BIOGRAPHY: Mrs. Agnes Morton-Star of Merit Awardee 2017(St.Kitts-Nevis)

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Mrs Agnes Morton

Agnes Eudora Morton taught all her life.  Her teaching career began as a Pupil Teacher at the age of 13.  Her mission was to uplift all of the students whom she was able to teach.
The In-Service Training and her mastery of the academic subjects she had to teach in addition to the compulsory, “Principles and Practice of Teaching” helped her to rapidly progress to a Second Class Teacher which was the entry requirement to the Spring Gardens Teacher Training College in Antigua.  Her two-year college training enhanced her teaching skills and thus made her an effective Assistant Teacher at the All-Age Elementary Schools in Basseterre and Sandy Point.
Her teaching style demonstrated her sense of purpose and thus she was able to win a ready response to learning from any age group.  She was also identified as one of the model Assistant Teachers, and Pupil Teachers were assigned to observe teaching in practice.
In 1954 she journeyed to Jamaica where she pursued a one-year course in Home Economics.
When the Secondary School system replaced the All-Age Elementary Schools, Mrs. Morton made her mark as a Specialist Teacher in the Department of Home Economics where she specialized in Food and Nutrition up to School Leaving Certificate and later O’Level and the Caribbean Examinations Council exams.  She also taught English at the Basseterre High School.
In 1975, she was selected to chaperone the young teenagers who were sent to England on a Student Exchange.
In 1995 she was recognized by the Caribbean Association of Home Economists for her contribution as co-author of the textbook series “Caribbean Home Economics In Action”.
She was the recipient of the St. Kitts Teachers Union Award for years of invaluable service to the nation’s development through education from 1944-1986.
In December 1991 a certificate was presented to Mrs. Morton by the then Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Interministerial Council for her outstanding contribution to the development of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis in the area of education.
In December 1999 the Basseterre High School presented Mrs. Morton with an award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the development of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis in the field of education.
Contribution to Society
Her contribution to society included the Music Ministry in the Wesley Methodist Church as the Director of the Junior Choir, a position she held for over 20 years.  She moulded a large group of teenagers into a large, disciplined, harmonious group.  It was no wonder when in December 2012 former choir members from St. Kitts and overseas reunited themselves and sang some items of old in Mrs. Morton’s honour to testify how she had touched their lives.  The present Methodist Superintendent grew up under her leadership as Choir Director.
Social Welfare
A member of the St. Christopher Choral Association since 1980 and a foundation member of the St. Christopher Choral Society, Mrs. Morton was able to bring love and joy through these creative activities.
Church worship at the Wesley Methodist Chapel was enhanced by her exquisite floral arrangements at the altar every first Sunday in the month.
To some members of society, Mrs. Morton’s greatest impact was her supervision of the Wesley “Meals on Wheels” programme that ensured that the sick, the poor and shut-ins had a hot, delicious, nutritious meal. The Christian Council now undertakes that project.
Her community service included serving as the President of the Business and Professional Women’s Club from 1981-1983, serving on the executive of the St. Kitts Floral Association and the Partners of the Americas organization.
In the 1980’s she conducted community classes in cake and pastry making for the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.  She also taught teenage girls who had gotten pregnant a skill which they could develop and use to become self-employed under the Teenage Family Life Education Programme (TEFLEP).
Mrs. Morton who is now 87 years of age, has not been forgotten.  Many of her past friends and students remember her and visit her to remind her that her living and teaching were not in vain.  Mrs. Morton is blessed that she can enjoy her happy family:  her husband Edmund Morton and her four children who are making their contribution to society, and, best of all her delightful grand and great-grand children.

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