony for 31 teachers of the University of Hawai’i Elementary and Early Childhood Education Cohort Program at H. Rex Lee Auditorium (Fale Laumei) in Utulei.
Address: Cohort Graduation Fall 2007
by Gov. Togiola Tulafono
“You have selected ‘On A Journey’ as your graduation theme and what comes to mind is that you have traveled from one place and have arrived at another and then continue on in search of the ultimate destination to utilize what you have passionately gathered, collected and packed throughout your journey.
We all know that the duties and responsibilities of a teacher is part of a long journey. Any time you travel you must thoroughly plan and prepare. So, a journey connotes coming from somewhere and traveling through and arriving somewhere else. A journey requires action.
For a journey to occur, it requires change. And it requires change in transition to something new. I commend you for embarking on a journey and will not stop here. You are moving forward and as you gain more experience, you are moving somewhere that requires your commitment to change. I commend you for your love and passion for teaching. Thank you for the strength that you give to the commitment to be a qualified and effective teacher. Hillary Rodham Clinton recently said: “Change is just a word without the strength and experience to make it happen."
I recall two and a half years ago at another Cohort commencement ceremony, that a pay increase for teachers should be determined by their performance in the classroom. When you are an effective teacher, there is success in the classroom.
In January we are going to submit a bill that will set a salary matrix for teachers, and the bulk of it is that your entitlement is based on how effective you are in the classroom. I hope that it will pass in the Fono, so that I can sign it into law.
It has taken us awhile to find an effective methodology. We will now work with the Department of Education to iron out the language, tweak the formula and come up with the plan. Teachers deserve it. After all, this is an annual journey that we make.
We owe a word of thanks to you today, and all your Cohorts that traveled this path before you and blazed the trail, and all Cohorts that will follow. Cohort directors, coordinators and supervisors can devise a great plan. They can have all the qualified instructors. But, without you, all that means nothing.
We all say thank you for the great success of this program that graduate teachers for the classrooms of American Samoa every year.
Thank you to the University of Hawaii, American Samoa Community College and DOE for the collaboration that has enabled us to have the most effective teacher training program so far.
We also look forward to the success of our four-year education program at ASCC. I hope that by the year 2011, we would have about 90 percent of the teachers in all of our classrooms with the minimum of a college degree and teacher certification. That is our hope. That is our goal. And that is the goal of our journey. A journey we must all take together.
We are determined. We are patient. We know what we need to know. It takes time and it has taken time to get where we are on this journey. I recall Moses taking 40 years to guide the Israelites only 11 miles. All of this is meant for us to prepare for the time ahead. You are the trainers of the best people that will take over our government, our villages, our churches, our island home.
It is my earnest prayer that you will teach the truth. I say this with the commitment in my heart. Teaching the truth means you have to prepare yourself. Know what you are teaching. Know what you are passing on to the next generation. Be a part of sharing this true knowledge. We are not doing it just to get by day to day.
Have a good journey. Stop once in awhile to smell the flowers. Be honest to yourself and your profession. In those hopeful words of Bill Bradley: “Never give up and never, never sell out."
Happy graduation and congratulations to all of you Cohorts. May you always be God’s instruments in teaching the future generation of American Samoa.
Thank you for being part of teaching. I wish you all the best. Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.”
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