Features

No student is left behind

GEORGE HENRY, STAR Writer

School teacher Freda Morgan assisting two students with their reading as part of her summer activities, recently. - george henry

MALVERN, ST.ELIZABETH:

FREDA MORGAN HAS been teaching for over 37 years. However, her entry into teaching came when she was disappointed that she was not allowed to be enrolled in the Jamaica Constabulary Force because of her height.

Although her dream of becoming a police officer was shattered, her switch to her second love (teaching), has given her satisfaction over the almost four decades, as she loves the classroom and her hundreds of students, 'world without end'.

Currently a teacher at the Rose Hall All Age School in St. Elizabeth, Morgan recently received the Jamaica Teachers Association's Golden Touch Award for her long and illustrious service to education.

"I really wanted to become a police officer, but at the time they were taking persons based on their height and not qualification, but I did not have the required height. I was too short. That forced me to run to my second choice, that of teaching, which I also loved very much," said Mrs. Morgan.

She loves children

She made it clear that she loves children particularly those who many would regard as being dull.

Although she did not attend a teacher training institution for long, before she started teaching, Mrs. Morgan said she was one of the pioneers of the In-Service Programme in 1973, and her not attending such an institution has not made her any worse a teacher in the classroom.

She stated that she started training at Bethlehem Teachers College (now Bethlehem Moravian College) and only spent the first term. She did not like it there and so she left for home and then joined the In-Service Programme.

"Teaching is the flower of my life. I just love the profession. I love to teach children especially when they are disciplined, because I am a disciplinarian. Children must sit and learn and enjoy what I teach them," said Morgan.

Mrs. Morgan, whose first appearance in the classroom saw her working at the Morningside Primary School in St. Elizabeth after she had passed her third Jamaica Local Examination, said she attended Canewood Junior College before going on to Brinkley Primary. After a few years at Brinkley she went on to Rose Hall All Age where she has been since then.

A little heaven

Rose Hall All Age she said is like a little heaven. Morgan stated that she would not exchange that institution for any other in the world, based on the level of discipline exhibited by all students there.

Mrs. Morgan, who is from Nief Mountain in St. Elizabeth, said she not only has the respect of her students but also that of the members of her community and that over the years she has witnessed the gratitude of many of her former students, many of whom she said, have been very successful in life.

She indicated that she is to retire in a few years time, but whenever that occasion comes; she will still be involved in teaching, as many parents are already asking her to do extra lessons with their children at her home at Nief Mountain.

She, however, would rather have the slow learners assigned to her, as she is convinced that she has the touch to make them progress.

Morgan, who has two boys, Bertram Morgan jr. and Stephan, is married to Bertram Morgan sr., a farmer.