Lady Bessy

She seemed to have known the works of all writers. Her knowledge of Shakespeare’s plays was unbelievable. His characters whether from tragedy, comedy or history were easily outlined in her lectures without scrutinising notes. The poems of Wordsworth, Shelley, Yeats, Browning and others, were like second nature to her. She was a walking encyclopaedia in English Literature.

The chapter in my life called “Miss Bissessar” started in January 1951 and is not yet completed. She was the lecturer in “Educational Psychology” at the Extra-Mural classes held at Queen’s Royal College. I registered for that class to help me cope with the children at Laventille RC School where I was teaching for almost a year.

“You, teachers must try to understand every child in your class. You are not there simply to dish out information. The child is a human being who needs your care, love and understanding. You stand in the place of their parents for the hours you have them”, stated Miss Elodie Bissessar most emphatically.

At question time, someone asked her views on corporal punishment. She condemned it as a criminal act and emphasised that it should never be administered.

After the class, I told her every teacher in my school used to beat and I myself had to, if I wanted to stay in the profession. The head teacher himself hinted that to me because the children would not obey without corporal punishment.

“Well, you and all the teachers including the head teacher, should be punished with the same whips you flog the children,” was her reply. The course was for one year and I learnt quite a lot from her. This little lady was an intellectual giant.

In January 1956, I was selected for a two-year scholarship at the Government Teachers’ Training College, St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain. Miss Bissessar was a senior lecturer in Psychology to the student body and taught advanced Literature as an optional subject. I was in both classes.

In her Literature class, I was the one she called on to do most of the reading.

She told the other teachers they should learn to read like me because “poetry becomes alive and meaningful when it is read with the right rhythm and passion which the poet intended to communicate to his listeners.”

For my final year teaching practice class, I taught a lesson at Belmont Boys’ RC School where I gave the children real money to go to the shop downstairs to purchase groceries and bring back the correct change. I had a distinction in the bag.

As my examiner, Miss Bissessar said, the lesson was excellent but each child did only one sum so I missed a distinction.

When the last English principal, Mr Norman Brooks left in 1963, Miss Elodie Bissessar became the first local lecturer and first lady to be elevated to that position. After more than forty years in the teaching profession, from primary school to Naparima Girls’ College to lecturer then principal of the Government Teachers’ Training College, she became well loved by thousands of teachers in the country.

Miss Bissessar has followed the progress of the Strolling Players from its inception and has given me encouragement to persevere. My last play Shakespeare’s Dream is dedicated to her. Before leaving for Miami in 2003, we staged it at her home in Woodbrook to some of her close friends who asked interesting thought-provoking questions at the discussion session which followed the performance.

A few years ago, I asked her permission to recommend her for a national award but she would have none of it. “No, no. Forget about me. I did my duty and that’s that,” were her words. I did try to persuade but she was immovable. Believe me, I can’t think of a more deserving lady in the field of education.

At the Training College, Miss Bissessar was called “Bessy” by some teachers behind her back. I would like to confer on her an accolade and name her “Lady Bessy”.

A mother was quite pleased when she heard her son was called a responsible person. The boy went on, “Every time something goes wrong in the class, the teacher says I am responsible.”