Teacher launches book to enhance child/parent relationship during pandemic

Nursery School Teacher and publisher Tazena Joseph with a copy of her book

With the prevailing Coronavirus pandemic, some reports have suggested that domestic violence and other forms of family feuds have increased as too did mental health issues.

Amidst it’s all, there was at least one member of the education system, a teacher, who used the pandemic to study and write a book on how parents and their children can co-exist during this difficult period.

Miss Tazena Joseph or ‘Miss Joseph’ as she is called by her students and co-workers, teaches at the Lusignan Nursery School located on East Coast of Demerara (ECD). Miss Joseph describes herself as an energetic and vibrant teacher who loves and has a passion for teaching, her children in the classroom, and the profession in general.

A recent graduate of the University of Guyana with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, Joseph is among dozens of UG graduates who were featured by BIG Smith News Watch where she spoke of her University Journey.

The educator said she saw how the pandemic was affecting children and particularly her students and felt that something needed to be done,  but also something positive which would ease the tension and burden of those involved. ‘David Back to School’ was then birthed.

‘David Back to School’ is a book which places special emphasis on the psychology of the young mind and is composed for children and the importance of parental involvement in their lives.

In the book, the storyline is based on a kindergarten student called ‘David’ , and his return to school life during the pandemic. It captures how children feel through the eyes of ‘David’ as it highlights the transitioning to the new school environment, that is, both at home and online, and how disappointing it can be especially for children who crave the actual classroom interactions.

The book as explained by Miss Joseph, would help children with their vocabulary and aid better parent/child relations through its many activities which both parent and child can engage in, collectively or individually.

Miss Joseph told BIG Smith News Watch that at first, she was ‘clueless’ as what to write but she began by outlining a plan for the book catering to young children.

Balancing her career and putting together the book to publish was not easy as Miss Joseph found out along the way. She said both tasks proved to be demanding while there was also the responsibility of managing her home.

Overcoming the obstacles was achieved with tremendous support from co-workers and family members who were familiar with her goal of writing a book.

The excitement was continuous among Joseph’s friends who would often inquire about the status of the book. She explained that this was instrumental in giving her renewed hope and fueled her determination to complete the book which is named after her son David.

‘David Back to School’ is currently available on Amazon and is available in both soft and hard copies. Tazena Jospeh is calling on the public to support her sales of the book by contacting her on telephone numbers 592-688-3653 for inquiries and sales of hard copies. She hopes that her book can also be adopted by the Ministry of Education.