Hilary Robertson -Hickling

The life and work of Mrs. Hazel Vaz, the founder of Vaz Preparatory School, is a testament to the importance of the cultivation of the mind. She dedicated her life to raising the standards of education in Jamaica, improving the performance of Jamaicans to excellence and the practice of her faith in the service of God and her country. She also helped to plan for her succession so that her granddaughter now runs the school.

We do not seem to value cultivators very highly in our society and seem to assume that the work can take care of itself and that it can run on auto pilot. Her life proved the opposite, and it would be wonderful if Vaz Preparatory alumni all over the world contributed to an endowment fund which would allow a Vaz High School and College to be established. I often wondered why the founders of such schools as Mary Morris Knibb did not go on to establish high schools. The need for new schools has been well documented and I hope that Vaz High will come to pass.

Caribbean writers

The University of the West Indies hosted a conference about some of the best Caribbean writers including the Nobel Prize Winner Derek Walcott, Professor McWatt, Chalkdust, Olive Senior and Erna Brodber. They discussed their work as writers and the discussion inevitably went to the need to cultivate the creative imagination of our people in this region. The woes which beset the educational system and a mindset which avoids reading pose serious problems for our development. The work of the Jamaica Library Service and the librarians across the country has not been as highly valued as is necessary. They have created a national service which has reached into the highways and byways.

The new academic year will require a higher level of commit-ment, by parents, teachers and institutions but most of all from the student himself or herself to the need for cultivation of the mind. To use the metaphor of the garden. We need to recognise that the garden will be overwhelmed by weeds if careful tending, watering, and pruning are not done.

Prickles

New growth is not possible without these efforts even as prickles wait to stick you. There are some of us who prefer artificial plants because they last long and require very little care. Others steal plants from the gardeners who have carefully tended their gardens. It is very hard work but a beautifully tended garden is wonderful to behold.

The role of teachers cannot be underestimated and I was saddened to note that 60 per cent of subject teachers are not teaching in their area of competence. I also note that many parents and guardians fail to realise that they are the first cultivators of the children's minds. I heard the story of a medical doctor who though raised by a grandmother who was illiterate, was quizzed by that same grandmother every day after school about what she had done at school. Hence, the school and teachers were able to influence her positively after the work had been done at home.

Such persons as Mrs. Stanley of the Restoration School in Rema have tried to undertake the cultivation in a very challenging environment and this has given many young people a much, needed second chance and given some more privileged young people a chance to serve. Cultivation of the mind is hard work but there is nothing more tragic than the waste of a human mind.

Hilary Robertson-Hickling is a lecturer in the Department of Management Studies, University of the West Iindies, Mona.