In
times of change, the LEARNER will inherit the earth
while
the LEARNED will be beautifully equipped
for
a world that no longer exists. — Eric
Hoffer, American Philosopher
I
don’t know about the rest of you
But
I grew up in a church school
It
all started on a Monday morning
When
we had to line up in a long queue
There
were children from first form to fifth
And
the smaller ones in something called Prep
But
the bottom line that I can tell you about
Is
that there were no shoulders carrying chips!
We
had to study all the usual stuff
Mathematics,
English, History and the like
We
also had to learn to do a craft
Just
in case the economy didn’t last
The
emphasis at our church school, was on raising good students
Good
people, and especially good citizens for the world to come
So
naturally we had to study our memory verses
And
learn about something called Facing Life!
I
remember my first form teacher, Sister Josiah
Big
of heart and body too
She
taught me that I could do anything
And
showed me how to prove it too!
Sister
Watts taught us girls home economics,
Sewing,
crochet, embroidery, and cooking
She
said any woman who had skills like these
Would
always know how her family to feed
Brother
Forde taught us our Facing Life class
Dealing
with everything from relationships to dealing with self
He
taught us that we needed to be strong decision-makers
Never
fearful to take care of our selves!
I
remember having a terrible temper, and one day was asked to apologize
The
apology wasn’t deserved, I didn’t feel sorry, and it showed
So
Sister Bayne, our principal, she called me aside, and said
“Betty!
If you don’t mean it, don’t ever compromise!”
Our
church school went further than was necessary
And
brought in a celebrity guest to teach,
Her
name was Marva Manning and I’ve never forgotten
Anything
that she said in her speech
Ms.
Manning taught us about dressing on a budget
And
how to get our clothing to segue from day to night
She
taught us how to be quietly elegant
And
how to modulate our voices just right!
And
finally there was my fifth form teacher
Sister
Maitland, that was her name
She’s
the person I’ll always remember
Because
of a wonderful game she played.
It
was our last semester in high school
When
Sister Maitland said she could tell us, each one, who we were
Of
course no one believed her
And
then the Class was in total uproar!
Sister
Maitland had a new name for every student she taught
Which
she said epitomized the attributes we displayed
I
remember waiting with bated breath
Until
my name Sister Maitland gave!
My
name, according to the good Sister
Was
“Always
Willing to Try!”
She
explained that that name suited me perfectly
Because
I was never afraid to give life a try!
In
all the years since I’ve left my church school
I’ve
tried valiantly to live up to my second given name
And
I can tell you without fear of contradiction
That
I have proudly lived up to, and worn, my name!
The
results of many of the lessons we learnt
Were
often not obvious until we left school
And
that was when respect for self, and others, and faith in our Almighty
God
Carried
us forth to live life most nobly
Our
teachers were men and women of great faith
Who
strongly believed that teaching was their calling to serve
They
loved us, each one, as if we were their own special child
And
proudly taught us and guided us to the Word.
So,
if you still have doubts about, the value of a Christian education
Look
around you as we celebrate today
You’ll
see gallant men, noble women, willing workers, lifelong learners, not
one shirker
Gladly
serving each other in the world, through the Word.
