PARTICIPANTS IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS

PARTICIPANTS IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS

1. TEACHERS

However, owing to the abolishment of slavery, the growing number of students enrolling at primary schools resulted in the need for more experienced teachers and that is why their education became a priority number one for the local governments. The authorities realised "very early, to have West Indian teachers, trained in the West Indies" (Phillips 3). In other words, educating future teachers living in the Caribbean rather than bringing them over from Britain (Phillips 3). Rush adds that the first professional jobs that were offered to inhabitants of African-Caribbean origin were the positions of primary school "because it [position of a teacher] did not require anything beyond primary school training” (Rush 30). Furthermore, primary school teachers were very poorly paid and such positions were not attractive for educated professionals (Rush 30).

1. EDUCATING TEACHERS

Consequently, new training institutions were opened around the 1850's by local governments and various religious denominations, for example the Training College by the Canadian Presbyterian Mission at Naparina in Trinidad, The Spring Gardens Training College in Antigua (founded in 1854), a small training school at Codrington College in Barbados (Phillips 3). The training schools were very similar to the first colleges established by the Mico Charity; to be specific a limited number of applicants was accepted, the studies were not finished with an examination and the students attended courses of various lengths (Campbell, Young Colonials 54-59). Due to the small number of teacher training college graduates, the 'monitorial' and 'pupil-teacher' systems were introduced to educate enough primary school teachers "to keep the school going" (Phillips 4). Both the systems were used from the nineteenth century onwards.

The monitorial system was founded by Joseph Lancaster, a British educator. The large number of students attending one class and the inability of the teacher to attend to all students was one of the main reasons why this system was implemented. Students, the so-called 'monitors', functioned as 'teachers without qualification' because they did not attend any teacher training schools or passed any formal examinations. They were taught by their teachers who acted primarily as their guides, supervisors, and examiners. Even though this model was fairly economical for schools, it also had some negative aspects. Firstly, there were not enough students who could function as monitors and secondly, the children only obtained factual knowledge from them (Wardle 86-102).

The monitorial system was gradually replaced by the pupil-teacher model, which was founded by Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth in England. In this system, a teacher chose one of his students, either a girl or a boy usually at the age of fourteen, who wanted or had the right qualities to become a primary school teacher, or students who did not win the exhibition or pass the secondary school entrance examination and who aspired to get a white collar job. Those students stayed at primary schools for additional five years and worked alongside their teacher (Wardle 103). At the end of every year the pupil-teachers had to pass examinations from selected subjects, such as the 3R's and grammar. Apart from the aforementioned, the students had to study other subjects which were part of their primary school curriculum, for instance History and Geography. In the twentieth century, after passing the Preliminary Examination the pupil-teachers could continue their studies at a teacher training college or they could start working at a primary school where they were educated(Campbell, Young Colonials 63). In other words, this system educated teachers for rural primary schools mainly.

The title hero of The Schoolmaster by Earl Lovelace, a newly qualified teacher Winston Warrick, who is appointed by a local vicar to run a community school in Kumaca in Trinidad, is positively surprised by a young girl Christiana Dandrade who can read and write, unlike other children in the village. Upon interviewing Christiana, Mr. Warrick recognizes her potential to become a pupil-teacher because she not only possesses academic skills but she is also considered and patient with other children. Owing to her qualities, the schoolmaster decides to make Christiana his assistant:

"Your [Pauline] daughter, did you not say that she [Christiana] could read and write?"

"Better than me, even, she does these thing," Pauline said.

"Then I [Warrick]would like to interview her. I would need an assistant."

"Do you think she is good enough?"

"If you will send her to see me, I can find out if she is suitable," the schoolmaster said. (Lovelace, 52-53)

As a pupil-teacher, Christiana helps her peers with learning to read and write, because the 3R's have always been considered the most important basic knowledge that all primary school students have to master. Additionally, she takes private lessons from the schoolmaster, Mr. Warrick, who is preparing her for the examinations set by the government, it is very likely that she is preparing for the Teachers' Certificate Examination: "I [Robert] hear that she [Christiana] is very bright, and you [Pedro] yourself tell me that she is taking private lessons from the schoolmaster so that she would take an examination that the other people take at Zanila" (Lovelace 82-83). As mentioned above, the pupil-teacher system was fairly economical because Christiana does not receive any salary but the priest, Father Vincent, thinks that it ought to change because the girl is doing such a good job. In reality, she does most of the teaching herself because the schoolmaster is more interested in his business affairs than in teaching.

"Tell me [Father Vincent], how is Miss Dandrade getting on? Is she much help?"

"She is a fine young lady, Father. Her work is quite good."

"We will have to pay her, Mr Warrick."

"Don't you think she should be paid?"

"By all means, Father. By all means. Her work is quite good." (Lovelace, 68)

The lack of certified teachers began to change towards the end of the nineteenth century when the Teachers' Certificate Examination was introduced and all teachers, irrespective of their former education, had to obtain this certificate which, however, did not depend on attending any teacher training college (see figs. 1 and 2). In other words, those students who did not go to the teacher training school had to prepare themselves for sitting the examination. Since 1902, the Teachers' Certificate Examination was also available to students of Indian origin who intended to teach at Hindu schools. Additionally, the above mentioned pupil-teachers were also required to take this examination (Campbell, Young Colonials 60-64).

During the twentieth century, with the exception of the Second World War, new teacher training colleges were established because of a growing demand for qualified primary school teachers, for example a teacher training college in Guyana (the 1920's) (Bacchus 111), Erdiston Training College (1948) in Barbados ("Memorandum on Compulsory Education"); the Roman Catholic Female Training School, Naparima Training College, the Canadian Presbyterian Teacher Training College or Government Training College in Trinidad (Phillips 3-5). The teacher training schools also accepted the holders of the Junior Cambridge Certificate or higher, although the holders of the Senior Cambridge Examination could work as teachers without attending a teacher training college or aim at studying at a university abroad (Campbell, Young Colonials 122 - 129). An interesting fact is that the Erdiston Training College in Barbados established a small school accompanying the college where the future teachers were able to do their internal training ("Memorandum on Compulsory Education").

Ganesh, the protagonist of The Mystic Masseur by V. S. Naipaul, goes to a secondary school and upon passing the Cambridge School Certificate, the headmaster helps him to enrol at the Government Training College in Port of Spain. During his training Ganesh learns subjects which are taught at primary schools. Furthermore, as a part of his training he also teaches at a local primary school. After completing the teaching course he is immediately assigned to teach at a town primary school: "I [headmaster of a primary school] was telling you that you is a lucky man. Most of the times they just lose a new man like you somewhere in the country, all up by Cunaripo and all sorta outa the way places" (Naipaul, Mystic 20). Unfortunately, he learns that the teacher training college has not prepared him properly for his teaching career. He has to face the reality of teaching, the lack of interest of primary school students, the low standards of schools and pupils themselves. Moreover, Ganesh learns what is the main purpose of schools and education on the primary level in the Caribbean: "Mr Ramsumair [Ganesh], I don't know what views you have about educating the young, but I [headmaster] want to let you know right away, before we even start, that the purpose of this school is to form, not to inform. Everything is planned" (Naipaul, Mystic 20). Ganesh leaves the school and Port of Spain; consequently he gets married and moves to the countryside where he concentrates on his writing and pundit's careers.

In contrast to Naipaul, Lamming In the Castle of My Skin does not enrol at a teacher training college but he takes the advantage of the fact that his secondary school education allows him to directly apply for a teaching position at a primary school in the neighbouring island of Trinidad, where he is to be employed: "[t]he other letter came from the school authorities in Trinidad. They had confirmed the appointment which I [Lamming] had accepted. I was going to the neighbouring island to teach English to a small boarding school of South Americans from Venezuela and one or two other republics" (Lamming 227).

The persisting problem that the authorities had to tackle in the second half of the twentieth century was the continuously low number of teachers leaving teacher training colleges, for example by the 1950's there were less than fifty percent of qualified teachers (see table 1). Moreover, Bacchus says that the Teachers' College in Guyana educated only 1,296 qualified teacher in its thirty-five year long existence, to be exact by 1963 (118). In order to solve this problem, a number of new short-term courses was established, especially for those teachers who did not attend training colleges when they were younger, the courses were shortened and the internal training became inseparable part of the newly qualified teachers, evening and weekend courses were also offered (Phillips 7).

Since the birth of the teacher training colleges their curriculum "was very literary ... the contents of the training bore little relevance to the work of the schools" (Phillips 4). The syllabus changed at the end of the nineteenth century and it included the same subjects taught at primary schools. However, the information the trainees received were again inadequate as "the curriculum became too wedded to that of the school, so that the process of training came to be regarded largely as a process of stocking the students' minds with the matter to be reproduced in the classroom" (Phillips 4). The curriculum underwent further changes throughout the twentieth century. The syllabus of the post-war teacher training colleges still reflected subjects taught at primary schools but it also included new vocational subjects because "the Government continued to exert pressures on the primary schools to teach new subjects considered important to 'national development' which reflected the need in changes in the curriculum of the teacher training colleges, for example bookkeeping" (Bacchus 122). To be exact, the trainees studied fifteen subjects from which they had to pass an examination at the end of their course, for example Principles of Education, Mathematics, Geography, History, Hygiene, Bookbinding, Shoe Repairing, Hammock, or Matmaking. On top of that, the trainees had to sit examinations from Infant Teaching and Arithmetic. Furthermore, the trainees had to study Religious Education, West Indian Literature and professional subjects connected with methodology of teaching. (Bacchus 121-122) Since 1957 the syllabus also included external trainings which became a significant part of the curriculum of the teacher training colleges (Phillips 6-7).

The above mentioned description refers to education of primary school teachers because secondary school teachers were required to have a university degree, which they were very likely to receive in England because there were no universities in the Caribbean region prior to 1948 when the University College of the West Indies was established. However, those students who studied in England hardly ever returned to the Caribbean. Therefore, employing teaching staff of African-Caribbean origin with a university degree became fairly difficult. School representatives sought qualified teachers in England but in the meantime, British expatriates living in the Caribbean region were employed (Rush 30-31). The reason why they did not need the teachers' certificate or a university degree was that they were British and "the secondary education such persons [of British origin] had received in Britain was superior to any that could be had in the British West Indies" (Rush 31).

1. ROLE OF TEACHERS

In the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century, teachers were highly regarded because they were educated, quite often abroad, and they played "an active part in 'raising' the moral standards of the community" (Bacchus 124). As a result, teachers were very often the most influential members of the local community "the village schoolmaster was a very important figure in the rural community, often serving as a village councillor or even village chairman" (Bacchus 124) because they "enjoyed high status in the villages" (Bacchus 124). For that reason, the villagers looked up to teachers and consulted them in various matters, "The local citizenry not only respected their position, but often sought and followed their advice on important issues" (Bacchus 124).

Earl Lovelace in The Schoolmaster depicts the high status of the local teacher and the influence he has on the community. Mr. Warrick, soon after his arrival, becomes the most influential person in the village of Kumaca: "[t]he schoolmaster was a new man, and intelligent, so the people listened to him" (Lovelace 70). As soon as he secures his position among the villagers he starts acting as if he was the mayor; he decides on various important issues and advises the citizens in both personal and business affairs. The schoolmaster blinds the villagers to the fact that they do not see his superiority that he shows wherever he appears. Furthermore, he uses his position of authority and power to his own benefit. Based on his superior behaviour the reader might think that the teacher is of European origin who has been brought over to raise the educational standard of the community, yet the schoolmaster is of African descent. The colonial education he has received in England has changed him and that may be one of the reasons why he behaves in such a conceited way:

"But this schoolmaster is your [Dandrade's] own. Your own people." "He [headmaster] is black, yes. But not my own people. Priest, he is closer to your [British] people I think he is your people. He learned in your schools, and he wears the clothes the way you wear them, and he talks the way you talk, and his thinking is that of your people. He is yours, priest. He is not mine." (Lovelace 66)

However, the behaviour of citizens towards the schoolmaster changes after the people learn that he has got Christiana pregnant and therefore is responsible for her suicide. Other authors, such as A. C. Clarke, Lamming, Naipaul and other writers discussed in this paper also describe the importance of teachers or headmasters as the parents often seek their advice on the question of further education of their children and preparation for external examinations, private tutoring, and so forth.

However, the high status of teachers brought with it some negative aspects, to be specific violent behaviour of teachers towards their students. Although it could be thought that the main motion for such a behaviour was the race of the students, Peter Foster wrote that there was no evidence proving that the negative attitude and bad treatment of students at schools was based on the race of the students or the teachers (271-272). The majority of novels in this paper often depict cruelty of teachers who, as described below, use physical punishment primarily for lapses in students' behaviour and their lack of knowledge. For most teachers and headmasters whips or other objects, such as belts or rods, belong to inevitable tools to discipline their students. For example the headmaster in Crick Crack, Monkey by Merle Hodge uses a whip for both teaching and punishing students. However, what is more interesting is the fact that the headmaster has named his whip and that makes it an important part of his everyday teaching life:

Sir [the headmaster] called his whip 'Fire and brimstone' or 'The wrath of God'. He and the whip were inseparable - he used it to point things out on the blackboard; he waved it in the air or tapped on the table with it during his speeches; it lay across the table in front of him as he sat and read to us tales of unvanquished knights with valiant swords and trusty steeds; with it he liberally dispensed both the wrath of God and fire and brimstone. But there were times when he relinquished it. (Hodge 55)

A. C. Clarke in Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack describes the treatment of students on both primary and secondary levels. It is evident that the male primary school teachers are more cruel than the secondary school teachers. As mentioned above, the teachers use any objects to cause harm to their pupils for misbehaving, lack of knowledge or hygiene: "the flogging orgies I had witnessed and sometimes suffered through at my previous school, St. Matthias Boys' School. There the headmaster used the belt from a sewing machine. Rumour was that he soaked it in pee every night" (Clarke, Growing 8). The above description supports Foster's view that the cruelty has nothing to do with the country of origin or skin colour as the primary school headmaster in this novel is also of African descent. Furthermore, Clarke also depicts the meanness of secondary school teachers at Combermere. One of the teachers used to be a soldier and the students have given him a nickname which reflects their fear, his cruelty, and students' respect: "[h]e was military in bearing, tall as the casuarina trees in the grounds at the Marine Hotel; sever and cruel, both in looks and action. He became overnight the Gestapo of the secondary school in the country" (Clarke, Growing 42).

In Amongst Thistles and Thorns A. C. Clarke returns to the same demonstration of self-satisfied joy that flogging and humiliation of the students bring the headmaster, “I [Milton] could see the headmaster’s face relax; and a happiness appeared on it. Now he was as pleased as a child” (Clarke, Amongst 11). Even though Milton hates his teacher, “I wanted to kill him.” (Clarke, Amongst 2), he and his fellow students accept such a behaviour because the children are brought up in a society where teachers are highly regarded and what is more, their parents support their teachers’ actions.

On the other hand, E. R. Braithwaite in his semi-autobiographical novel To Sir, With Love and Michael Anthony in All That Glitters describe primary school teachers who are considerate, affectionate and caring for the well being of their students. Neither Sir, as Braithwaite is called, nor Teacher Myra beat their students for misbehaving, lack of knowledge or other reasons. Sir treats his students with dignity as if they were his equals and he does not behave in a superior manner even though he has a university degree. In other words the students "were very pleased to be treated like grown-ups..." (Braithwaite 78). He stops using school books and brings them authentic materials in the form of magazines or newspaper, they talk about various topics, he even organises a visit to museums in London, in other words he tries to prepare them for a difficult adult life. The students’ positive attitude is shared by their families and the East End community where most of his students live. Similarly, Teacher Myra also treats her students well, she does not punish them because, as well as Braithwaite, she wants to create a positive atmosphere in her class. However, she relies on the authority that her position of a teacher brings to keep her class in order:

"Everybody laughed, and Teacher Myra said, 'Class!' And she struck the desk with the duster because she did not have any whip. Then, looking at the class, she pointed to the motto above the stage at the other end of the room. It was in bug black letters and it said, 'Manners Maketh Man.' She did not say a word, but just pointed to the motto and the laughter died down." (Anthony 120)

Furthermore, her interactive teaching techniques help to create the students' positive attitude towards learning. Above all, the students like Teacher Myra and Sir because they have become role models for them.

1. TEACHING METHODS

Although the rote learning was widely in use throughout the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, they brought with them some disadvantages. The main drawback was the lack of understanding of what the children were reading or learning: "... the learner may commit to memory information which is not understood and is therefore of no functional value. Material that is forced into memory by drill type repetition without understanding tends to remain isolated within the learner's long-term memory, rather than being connected with prior knowledge" (Westwood 10). Moreover, the utilization of these methods usually resulted in the negative attitude of students towards reading and learning in general. This aspect of education is described in most of the novels mentioned here. Similarly, teachers in secondary schools used the 'intensive' method which was a very similar technique, that is drills and memorization, used on primary level and Campbell describes it as "meticulous preparation of students for the Cambridge examinations; in the case of candidates for the university scholarship, it involved repetition of the same work, or the same kind of work, in the search for accuracy" (Young Colonials 175).

The above stated techniques are described by the vast majority of authors discussed in this paper. For example, Jamaica Kincaid or A. C. Clarke describe the way the rote learning was employed in memorizing exact days of various historical events and biographies of famous personalities from the British history. Moreover poems, rhymes or timetables were taught this way as demonstrated in V. S. Naipaul's The House for Mr Biswas: "Ought oughts are ought, ought twos are ought" ( House 44).

Besides drills and memorization, other teaching techniques used in Reading lessons were the 'phonic' and the 'alphabetic' methods which were suitable for larger classrooms because they used oral repetition conducted by the whole class; the 'look and say' and the 'sentence' methods. The 'alphabetic' method, which was used in teaching the youngest children, was based on learning the names of individual letters of the alphabet ("Primary Education" 151-154). However, those teachers who used Cutteridge's Nelson's West Indian Readers: First Primer in the first half of the twentieth century, started with the 'phonic' method and the names of the letters of the alphabet were only taught if the need arose, otherwise they were neglected (Cutteridge 2-3). At first, the children learnt the sounds of individual letters and then, they slowly progressed to reading and learning two and three letter words. The teacher taught them to pronounce each letter separately and then as one word (Cutteridge 4-5).

Once the children mastered the sounds, the focus was placed on high frequency words, for example we, go, for, he, and so forth (Cutteridge 7-8); short phrases and simple sentences. The teachers began to move from the 'phonic' to 'look and say' and the 'sentence' methods because their main aim was to memorize words, phrases and sentences without the need of using sounds. Furthermore, the words and sentences were accompanied by pictures which should have eased their recognition (see fig. 3). Even though the students learnt to read, "the need for frequent repetition of vocabulary" and stereotype of the lessons caused their disinterest in what they were reading ("Primary Education" 152) The older children used other reading materials such as the Royal Reader or Bell's Standard Elocutionist, which contained stories or poetry and which the students were required to read and learn (see figs. 4 and 5).

Throughout the twentieth century the teachers were encouraged to use different teaching methods which would result in raising a positive attitude towards learning. The Educational Board published a booklet called the Handbook of Suggestions for Teachers, last reprinted in 1944 when the new educational act was published, which gave all teachers suggestions how to teach effectively:

... each teacher shall think for himself, and work out for himself such methods of teaching as many use his powers to the best advantage and be best suited to the particular needs and conditions of the school. Uniformity in details of practice is not desirable even if it were attainable. But freedom implies a corresponding responsibility in use. (Campbell, Young Colonials 157).

For example, Braithwaite in To Sir, With Love describes the teaching methods used by Sir, as Braithwaite is called by his students, in an East-End school in London. From the beginning the students have shown a lack of interest in their school books, their content and learning in general. Therefore, Sir tries to find different ways how to change their attitude towards the learning process and the educational system itself. Sir's interest in the students themselves, identifying their needs and interests help Braithwaite to give his students a profound knowledge of history, geography, religion of both Britain and the rest of the world: "I talked to them about everything and anything, and frequently the bell for recess, dinner or the end of the day would find us deep in interested discussion. I sought to relate each lesson to themselves, showing them that the whole purpose of their education was the development of their own thinking and reasoning" (Braithwaite 79). Furthermore, he starts using authentic materials such as pictures or posters of things from their surroundings; they discuss topics from their books and real life, he teaches them new information or elicits the already acquired knowledge and tries to expand it: "[o]ur lessons were very informal, each one a king of discussion in which I gave them a lead an encouraged them to express their views against the general background of textbook information" (Braithwaite 98). Moreover, he organizes for his students a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum in the centre of London and he is pleased by the positive response of his students.

Similarly, Teacher Myra, the heroine of All That Glitters by Michael Anthony, uses discussions and vivid story telling to raise students' interest in the subject taught while teaching, for instance, about the geography of the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Students are drawn into the lesson where they have to answer Teacher Myra's questions, think about her questions as well as the answers. Moreover, her descriptions make the stories alive and real. Therefore, the students are very likely to remember even the slightest interesting details because they are not just abstract far away places that they may never visit but real places located on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean:

I was quietly taken aback by the blue sheet that stretched motionlessly into the distance. It was as if I was in class and hearing Teacher Myra's voice: "Look at the map of Trinidad. Consider the western coast now. That is the Gulf of Paria. A quiet sea- not rough and unruly as Mayaro sea. Because it is? Yes, Claudia, because it is sheltered. This is a gulf, class. You know what a gulf is, Sarah? All right. Here in Mayaro the waters is the Atlantic Ocean." (Anthony 183)

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