Existing comment:
The Three R's:
Although economically in the doldrums, Cayman enjoyed relatively good literacy levels in the '40s and '50s due, in large measure, to the vigorous contributions to teaching from the church. In addition, the pupil-teacher system, in which senior pupils were conscripted to teach, was used to good effect here. Pupils from the higher years, identified as potential pupil-teachers, would sit annual examinations leading to scholarships in teacher training college in Jamaica. Early secondary education in Cayman owes to the initiative of the Triple C School, established in 1941 by the Church of God, and to the Cayman High School, originally operated by the Presbyterian Church with the Reverend George Hicks as principal. It was renamed the John Gray High School after its later principal, the Reverend John Gray.
The discipline of the early years extended to school children with many of them having to tackle chores before going to school. "I remember having to chop wood and fetch water before school every morning," said Ormond Panton, "and lots of us went to school barefoot -- shoes were for Sunday." |