Christian Birchwood, a former South East Port- of- Spain Secondary School student recently graduated from UTT with an Engineering Degree.
On graduation day he posted on social media a photo of himself and two of his colleagues with the caption, “this is what Nelson Street can produce” using the hashtag “young black men”. His post went viral, with over 4000 shares.
Further, in his post, he reminisced on a comment a former teacher of his made to him. He said the teacher attached to the South East Port of Spain Secondary School told him: “You shouldn’t waste your time to graduate from secondary school. It’ll just be a waste of your parent’s money because you’re not going to get any passes.”
Birchwood went on to get Five O’ Level passes and his UTT degree. However, he said the comment hunted him throughout his college education.
He said he embarrassed and couldn’t comprehend why the teacher said what she said to him in front of an entire class.
“A lot of the times teachers don’t think about what a child was going through outside the classroom,” he said.
Birchwood said he was mourning the death of his uncle and may have been a bit unstable when the teacher told him he “shouldn’t waste his time.”
The UTT Graduate said when he received his degree it became the closure he needed and had some advice for the teacher who prematurely judged him.
“Choose your words wisely, be meticulous when you speak to children because your words affect them.”
But Birchwood didn’t make the post only to bash his former teacher but to show those who came from or are still attending stigmatised schools or live in “the ghetto” that they too can do it.
He said, “It doesn’t matter what school you attend at the end of the day we all do the same exams, so you have to give yourself the best shot.”
The Engineering graduate said the post reminded him of his journey which at times he admitted was not easy and where it all started, in the metal work room in his school (South East Por- of- Spain Secondary School) on Nelson Street.
