Kimeka Hayles-Watson

It is always a pleasant thing to see someone fired up about his or her profession, getting excited and exuding passion from every fibre of his or her being. Such sentiments befit the description of Kimeka Hayles-Watson, a teacher of reading at the Old Harbour Bay Primary School in St Catherine.

"None of us was born reading. we need to let them (the non-readers ) feel good about themselves, praise them, and let them know that they are trying to learn something. In teaching them to read, we are doing a fundamental thing for them, something that will impact their lives forever," Hayles-Watson said.

She explained to The Star that her programme, which started in October of this year, involves a pull -out method of 190 of the weakest reading students from grades two to six. A diagnostic test for these students was administered in September to ascertain their problems and to identify their reading levels.

She said further that she uses the Jolly Phonics reading kit and that a set had been donated to her school by the United States Agency for International Development. This reading apparatus is regarded by Hayles-Watson as a wonderful teaching tool in that it caters to auditory, visual, and kinectic learners. Programmes sourced from the Internet are also used to reinforce what is taught through the Jolly Phonics method.

Hayles-Watson revealed that initially, a number of the students could not identify letters of the alphabet, had reversal problems - for example they would interpret 'was' as 'saw' - or had general comprehension problems.

Hayles-Watson stressed the importance of reading and noted that if the students could not read, they would not do well in the classroom as the tests given are in written form. She said that too much emphasis is placed on written tests like the GSAT and strict adherence to the curriculum, and this leaves the slow learners at a disadvantage. Reading, she posited, should be taught in content areas.

Hayles-Watson said that the students are enthused about the programme and making steady progress. She attributed this to their sense of well-being in the class - the feeling that they are appreciated and can learn at their own pace.

Hayles-Watson was born in Church Pen, Old Harbour, St Catherine, and received her teacher training at Mico University College and the International University of the Caribbean. She graduated from these institutions with a diploma in reading and a bachelor's degree in primary education, respectively.

Her first employment stint was at the Mineral Heights Primary School in Clarendon from September 2005 to December 2006. She did a month's summer programme at Freetown Primary in Clarendon before becoming a member of staff at Old Harbour Bay Primary on September 1, 2007.

Hayles-Watson describes herself as someone who is jovial, loving, and kind-hearted, essentially what is expected of someone who subscribes to the Christian faith.