Allen Temple AME Church chose last Sunday to honour a host of retired educators as part of Black History Month.

The teachers and principals were recognised by the Sound View Road, Sandys church for their contributions to the various primary schools at the island’s western end — West End Primary School, Somerset Primary School (formerly known as Sandys Grammar School) and Dalton E. Tucker Primary School (formerly known as Southampton Glebe Primary School).

Their presence was indeed of great significance; educators play a pivotal role in our society as they mould the minds of the most vulnerable so that they can become productive members of the community.

Honours and tributes were paid to some of the former principals of Somerset Primary — O’Brien Osborne, the late Eilene Gladwin; Kalmar Richards, the current principal of CedarBridge Academy, and Marva Phillips. The latter was not only a teacher but a trailblazer and a champion of civil rights as a member of the Progressive Group, a collection of political activists instrumental in desegregating the movie theatres in 1959.

Mrs Phillips taught at Sandys Secondary School (now Sandys Secondary Middle School) and other primary schools before assuming the post of principal of the Somerset Primary School.

Other honourees included the late Margret Manders and Sinclair Richards, former principals of West End Primary. Mr Richards taught at West End during the 1960s and subsequently became Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education.

Recognition was also given to former principals of Dalton E. Tucker Primary School — Vivlyn Cooper, Janet Nearon, Esme Williams, Llewellyn Smith and Gladstone Thompson.

In casting our net just a little wider it is important that things be placed in a proper historical perspective. The process of public education in Bermuda was, and remains, a product of our culture and social mores. Historically, there once existed a dual system of education that was predicted along racial lines for all public schools for a host of generations.

There were many schools of a substandard nature that were of haphazard physical conditions and were also deprived of proper educational materials that were attended by the majority black population.

Most teachers were called upon to perform a Herculean task in the midst of failure and despair. At the other end of the social and racial spectrum, the majority of schools attended exclusively by white students were adequately funded and properly serviced. Ironically, one of those particular schools included the former Sandys Grammer School now known as the Somerset Primary School. All of these social and racial inequities were remedied upon the desegregation of all public schools in 1968 by the former UBP Government. By enacting the Education Act 1968, this led to the formal integration of public schools throughout the island. The Minister of Education at that time was Stanley Ratteray who, coincidently, was also a member of the Progressive Group.

Celebrating the life of an iconic teacher

The late Dalton E. Tucker was indeed a woman of “dignity, poise and grace”. Those were some of the marvellous words that were used by her former students and professional colleagues last Friday, February 26 as they observed the 100th anniversary of her birth. The celebrations took place the day after her actual birthday at the Southampton school that now bears her name. Dalton E. Tucker Primary School principal Tajuan Dean welcomed all those in attendance — current and former students, special guests and friends of the community.

Mrs Tucker was a pioneer who dedicated her life to inspiring, educating and moulding the minds of the thousands of individuals she taught. She began her teaching career at St Mary’s Primary School, once located on Middle Road in Southampton. Mrs Tucker subsequently won a government scholarship to attend Shortwood Teachers’ College in Kingston, Jamaica, and completed her teaching certification there. Upon graduation from Shortwood, she returned to Bermuda as a teacher at Southampton Glebe School; she subsequently became principal in 1942.

Former students acknowledged her as a strict disciplinarian who also showed love and affection. In 1953 she earned a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University in Canada. She achieved it as a part-time student, taking classes while on her summer break.

As principal of Southampton Glebe she introduced many academic, social and cultural programmes aimed at the total development of the child. The school was one of the first to include black history in its curriculum. Students learnt public speaking skills by being encouraged to speak at the morning assembly and they were exposed to the arts on a daily basis.

The school was the first to take students abroad on field trips; Mrs Tucker also introduced her students to camping trips, which they went on throughout the island. And as a special treat, she held an annual dinner at her residence for senior students.

Her birthday celebrations included tributes by former principal Gladstone Thompson and former student Roger Lambert; a family tribute was delivered by Gweyneth Lightbourne.

Liturgical dancing was performed by Juanita Dill-Shaw; she and her ten siblings attended the school. Students in P3-P6 gave a musical tribute and Mrs Tucker’s daughter, Adele Thomas, talked about her late mother’s life.

Mrs Tucker taught at the former Robert Crawford School in Prospect, after she retired as principal of Southampton Glebe. She would often take a pot of soup to feed to some of the students.

One once asked her for the recipe. She warmly replied that it was made with love.

Independent of her personal and professional pursuits, Mrs Tucker was a dedicated and upstanding Christian. From the age of 17 she taught children’s Bible school, and did so for a further 73 years.

Southampton Glebe’s Class of 1969 successfully petitioned the Bermuda Government in 2008, to honour her efforts and change the name to the Dalton E. Tucker Primary School.