–    NCERD DirectorBy Desilon DanielsMany persons take up a job for different reasons; for some it?s the money while for others it?s theDirector of NCERD, Jennifer Cumberbatchexperience.  However, for Jennifer Cumberbatch, a veteran teacher and now the director of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), her career is the opportunity for her to be a nurturer, friend, and mother to countless children.According to Cumberbatch, her formation as a strong woman came from the family, particularly the maternal figures in her life. She said she was the last of eight children while her father was the breadwinner of the home. Though her mother did not work, Cumberbatch emphasised that the woman was still respected in the home and played an integral role in the children?s upbringing.Cumberbatch said her mother was a very strong woman, not just physically but also emotionally and spiritually. She said too her mother was a constant in the family?s life and was proved to be anchor to all.?She led you and she was at home, so you left and Mommy was home; when you came back Mommy was there. That hardly happens today,? Cumberbatch noted. She continued,[url=http://www.wholesalesportsjerseys.us@#$%&/]Cheap Sports Jerseys[/url], ?She was the one we went to and cried your eyes out because something happened at school?and she was the one who said to you to ignore persons or to not take things on?.Cumberbatch emphasised that though her mother was a strong woman, she was also a gentle woman. ?She was the backbone to the family yet the one you can tell all your problems to,? she added.Similarly, her grandmothers were strong figures and were extremely strict. Nonetheless, she said, they were very loving. Cumberbatch said these three figures heavily influenced her life and shaped her intoOn graduation day from UGbecoming the woman she is today.She explained that she was very inquisitive child and though she was sometimes chided, her curiosity was often encouraged and fostered.?The maternal part of my family was very instructive and instrumental in my upbringing,? she said.Furthermore, Cumberbatch said her family was not very rich, but the children were taught to be satisfied. Instead of riches, education was placed on the forefront and Cumberbatch said she seized all of the opportunities presented to her.?We were told that education was the key out of poverty. We weren?t poor that we were on the streets, but it was Daddy alone working, so we didn?t have forty dresses like many others would have had,? she said.Her biggest challenges at the time were disobeying her parents. She explained that her mother had a ritual which left her baffled. Her mother, she said, would stop her each morning before she left for school and warn her to behave in school, pay attention to the schoolwork, and walk on the right hand side of the road.?It was so strange! I would say,[url=http://www.salecheapjerseys.us@#$%&/]NFL Jerseys China Wholesale[/url], ?But Mommy, you would tell me that every day!? but she would say, ?Don?t worry, it?s my duty to tell you.?? Cumberbatch related.She continued, ?It was drilled into me so much that every time I was going to do the wrong thing, my mother?s words would come to mind.?Mrs. Cumberbatch, her husband and three children.She said, too, her parents ensured she and her siblings understood that they were as good as anyone else. ?We were taught that we were all one under God?so we drew up with everybody and it didn?t matter, because we learned that everyone was the same as us,? she said.INFLUENCE OF MEN AND WOMENCumberbatch?s early life set the foundation for success in her professional life and she eagerly jumped into the world of teaching as soon as she left high school.Cumberbatch explained that she had been interested in teaching since she was a child. However, when she indicated her serious interest in the matter after she had graduated high school, her father was not supportive. She said he expressed concerns at the low pay given to teachers along with the stress of dealing with young children.On the other hand, her mother was in full support of whatever Cumberbatch had set her heart on.?Whatever I wanted she wanted me to do and be the best at it, so she felt that teaching was good for me,? she said.Cumberbatch said that she was given a year by her father to teach and has never looked back since then.?After that I fell in love with it even more and I realized that this is what I wanted to do,? she said.Cumberbatch said her career was eventually supported by her father. She began teaching at St. Margaret?s Primary School in 1977.?It was there that I learnt a lot,? she said. ?Their motto was to be the best that you could be and I took that on as my personal motto,? she added.Her exuberance, she said, was encouraged by another female figure; this woman was the then headmistress of St. Margaret?s,[url=http://www.salecheapjerseys.us@#$%&/]NFL Jerseys From China[/url], Miss Alexander. She said the older woman pushed her to be innovative and eventually placed her in a leadership capacity.Cumberbatch later started at the Winfer Gardens Primary School as a senior teacher with big roles to play.At the same time, she began her studies at the University of Guyana. She explained that, as a woman, she needed to better herself. She said too she was pushed to make the move by both her brother and her husband.?Many times I applied, but I was pushed by my brother who encouraged me to go. As women, the men also help us. They see stuff in us and push us. My husband too was excited for me to go to UG; if he hadn?t been I couldn?t go,? she said.She continued,[url=http://www.wholesalenfljerseyssale.us@#$%&/]Cheap NFL Jerseys[/url], ?He was the one who allowed me to develop, and professional women, if they are honest, will tell you that there are women in their lives who help them, but there are men ? it may be your spouse, it may be your father or your brother ? who would encourage you as well and sometimes we don?t remember that.?Cumberbatch subsequently graduated from the University of Guyana and was awarded the President?s Medal. She later began pursuing her Master?s Degree at the age of 52.She explained that it had been difficult studying, being a mother, and a teacher all at the same time. However, she triumphed with the support of the women and men in her life.?Through all of it my husband and family were exceedingly supportive, but the one I praise most is God,? she said.?A WOMAN IS THE NECK THAT SUPPORTS THE HEAD?As a teacher, Cumberbatch said she encountered many parents in her career. Most of these parents, she said, had been mothers with vested interests in their children?s education.?When these ladies take time off from all the various things that they have to do and go to those meetings, it?s saying something to their children; it?s saying that education is important,[url=http://www.wholesalejerseyssale.us@#$%&/]Cheap Jerseys Authentic[/url],? she said.Cumberbatch opined that men need to ?step up?. She said too that the perception of taking care of the children as a woman?s job needs to be shifted.?People say it?s a ladies? thing, but it?s everybody?s thing. But we ladies tend to lead in that way, in the interest that we show. It?s very commendable,? she said.She encouraged all women, even those who are not mothers, to strive for excellence. ?They say that it?s the hand that rocks the cradle that rules the world,? she added. She continued, ?Women are very important to the world. Men might want to say that they are the head, but we are the neck, and the head can?t move without the neck. So we are very important, as important as ever. In life generally ? whether it be at church, whether it be in the school system or the work system or at home ? it is the women who look after things.?Cumberbatch further emphasised this importance and said that not only the world, but women themselves,[url=http://www.cheapjerseysauthenticonline.us@#$%&/]Cheap Jerseys NFL China[/url], needed to recognise the roles they play.In Guyana, Cumberbatch said the role is recognised,[url=http://www.wholesalenfljerseyssale.us@#$%&/]Cheap Jerseys From China[/url], but more recognition needs to be achieved.She said Guyana?s recognition of its women is evident in the high and different positions women hold in society today. However, this needs to be taken a step further.?Here, we need to recognise this even more; we need to step up and ensure, especially the men, recognise. Men came from women and if they recognise that they can?t do without us, we?ll live very well together. Each will realize each other?s place and complement each other. I?m not one of those liberal types; I recognise that men have an important role to play, but so do we,? she said.