One of my earliest memories is sitting at the kitchen table, aged six, parroting Latin conjugation of the verb “Amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant”, meaning (for those of us who were denied such a vital lesson) “I love, you love, he/she/it loves, we love, you love, they love”. Don’t we just (not) love it! There are probably not all that many of us left who were taught Latin at school and even we might have wondered why we had to learn this archaic, outdated language but it has come in handy over the years, not least as so many English words come from Latin ones.
Another Latin verb I seem to recall we learned early on was “do, das, dat, damus, datis, dant” (“I give, you give, he/she/it gives” etc) – or in its common form, “do, dare, dedi, datum”. These are all parts of the verb, “to give”, from which we get our word, “dedicated”. The logic there is clear: someone who is dedicated gives of himself or herself.
It is interesting that if we take those Latin words and apply them to how we use them in English, we may uncover more about what dedication actually means. Firstly, to give, to be dedicated, we must DO – giving is only found in action. It is not enough to talk the talk but we must walk the walk. Secondly, to give we must DARE – we must dare to be brave and courageous, willing to step out of the comfort zone and over the base line. Thirdly, we must be DEDIcated; we must be people who give, not ‘buy’ – it is ‘dedi’, not ‘dodo’; alive, not dead. Fourthly, we must accept the DATUM, the ‘givens’; it is a ‘given’ (an unquestioned truth) that we give of ourselves, beyond the call of duty.
I say all of this as one of the fourteen criteria offered as requirements for a high-quality education is ‘dedicated staff’. Note that it is not ‘staff’, or even ‘qualified staff’, that will produce high-quality education; it is dedicated staff. Dedicated staff make all the difference in a school. Teaching is all about giving, as we know all too well, and when we give well we will achieve great things.
However, we do well to remember that when we love doing something, it is never a chore to give; in fact, we delight in giving. As teachers, we need to be amateurs (coming from the Latin word, ‘amo’, ‘I love’ – see above!) in the literal sense, people who love doing what they are doing, people who will give of themselves, again and again, often without any apparent recognition or reward, because of that love. ‘Dedication’ is synonymous with ‘Devotion’ and ‘Passion’, both of which relate to love.
As the saying goes, all of this may “sound all Greek to me” but actually it is Latin and it is English and it makes sense. Dedicated staff will make the difference in our school and ensure it is not simply offering an education or even a good education but in fact a high quality education (which is what ATS has as its Vision). To you therefore, I say ‘thank you’ for the dedication you have shown in the past and more especially thank you for the dedication you are currently showing when it may appear you are getting little in return. I simply dare you – continue to be dedicated! Love your work!
For a further article on this theme you may consider the article entitled ‘The Gift That Keeps On Giving’ on the ATS website: http://www.atschisz.co.zw/category/ats/executive-director-newsletter/
We wish you great joy, fulfilment and reward as you continue to give this term.
