a leap of faith.. opening a school tobago 1994..............

Our horse Mandy!

The school garden.

Trees to climb!

The children and teachers.

The school

There came a time, in my teaching career when, in order to remain true to what I knew about the creative force, and its intrinsic place in learning, I was forced to create a school that I could believe in.

I had tried for many years to place creativity at the centre of the teaching I did, within the regular school system. But it became dissatisfying, because I could see that there was so much more that could be done, while teaching the same curriculum, and preparing for the same examinations. To me, there was no division between these 'realities'. We are whole beings, made of mind, body and spirit. Why should we exclude two of these realities, and teach to the mind, in isolation?

Any learning experiences which were meaningful to me, or that I have any recall of now, were experiences where the whole 'me' was involved. The rest was like flat cardboard by comparison. So many years of boredom, that could have been so exciting!

I moved toward the idea of opening a school, very cautiously. Originally, I taught the Special Ed. children of North America. Any method that I could devise to teach these little children, was accepted by the system, because clearly the 'normal' teaching was not working for these children, and the system was at a loss to know what to do with them!

I taught the 'educationally mentally retarded", (EMR) as they were called in those days. I taught the gifted, who were also labelled 'special need' students. I taught the emotionally disturbed. I taught the teenagers who had 'fallen through the cracks'.. a phrase I have never understood!

I taught the children from the 'new Canadian' families, who came from all over the world, but mostly from the Caribbean. I taught the indigenous Canadians, whose peoples had lived in North America, long before the Europeans 'arrived'. I taught teens from Canada who were in trouble with the law, and needed guidance to get back to a less destructive path.

These children did not 'fit', and were therefore given special schools and special classes, within regular schools, in those days. (1973-1986 ). Later, when this quite effective and humane system became too expensive to maintain, it was dismantled, under the guise of not wanting to isolate these children. As if being a 'failure' isn't isolation in itself!

In these teaching situations, where many feared to go, I was left to teach as I liked. And I found that including the arts, and many 'hands on' learning situations, was what worked- from the gifted to the 'slow'. It has always been my belief that all children should have this kind of an education. One that involved the learner in a real and deeply involved way. The 'regular' students, who fit in, were getting a raw deal! One parent, who had one regular child, and one special child, said she wished her regular child could be in my class too! She felt sorry for that one.

Upon moving to Trinidad, there was no such system available. Many students were simply failed at the age of eleven, and left to their families to deal with. The situation in Tobago was even worse. Only 43% of the eleven year olds were given a place at all,,in the secondary system.

The rest were effectively discarded by the system, and often their own families, at that tender age.

The Caribbean schools, were clearly catering to the top ten percent. It was like a large clearing house, where only the fit and perhaps exportable, remained. At that time the country boasted that they had one of the best education systems in the world, and compared their top students as superior or equal to those of anywhere in the world.

But they failed to mention the cost to a society to produce these few, at the loss of so many talented and beautiful little souls. Many of whom have since turned to gangs, and gang warfare, and crime. It was predictable! What did the society expect these little people to do with the rest of their lives? Failed by the system, and often their own families, they turned to their peers. They used their 'wits' and 'talents' to get by, in a very competitive colonial system, that was intent on discarding them.

I taught for a short time, within the regular system in Trinidad, and was allowed, at a progressive private primary school there, to teach creatively. Upon moving to Tobago, I assisted in the creating of a primary school, with broader teaching methods and goals. It was successful, and the children loved it. But I had a different philosophy about discipline, than the school had. I also wanted the curriculum to become broader.

Therefore, I was actually forced, by life I would say, to open my own private primary school. It was for the children and families, whose circumstances did not stand them in good favour, for gaining a place in a secondary school in Tobago.

The motivation of the parents was to send their child to a school that would guarantee them a place in that system. These students consisted of foreign students, special needs students, children of artistic parents, children of desperate parents. Ninety percent of these children were from Trinidad and Tobago. Ten percent were from all parts of the world. If my 'foreign to Tobago', methods would help them, they were willing to find the money for the fees.

It made for a very interesting group of children to work with. We have all gained!