Educator lauds benefits of vocational subjects

Technical and vocational education traning (TVET) Teacher of the Year 2025, Gavin DeRizzio, is urging male students to take construction education seriously.

The passionate educator, who has been making an impact at Vauxhall High School and other institutions, said too many boys are missing opportunities right in front of them.

"The only challenge that I can readily think of an educator is to get all, and I stress all the boys to appreciate that education, especially in construction, is a clear pathway out of poverty," DeRizzio said.

Data has repeatedly shown that a significant number of males appearing before the courts for criminal offences list construction or labour-related jobs as their occupation -- a reality DeRizzio believes highlights not the failure of the field, but the lack of education, proper training, discipline and direction within it.

"I wish I could reach every last one of them, so that they leave the education system with a platform that either affords them an opportunity to earn or transition to institutions of higher learning," he said.

"But some are so deep rooted in their culture that they resist the message of change and unfortunately we lose some of them by the wayside." DeRizzio was among the awardees at the recent LASCO/Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information/Jamaica Teaching Council Teacher and Principal of the Year Awards. He admitted that he never planned to become a teacher.

"My career choices in grade nine while I attended Calabar High School was to either become an architect or a doctor," he said. He opined that TVET was perceived as areas with little significance, while what was perceived to be established careers got significant recognition.

"[But] by the time I got to grade 10, my love for building technology, construction and technical drawing grew because of my teachers who guided me to success," he said.

Though he was unsuccessful in gaining entry to the Caribbean School of Architecture at UTech, fate had other plans.

"The representative from UTech told me that space was available in the School of Technical and Vocational Education and that I could start there and transition so I accepted the offer and began my new journey," he said. "Lecturers brought their own type of inspiration and consistently echoed positive sentiments about the potential that they saw in me." Excellence followed him into the classroom.

"I also received an award as most outstanding TVET teacher [at Vauxhall] based on the scores received from both internal and external assessors," he said. But there have been challenges.

"The only time I ever felt like giving up was in 2020, when the department was burglarised and many of the tools were stolen. It felt like we were close to what I referred to as ground zero," he said. However, the school administration and past students got the programme back on track

His dedication to his students demonstrates how much he wants them to succeed in having construction under their belts.

"I've spent many unpaid overtime hours with my students aimed at getting projects finished and better preparing them to enter the exam room. I wait until all my students board their respective buses home before I exit the compound," he said.

"It is usually a joy to see the emotional testimonies in August when the results are released. Sometimes I recognise that the impact is more significant than I had expected."

Reflecting on his TVET teacher of the year moment, DeRizzio said it was overwhelming.

"It was a feeling of joy, because I know the work that I do to impact students. I really felt like I owed family members, friends, supporters and my supportive colleagues and students at Vauxhall." His upbringing, he added, shaped his approach to discipline and care.

"My mother is herself an educator and my father exposed me to a method of punishment that I will never forget. Perhaps the combination of both have taught me to be patient while being moderately or extremely stern when appropriate," he said.

"I do make a consistent effort to try and reach as many of them (students) as I can."