Photos: Sergio Betancort
The Arrecife City Council paid tribute this Tuesday to the five teachers belonging to different educational centers in the municipality, who are retiring this year: Juana María Fernández Betancort (Antonio Zerolo Infant and Primary Education school), Irene Ortiz Santana (Antonio Zerolo school), Carmen Rosa Barreto Robayna (Mercedes Medina school), Javier Felipe Delgado (Argana Alta school) and Calixto Betancort Villalba (Capellanía del Yágabo school).
The event was attended by the mayor of Arrecife, Eva de Anta, the Councilor for Education, Ascensión Toledo, the Councilor for Culture, Rafael Juan González, the General Director of Planning, Innovation and Educational Promotion, Juan Rafael Bailón, the Island Director of Education, Mario Pérez, and the Councilor for Education of the Cabildo, Carmen Rosa Márquez, among other authorities. The honorees received the gratitude of all those present at the event, as well as a wooden box made by artisans from the municipal carpentry service.
In the words of the capital's mayor, "the fragile material with which teachers work is what sustains our future and builds our coexistence. Hence the importance of our teachers, the wise men of the tribe, those responsible for the progress of our communities, the true architects, together with parents, of the construction of citizenship".
"Education is, perhaps, one of the most difficult professions"
For her part, the Councilor for Education, Ascen Toledo, highlighted that "Education is perhaps one of the most difficult professions and one that carries the most responsibility. It is not just about filling heads with knowledge because children are not robots. That is why you have to know how to reach them, with affection and respect. The teaching that leaves a mark is not the one that is done from head to head but from heart to heart".
The event ended with the closing concert of the course of the Municipal School of Pulse and Púa, attached to the Department of Culture of the Arrecife City Council. Students of different levels and ages participated in this musical performance, directed by Juan Arrocha.
The Councilor for Culture, Rafael Juan González, took advantage of the event to congratulate the music teacher, Juan Arrocha, who has been teaching guitar, bandurria, lute and musical language for almost three decades, since the Arrecife City Council launched its School of Pulse and Púa in 1990. "Since those dates, more than a thousand students have enjoyed free classes in stringed instruments at the school's different locations, until its final location in the Civic Center in October 2012," said the councilor.