SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - In a keynote address, educator, former principal and former union leader Stuart Johnson urged Caribbean teachers to “step up” as architects of the future during his keynote address at the 42nd Biennial Conference of the Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, morning.
The five-day conference, hosted at the Simpson Bay Resort & Marina from August 11–15, is organized by the Windward Islands Teachers’ Union (WITU) in partnership with CUT, uniting educators and trade unionists from across the region under the day’s theme: “Trade Unionists in a Changing World.”
From his opening, Johnson made it clear that this was no ordinary speech: “I don’t just greet you as colleagues. I greet you as comrades, as partners in the same struggle, and as members of a movement far bigger than ourselves.”
He paid tribute to the “picket-line warriors” and “late-night negotiators” who built the foundation of today’s education rights, declaring: “They were not afraid of the world changing because they knew something powerful: the real power to change the world walked into their classrooms every morning carrying a backpack and a dream.”
Turning to the challenges of the digital era, Johnson acknowledged the rise of Artificial Intelligence but stressed that technology could never replace the human role in education:
“No machine, no algorithm, no software can replace the moral compass, the emotional intelligence, and the human heart of a teacher.”
Johnson warned of the dangers of passivity in the face of change: “If we are not vigilant, technology will outpace ethics. If we are not unified, privatization will outmaneuver solidarity. If we are not bold, injustice will become institutionalized into our education systems.”
Sharing lessons from his own journey as a teacher, principal, and union leader, he underscored that progress never comes without pressure and challenged attendees to act decisively after the conference: “Do not leave this conference only inspired; be ignited. Do not leave only with ideas, carry a mission. Do not leave only with notes and speeches; go with a plan… and the courage to act.”
Johnson’s closing words sealed his message with a promise of resilience and unity: “In this changing world, let it be written and let it be remembered; that the trade unionists of the Caribbean did not retreat. You rose. You rallied. And you rebuilt the future.”
The CUT 42nd Biennial Conference continues throughout the week, featuring workshops, panel discussions, and strategy sessions aimed at strengthening teacher representation, advancing professional development, and securing quality education for all Caribbean students.
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