Chalk and talk

We were hugged, kissed and pacified by Miss and another teacher. After settling down, we followed the instructions dished out by the same teachers. Miss shouted, “Hands up! Put them straight up! Out - straight out, don’t bend them! Fold! Like this,” and she gave us a demonstration. “Now, put this finger,” and she held up her index finger. “On your lips like this!” But the finger on the lips did not stop some of us from muttering. “I want to go home.”

Those were the “chalk and talk days” when the focal point was the large blackboard on which a teacher wrote with white chalk. When words had to be erased, teachers used felt dusters. There was always chalk dust on the lath at the bottom of the board. We discovered that you could put your finger in the dust and draw on the board or give yourself a white moustache. We prayed together four times a day. When school called at 8.30 am, we said the morning prayers -“Our Father,” “Hail Mary” and “I believe”. At 11.30 am - “Grace before meals”. 12.30 pm, it was “Grace after meals” and at 3 pm - “Evening prayers”. Hymns were sung at the end of the morning and evening prayers.

One of the first hymns we learnt was “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild / Look upon a little child / Pity my simplicity / Suffer me to come to thee.” We were taught a number of nursery rhymes. One of my favourites was, “Solomon Grundy, / Born on a Monday,/Christened on a Tuesday,/ Married on a Wednesday,/ Took ill on Thursday,/ Worse on a Friday,/ Died on Saturday,/ Buried on a Sunday, / This is the end of Solomon Grundy.”

In the Infant department, we sang jingles such as “Bits of paper / Bits of paper / Lying on the floor / Lying on the floor / Make the place untidy / Make the place untidy / Pick them up. / Pick them up.” Another one that has lived with me all my life went like this,” There are two little magic words / That can open any door with ease. / One magic one is, “Thank you.” / And the other magic word is, “Please.”

Those days were also the “Licks Like Fire days” when most teachers walked with a rod of correction. There was little licks in the Infant school but from standard one to seven, it was a killing field. Every teacher was armed with either a wooden ruler, a leather strap, an old leather belt, a guava or a tamarind whip.

Most teachers started a lesson with a little speech like this, “Hands up..out..off the desks. Look at me. Listen carefully to what I say. Copy what I write on the blackboard. If I catch you daydreaming or gazing about, I’ll ask you a question. If you fail to answer correctly, I would not fail to administer two of the best,” and with that, he would hit the desk two powerful lashes with his whip.

The school year began in January. Pupils sat the Christmas Term Test, and those who were successful, were promoted to a higher class. There were ten classes - three in the Infant school and then standards one to seven. There was no age grouping and boys who failed the Christmas test, had to spend another year in the same class. It was not unusual to see big guys - about 12 - in standard one.

Aristotle wrote, “They who educate children well are more to be honoured than they who produce them: for these only give them life, those the art of living well.”