I have always been an educator. When I was too young to even hold a young child without the constant watchful eye of my mother, I decided I wanted to teach. One of my favourite past times was playing “school”. Of course, I was almost always the teacher. If anyone else was lucky enough to be the teacher in our game, I cringed and critiqued the teachers style the entire time.
Fast forward through my life of being an intern in summer schools, teacher's aide, teacher, head of a programme for young children with special needs and then in a policy position in early childhood. I loved each of the support roles I was blessed enough to have. Supporting children and their families, and working with colleagues in the field to research and disseminate best practice throughout our country was something I did with passion. I thought this kind of support was the only way to enrich the lives of our children and families. Until I was introduced to the inspection regime of Office of Education Standards (OES).
I watched as the country began to place credence in the outcomes of the reports from OES, and realised that things I had supported persons to do for years which just didn't seem to get done, were mastered within no time because “the report said I had to do it". I realised that Inspectors visited educational institutions for 3-4 days and discovered things that were previously in the dark, and reported on these things in such a way that those of us who played the support role could better identify the gaps and direction for progress. I also saw just how much the inspections helped the country in placing a higher value on education.
Fast forward further in my life, with me completing the Cayman Associate Inspector Training, working as a Senior Inspector for one year with OES and successfully finishing an internationally recognised training for inspectors, and I see just why my sights were set on seeing education from the other side of the fence. While my heart yearns to tangibly support teachers and families, I am proud of the work the Office of Education Standards does to better education and care for all children in Cayman. We provide an impartial view of provision across the board. Inspectors follow a “rule book”, and are bound to a Code of Conduct with helps to ensure we view each educational institution through the same lens. Reports are turned around in little or no time, thus ensuring almost immediate feedback to the institution, parents and the community in general. The content of the reports help parents to make more informed decisions about educating their children, as well as help guide them when they need to advocate for their child. The reports help the Ministry of Education when developing policies, deploying support and planning for the future. As an inspector who was previously in the middle of the education “yard” and all I saw around me was the green and brown patches and made plans to make all the patches green, I now see the “yard” from the other side of the fence. I get to see the entire yard - not just the green and brown patches, but what percentage of the yard is green, and whether the water hose is close enough to the brown patches, also where the flowers are blooming on the outskirts of the yard, and where the weeds are creeping in. What parasites are hiding away which may kill the giant shade tree that the child's swing hangs from, and exactly where the family plays in that yard across the fence. And through seeing the entire yard, and all the wonderful and threatening things in it, we then support the family on the other side of the fence to make their yard amazing.
So, I realise that my role as an Inspector is still one of support - but everything looks different from this side of the fence.