Schools- Part 2

In this post, we thought we might address the average Jamaican school building. Before doing so, we want to make sure to place another disclaimer. The posts we make are coming from our own perspective. I'm sure that others might disagree with some of our thoughts, some only slightly, while others maybe whole-heartedly. Also, we live in a rural community, very different from places such as Negril, Kingston, Port Antonio, and so on. Although we try to be as fair as possible in sharing, we still have biases. Please keep this in mind.

Okay, back to business. Especially in rural communities, primary schools often consist of a cinder-block concrete building with a zinc roof, and no interior walls or partitions. Because many school buildings have no interior walls, the classes within are separated merely by the arrangement of desks and chalkboards. Within this one room, seven or eight classes will be conducted at one time.
Let's go back to Anthony Winkler to conclude this blog:

“...without walls to physically separate the different classes you could not hear yourself think while school was in session because you were awash in a continuous and unabating blare of noise. It was sometimes a roar, constant and deafening like the endless blast of a waterfall; sometimes a splatter of wild cries and shrieks and yells from odd nooks and corners of the echoing building; but most often the regulated and disciplined chants of entire classes bellowing out separately and all at once multiplication tables, historical dates, and irregular verb tenses.

“Twice times one are one, twice times two are four, twice tiems three are six.”
Thirty children would be howling three feet away, while the class which you observed would thunder in reply,

ring, rang, rung,
sink, sank, sunk,
sing, sang, sung,

A few feet away another thirty children would be screaming a litany of historical dates:

In 1494 Columbus discovered Jamaica
In 1655 the English captured Jamaica
In 1692 an earthquake destroyed Port Royal
In 1865 the Morant Bay rebellion 'appened

Sometimes the history teacher would lead the chant with a play of humor and Socratic questioning, and you would hear an exchange that went something like this:

'What happened in 1494, children?'
'Six times five is thirty,' a clutch of banshees would shriek just then from across the room.
'Columbus discovered Jamaica!' the children would chorus happily.
'Very good,' the teacher's voice would sing above the tumult like the cry of a gull over the crash of breakers.
'Then what happened in 1655?'
Hesitation and confusion. Part of the class ventured a defiant and singsong answer, 'The earthquake destroyed Port Royal!'
But a claque of dissenters blasted out in contradiction, 'The English capture Jamaica!'
'Ring rang rung! Sing sang sung! Slink Slunk slunk!'
'Children! Children!'
'The boiling point of water is 212 degrees Fahrenheit!'
'So what 'appen in 1655?'
'Hush your mouth, Howard. You don't even know wha' 'appen yesterday!'
'Go 'way!'
'The English capture Jamaica!'
'How dat again, class?'
'Think thought thought! Bring brought brought! Fight fought fought!'
'The English capture Jamaica, Miss!'
'Five times four is twenty! Five times five is twenty-five! Five times six is thirty!'
'So what we say 'appen in 1655 again?'
'The English capture Jamaica!'
'You sure about dat, class?'
'Six times one is six. Six times two is twelve. Six times three is eighteen.'
'The English capture Jamaica, teacher!'
'A-hoa! I just want to see if you sure 'bout dat.'”

Get the picture?