Heather Robinson
My parents were both teachers. I have spent many hours as an adult speaking to my father's students. There is a common chord in all of these conversations: Simply put, these students believe that they are where they are today because of the many efforts that were made to ensure that they received excellent primary education. One doctor tells the story of how he was not doing any work at school until my father reported him to his father. He says he has not looked back since then, and the fact that today he is a doctor is in large part due to the efforts of my father.
Many other stories can be told about students who now thank their teachers for the beating/flogging/caning that they received at school. Many Jamaicans have a favourite teacher who has had a tremendous impact on their development. Each year, students and past students honour teachers, and those who do not live here anymore visit their old teachers when they come home to Jamaica. Perhaps it is true that teachers are not as dedicated as were the teachers of my father's and mother's era, but the environment in which these teachers are asked to perform has changed drastically.
RESOLVED BY FLOGGING
The story is told of my father flogging a boy who had not done his homework, some time in the 1950s. The boy reported my father to his father who turned up at school the next day to demand an explanation. After some type of discussion between both men, my father resolved the matter by giving the boy's father a flogging as well. His strap did not discriminate. I have often wondered how my father would have dealt with teaching in one of the schools in the troubled South St Andrew constituency, since his entire teaching life was in the rural parish of Westmoreland.
What I do know is that he would not have taken kindly to the remarks of any MP complaining about 'value' for money to the teachers. What my father would have expected the MP to do is to come and meet with all the teachers in the troubled areas and voice his concern there. He would have preferred that the teachers be given a private opportunity to express themselves as they sought to develop ways in which they could improve the performance of the children. Any teacher who has remained faithful to the students in these schools deserves special medals for bravery as they are constantly surrounded by guns, gunfire and murders. These teachers must be commended for getting up each day, going to school knowing very well that their classroom could be disrupted by another murder.
SPECIAL BREED
Teachers are among a very special breed, and any MP who does not understand that you cannot attack them and win, is not worthy of being considered for re-election. All Jamaicans must nurture and protect teachers from anyone who seems hell-bent on destroying their morale.
On Tuesday, the MP for Western Kingston exposed himself to Jamaica once more. 'The Real Bruce Golding' stood up and expected us to applaud him and his second in command Councillor Desmond McKenzie. These two men put on quite a show for first-time viewers. But those who had seen the show before were not very impressed.
It began with them disregarding the curfew order, and having done that, they dared an assistant commissioner of police to lock them up. There was very little difference between this incident and others shown on television with other Jamaicans disobeying the instruction of the police. His fingers were pointed constantly in the officer's face as he managed to speak perfect English for the benefit of his audience.
One of the dangers of having television crews follow political leaders in situations like what prevailed in Tivoli on Tuesday is that pictures do not lie. And it is obvious from the CVM footage that neither of the two women who were shot were standing beside Bruce Golding, as he had to move forward into the crowd that was rushing in towards him and clearly he was not the target of any gun that was fired.
Members of Parliament cannot expect to command the respect of constituents when they take their local problems into the national domain without first discussing such concerns privately. And neither can they expect to behave like their constituents with only the English language being the difference. Those who aspire to lead Jamaica must first cast the mote out of their own eyes.
Heather Robinson is a life underwriter and former Member of Parliament.
