- Norman Grindley
Dr. Phyllis McPherson-Russell received her award, the Order of Jamaica, the country's fifth highest honour, from Governor-General, Sir Howard Cooke, last Monday, National Heroes' Day.
SURPRISED WAS the one word Dr. Phyllis McPherson-Russell, C.D., used to describe her reactions to a telephone call in which she was told that she will be awarded the Order of Jamaica for work done in the field of education on National Heroes' Day.
"I was surprised when the secretary called me at home and read the letter which said I would be given this award. That was not on my mind at all," she recalled.
According to her, after receiving the Order of Distinction in 1991 for services to education, she thought that she had outdone herself in this area. She was also the awardee of the Issa Scholarship Award in 1945 and the Grace Dodge Fellowship in 1956. She was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Science Degree from Central Connecticut State University. A Scholarship Fund was also named in her honour for tertiary level students who perform exceptionally well in mathematics.
Russell, who was born in Kingston in 1923, started her high school education at Wolmer's Girls' School. She later attended the University of London where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics and she also attended the Institute of Education where she obtained an Academic Diploma in Education. In 1954 she achieved a Master's Degree in Supervision and Curriculum Development at the Teachers' College, Columbia University. While studying in the United States Russell was always thinking about the contributions she would like to make towards the development of her country. It was with this in mind that her Doctoral Dissertation was about developing a curriculum for children and youth in Jamaica.
Upon returning to Jamaica she taught Latin and Mathematics at her alma mater, and worked as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of the West Indies in 1975. In 1978 she served as Minister of Education for four years. She was also the Principal Faculty Member in Joint University of the West Indies and Johns Hopkins University Master's Programme in Applied Behavioural Science.
Dr. McPherson also became involved in women's studies and was later instrumental in the formation of the Gender and Development Studies Unit at Cave Hill and Mona campuses of the UWI. She was also integrally involved with the Management Institute for National Development (MIND), a programme which is being used by the government to upgrade the qualifications and behavioural attitudes of civil servants.
Russell, who worked all her life helping to make a contribution to her country, said that this passion came out of an appreciation for the opportunities that she received. "I respected and make use of every opportunity I got. In my days only one girl a year was awarded a Jamaica scholarship and I was lucky to be part of that, so I worked hard and take everything seriously." She also said that her successes came out of the acceptance that she was not good at language and had to try mathematics which was then known as number word. "I had problems with the language and at age 9 I failed my spelling test and so I had to use the experience for something good. As a result I tried number word and here I am," she recounted. In addition she explained that her involvement with women's studies also came out of an acknowledgement for the role her mother played in breaking the notion that women should stay at home. "My mother did not stay at home; she charted a course in that she worked at Facey, a manufacturing company, when it was unheard of that women should work," she said.
In reflecting on the development of Jamaica since independence Dr. McPherson-Russell said that she is dissatisfied with how we treat each other. "We still do not have an appreciation for each other. We are just not considerate. I am also of the opinion that while more persons are accessing tertiary education and more women are taking their rightful places, we have not collectively come together to use the information that we derive over time to sufficiently serve each other," Russell added.
In terms of her own future she is not ready to throw in the towel altogether and relax. She still does a lot of travelling, and so whenever she is in Jamaica she spends her time either enjoying her own company or spending time with her two step-children. "I spend so much time up and about so when I do get some time I like to be quiet. I am not on the entertainment side at all," she said.
