Marcellus Cazaubon, aged 24, Saint Lucia

As a secondary school teacher, my day may either come to an end very late in the night or commence very early i.e. when everyone is still enjoying their sweet slumber. For the purpose of this topic I will focus on the latter.

As part of my daily routine I need to prepare appropriate lesson plans for the students entrusted to my care. This requires very clear thought especially as the main aim of my teaching is to maintain the interest of my students and to ensure that they actually achieve the learning objectives set out by the curriculum. This is the process I would engage in, in the very early hours of the morning.

As a secondary school teacher my responsibilities range from managing a homeroom of 36 students to teaching subjects that I specialize in. On a typical day I would be required to instruct approximately 200 students. That is an enormous challenge requiring proficient and efficient classroom management skills among other things. It goes without saying that these students all have diverse academic ability which in itself creates an even greater challenge. Such is the routine of a teacher who specializes in physics, geography and mathematics and who teaches thirty six 40 minute periods in a 6 day cycle.

My after-school activities are very interesting as well. After gym exercises I would typically either assist in the coordination of a community prayer meeting, or chair a Parish Council meeting or in most cases direct a choir session for either the Men’s choir or the Youth Choir both of I which I belong to or I would be planning activities and programs with the local youth and sports council, town council or the local youth organization that I belong to or engage in paramilitary training with the local cadet corps movement.

After all of the aforementioned activities are completed I either take some time to relax in the evening or restart the cycle of activities by commencing with lesson planning for the next school day.

I view the Commonwealth in a two fold manner. I see the Commonwealth as a distinguished group of nations that all share a common past as it relates to the initial control of or governance of its membership, and I see the Commonwealth as a grouping of nations of diverse cultures and physical and human resources who share with each other out of their resources as a means of advancing the development of the membership of the Commonwealth.

The common thread that runs through the Commonwealth grouping is that the affairs of these nations were originally governed by Great Britain. The British influence is still measurable especially in the style of parliament, the constitution of member countries, especially Saint Lucia, the concept of the office of Governor-General and numerous other common factors. Such an historic link among this group of 53 countries shows the loyalty of Commonwealth states to the mother country Great Britain.

Ultimately, I see the Commonwealth as a group of countries that share ideas, cultures and resources with each other towards the alleviation of poverty, the more equitable distribution of resources and the overall development of the member states. The evidence of this sharing is especially prevalent in the Commonwealth Caribbean. The emergence and maintenance of peace, good will and sustainable development are the main tenets that reflect what the Commonwealth means to me.