Roy Brummell

Ol' Time School Days Roy Brummell

Ol' Time School Days is a portion of my life told by a narrator other than myself. Though the events are true, I do not remember all (especially the dialogue) exactly as they began unfolding fifty years ago. I grew up in Dartmouth Village, Essequibo Coast, Guyana, formerly British Guiana. Most of Ol' Time School Days is about my school life at Dartmouth's St. Barnabas Anglican Primary School, which became Dartmouth Government School after Guiana became independent Guyana in 1966. Dartmouth Primary School also had a secondary department before independence. In my school days, the headmaster and teachers liberally walloped students in classrooms for unsatisfactory work, indiscipline and 'poor health'. Poor health meant being untidily dressed, hair not properly combed, teeth not properly brushed, dirt under fingernails, etc. There was school yard assembly every morning in front of the school, where pupils sang hymns and "God Save the Queen" (of England). Dreaded health inspections were regularly conducted at those assemblies, with students randomly selected. There was one headmaster who caned male or female students on their bottoms in front of all the assembled classes. Sometimes, students were 'benched' by mainly the headmaster mentioned above but also by a few teachers. Benching was where four of the biggest, strongest boys held a boy down on a desk or table for his bottom to be left to the mercy of the teacher's cane. (Girls were rarely benched.) Students fought back against their teachers by giving them secret 'false' names. Nevertheless, there were many enjoyable aspects of school life in my time - the school-wide inter-house system (A HOUSE, B, C, D) for track and field; cricket before the 8:30 a.m. assembly bell, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m, after dismissal at 3: pm., and inter-school. Then there was gardening and woodworking for boys and home economics for girls. School aside, many children were instructed at home by their parents. Blacks, the main character in this story, had his mother and paternal grandmother as his first two teachers. His maternal grandmother also encouraged him to perform well in school. Together, the three women had a powerful influence on his life.