I AINT GINE tell you nuh lie, apart from sports, BSSAC and BAMSAC, I aint know the last day schoolchildren made me feel so good.
The other night I watch a programme pon TV, I think it was called Positive Schools, Positive Children, or something like dat, but I could tell you now after watching it, every single thing bout it was positive. Tuh be honest wid you, I cahn even tell you how long the programme was, all I know is dat I was so impressed wid what I was seeing and hearing, dat I was glued tuh the TV from the beginning til the end and all through it, I was smiling.
It was a documentary pon the Alleyne School in St Andrew wid the young lady, I think her name is Lisa, who does work wid GIS and all o’these outside documentaries. Anyway, she was at the Alleyne school doing this thing and you would think dat the children she was interviewing would act shy and introverted like how a lot o’ children nowadays does playing dem getting on when ya talking tuh dem.
Ya would also think dat ya would hear dem trying tuh put duh words in place and because duh aint accustom doing it pon a every day basis, duh would look uncomfortable and sound wrong. You would think dat a few o’ dem would be positive and assertive and the rest would be just there, just ok. Ya would even think dat when the young lady was talking tuh the principal, she would speak positively about some o’ the students and make excuses fuh some. But, no boy, she spoke positively bout evahbody including the very security guard.
From the time the young lady started tuh talk tuh the first student, a young boy, I was impressed. He spoke clearly and he flowed. He was knowledgeable, he was happy tuh tell you bout his school and whatevah does go on there. Even if he had tuh memorise or get coached about the history o’ the school, he didn’t even show it when the young lady ask him. Look, the lil boy just breeze through it like he was there from the beginning.
Then there was the girl, I think she was the same age as the boy but she was a lil bigger. She too was just as relaxed as the lil fella. She spoke proper English wid a sweet Bajan accent. Nuh airs, nuh trying tuh put on or trying tuh sound like duh trying tuh impress. Nuh giggling and getting on stupid, these children were on the ball from beginning tuh end. I was so impressed.
Then the young lady interviewed the principal who was as cool and relaxed like she accustom being in front o’ the camera. She talk bout the amount o’ years she was teaching then when she was a deputy principal and now as a principal at the Alleyne School. She talk about the children and the student council, the teachers the security guard. She said dat every child could be spoken tuh by every body, including the security guard. She showered praise pon evahbody, especially the children. She talk bout the hiking programme they have, she talk bout the different projects at the school. She and the deputy principal talk bout evah single thing at the Alleyne School like duh was proud . . . I was proud muhself and I aint even know how the inside o’ dat school look.
The deputy principal spoke about some o’ the other teachers and duh show you some o’ the children doing various things around the school like keeping their environment clean and also teachers and children at all stages interacting wid one another. And not at any stage did anything look false or put on. I was impressed!
Then duh show you children in duh leisure time, relaxing, talking and aint getting on like duh stupid. They did a interview wid the head boy and the head girl, both o’ dem was so happy tuh talk about their school and oh my, how mature duh was, and how very well they spoke and how relax duh was and how happy they looked. It is how I remember school . . . enjoyable!
Look, I gine tell you the truth, I felt proud and wish I had some kinda family at the Alleyne School. Evah single thing bout dem children from the time the programme start right tuh the end, was positive and real. I think Lisa was very impressed and even looking at the foul-ups at the end, ya could see dat nothing was a put on. Keep the good work up Alleyne School.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
