Bahamas Tales - School With my Cousins

I've already told you some of my school experiences. My First Day and Kingsway Academy, but most of my schooling took place at home. I don't really remember any set curriculum, except for some phonics workbooks. Most of it was done here and there, reading and talking through the day.

When we were living in the clinic, it wasn't far from my Uncle Roy's house. Their oldest son, Paul, had returned from college and was living with them for awhile. They decided it would be good if he taught his sisters, Lois and Susan, and me.

We had benches in the chapel that the backs could be turned to make tables, and that was our school. I rode my bike from the clinic, with my books in my basket, to the chapel each day for school. I remember that we thought the dress rule was horrible. He made us wear flip-flops during school! Although we always wore dresses, any kind of shoes were just torture.



A structured recess was a new concept to us. We were used to being free most of the time. He taught us games that we couldn't have played alone, like running and jumping into a rope turned by two people.

My cousins and I enjoyed getting together each day, and probably gave him a lot of trouble giggling and fooling around when we should have been listening.

One day, as I rode home, a man stopped me and wanted to look at my books. I remember his hands were very dirty and left smudges on the pages. As he gave me back my fourth grade arithmetic book, he said, "You smart! You smart!" I don't know how much education they had, especially the older ones. The younger generation had a school on the island, then went to Nassau for more.

I didn't have any Bahamian friends in Old Bight, at the clinic. My cousins and I became very close, like sisters. We look back to those few months with fond memories.






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