A diligent contributor to teaching … Carmen Johnson is a ‘Special Person’

By Leon Suseran, January 4, 2015 | By KNews | Filed Under News, Source - Kaieteur News Online

“I feel that some of the younger (teenage) mothers, in particular, allow their children to adopt bad habits from small, and quite honestly that could backfire—they say bend the tree while it is young. I’ve always followed that notion. It has worked for me. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for others!”

This year’s first choice for ‘Special Person’, Carmen Johnson, has given practically all her life to education, through teaching and community service, as well as through the work of a women’s group in her church.

Carmen Johnson

The veteran educator, who hails from the suburban community of Vryheid, West Canje, Berbice, just a minute or two from the town of New Amsterdam, has spent a fruitful career working with very young children in the various schools at which she has taught. “Teaching, you can say, is in my blood. I used to pretend being a teacher, and teach the desks and benches in our yard at home as a little girl. I never really envisaged myself being a nurse or anything of that nature, due to the rigours that come with that type of profession.”

And there is consensus in the Ancient County that given her selfless dedication, Carmen has certainly made a sterling contribution and left an indelible impression on the education sector.

She was born in Stanleytown and related that she moved away from her parents, Theophilus John and Daphne Michael, at a very tender age, to reside with one of her uncles, Robert Joseph, in Islington, East Bank Berbice. She lived with him until age nine, after which she moved to live with her maternal grandfather, William Michael, at Betsy Ground Village, East Canje.

While located there she attended the then St. Patrick’s Anglican School (today known as Rose Hall Estate Primary) followed by Mission Chapel Congregational School. When her grandfather passed away, she returned to New Amsterdam and lived with an aunt at Islington, where she spent the remainder of her childhood and teenage years.

Graduation Day at an Infant Field Officers’ Course held by the Ministry of Education in the early 1990s. Mrs. Johnson sits second from right.

“As a young girl, those days were very nice. Living next to the East Bank of the Berbice River had its pluses. As a child, I was living among some Indian people, so when they had their weddings—I would be there. Those were pleasant and quite memorable experiences.”

“I also remember we used to catch fish in a waterway near to the river in those days. There were also fruits in abundance in my home village. The atmosphere was one in which everyone was very friendly.”

A LOVE FOR TEACHING

“As I got older, I wanted to teach,” she reflected. “I loved teaching from small—I used to play ‘school’ at every opportunity that presented itself. I would put the dolls to sit down and ‘class’ would start. You know what I mean? Do as if you’re teaching…and in addition to that I grew to love children too—I would take care of any small child that was around.”

On February 1, 1971, at the age of 19, Carmen started teaching at St. Patrick’s Anglican School, where she would spend the next five years. She initially filled in for a teacher who was on maternity leave, and she (Carmen) developed a love for the job.

Afterwards, she commenced teaching at Mr. Williams’ Private School at Pilot Street, New Amsterdam in 1976. She then went on to St. Mary’s Nursery, Pope Street, for five more years, after which she sought to enhance her professional development by way of the Teachers’ Training College, from 1981-1983. Classes were held back then at the New Amsterdam Multilateral School (NAMS).

The veteran tutor with some of her successful charges at Sandvoort Primary School

After becoming a Grade One Class One teacher, she would spend the next 20 years of her career at Overwinning Primary, where she taught the Preparatory students.

After Overwinning, she tutored at Lochaber Primary, where she was elevated to Senior Mistress, and worked there for four years. Her career as a teacher came to a satisfying conclusion at Sandvoort Primary where she retired as Senior Mistress in 2007.

One of her fondest memories of teaching was at St. Patrick’s Anglican School, where over 70 children were under her charge. That school being the first place of employment for the young teacher, she saw the undertaking as a challenge.
However, she reminisced that dealing with “really, really disciplined children” made the task seemed like a breeze.

“The school was in two buildings and I was in the older of them. Being a young teacher, I was tasked with carrying the registers to share to the other teachers, so I would set work and tell the children to do the work until I came back, and you would not believe when I came back, those children were so disciplined, not only did they do their work, there was not a sound!”

She remembered working side by side with persons who fostered a cherished feeling of togetherness and camaraderie. At Overwinning, working under Messes Horace Sobryan, Dwayne Carter and George Michael, she described those days as good ones.

Stalwarts of the profession! Retired teachers in the ‘Gems of Yesteryear’ group pose in this 2013 photo. Carmen Johnson stands sixth from right.

Carmen and the other teachers worked assiduously to ensure the children were properly placed and comfortable at a makeshift location (a market) in the community, after the school was damaged by fire.

“We still put up our teaching aids and everything,” she recalled. “Visits from representatives of the Ministry of Education hailed positive results,” she stated, even though the functions of the school were not being carried out in a regular setting.

“I used to encourage my colleagues that even though we were not in an ideal situation, we would continue to operate in a manner that would make us feel as if we were doing so.”

“I was particularly delighted with the results of the children in such trying circumstances, especially at the end of the school year. How satisfying it was -moving from one stage to another – when they could read, write and discuss things they were taught—there is no greater feeling that a teacher at that level could experience. Remember, those are the foundation years!”

ASSESSMENTS AND REFLECTIONS
Mrs. Johnson is also a classroom assessor for teachers-in-training at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) in Berbice.

“I’ve seen quite a lot of improvement from most of the teachers I’ve visited,” she said. “I’m required to observe their methods of teaching, operations in the classroom environment, and of course, mode of dress, because when you go there, you look at their overall teaching; you are moulding them.”

Mrs. Johnson (centre) and members of the All Saints’ Anglican Church Mothers’ Union at a recent outreach to children at the Berbice Anjuman Orphanage

When asked to compare teaching during her time to now, our ‘Special Person’ opined that the main difference she notices, stems mainly from the attitudes of the children. “Back then you could talk to the children…give them much needed guidance. If you reached them on the road and saw them doing something wrong, you could have scolded them….but now, you are afraid to tell the children anything…for so many reasons!” She believes that the existing situation is exacerbated by the increasing numbers of teenage mothers, “who make the children too young and are not exposed to life as such, so they cannot really control the children”.

“I feel that some of the younger mothers, in particular, allow their children to do wrong things from small, and quite honestly that could backfire—they say bend the tree while it is young. I’ve always followed that notion. It has worked for me. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for others!”

She sees her parenting skills gained in the All Saint’s Mothers’ Union as vital to dealing with the children of today. Sharing her knowledge about parenting is important as well. Some parenting skills she shares include dealing with how to speak to children about sex at an early age; how to deal effectively with delinquent children, especially since corporal punishment is strictly regulated; as well as spending quality time with children.

“Teachers of today have to be very patient in executing their duties. While monetary rewards are very important in any job, I would urge the young teachers to just do their jobs for the love of it, because they are essentially moulding our country’s future.”

“Don’t think only about the money—money is important, yes—but you have to be with those children and bring them up in the right way—teach them. Because they spend more time at school than in the home, so teachers become mothers and father-figures.”

COMMUNITY WORK AND POST-RETIREMENT YEARS
It should be noted, too, that the very busy Mrs. Johnson has been an active member of the aforementioned Mothers’ Union, for the past 11 years. Currently holding the post of Secretary of that organization at the church and Regional Officer for the N/A-Canje Branch, she works along with other female members in the church, conducting outreaches, visiting convalescent homes, executing projects such as painting pedestrian crossings and dealing primarily with the less fortunate.

Mrs. Johnson’s community work does not end there. She also fulfills a very critical role in a group bringing together women from the various churches, called, ‘Church Women United.’ She is her church’s representative in that grouping. She is also part of an ecumenical body in Berbice, the New Amsterdam-Canje Christian Council, being the Secretary as well. She is also a part of the retired teachers’ group in Berbice referred to as the ‘Gems of Yesteryear’.

Being associated with so many organizations and groups has certainly helped her to stay busy and keep self-motivated during her post-retirement years.
“It keeps me active. When you retire you can easily lose your sharpness, so to speak, so it helps to be a part of such vibrant organizations.”

Mrs. Johnson also admits to a deep love for plants and flowers, which is another way of spending her time meaningfully