A teacher who has had a great influence in my early education (1942-1948) was my headmaster Mr. Jacob William Chinapen. He was a tough disciplinarian, feared by students and pupil teachers (junior teachers on probation). Mr. Chinapen’s reputation was known far and wide and many parents from the neighbouring villages sent their children to Bush Lot Canadian Mission School. School enrollment increased and some classes were held under a tent made with coconut branches. On rainy days we sought shelter inside the school building. In 1945, with donations from my uncle Dr. J. P. Lachmansingh, his brothers and sisters and the community, a new building was constructed. Bush Lot C.M. School became Lachmansingh Memorial C.M. School. The school’s name was subsequently changed to Lachmansingh Primary School.
I first met Mr. Chinapen in 1944 when I was eight years. He told our class a story about an Indian saint, Sadhu Sundar Singh. After I learnt the story, I was asked to tell it to several other classes. At that time I did not know what fear meant and gladly did it. This earned me the nickname of Sadhu.
I came under his wing in 1945 when he placed about fifteen of us in a special class. We were to be coached to take the Government County Examination for students twelve years old and younger. I was nine. The top students in Guyana received scholarships (free or partial tuition) to the two prestigious secondary schools in Georgetown--Queen’s College (boys) or Bishop’s High School (girls).
That placement created a major change for us. No longer did teachers use nails to make permanent lines on our slates. No more water bottles to clean our slates. No more borrowing of perfumed water from the girls. We were replacing the slate for exercise books, using the common pen, ink and blotting paper. We were to be taught by the ‘Tiger’.
Mr. Chinapen was on the plump side with a large carrying voice. No one wanted to be on the receiving end when he was on his war path. He seemed to have eyes all over his head because he saw everything, or so we thought. He did not spare the cane. Occasionally students used razor blades to make cuts on his cane. He always seemed to have extra ones and to find the culprits. He had various nicknames, two of which were Tiger and Chinops.
Sometimes we worked with senior students (13-16 years). I recall a most embarrassing incident when I was asked to explain what the abbreviation B. A. meant. That was a difficult question for a nine year old who had never read a library book nor listened to the radio. A senior student who was behind Mr. Chinapen whispered the answer to me. I tried to lip read and without thinking blurted out Bachelor of Asses. It was humiliating. I became the laughing stock of the class for a while.
During that period, Mr.Chinapen started a school newspaper with his own Gestetner and very limited facilities and resources. I was thrilled when my poem was published. I still recall the first stanza:
I played the role of Angel Gabriel in a Christmas play and wore my sister Hilda’s night gown for the part. The play was a success. I recall our after-school class with Mr. Butchey, a senior teacher, reading and analyzing stories and poems. I enjoyed Tom Sawyer and Matthew Arnold’s Sohrab and Rustum. We were inspired to work hard to be successful. Some of my former neighbours remember my mother staying up with me when I was ‘burning the midnight oil’ because I was afraid of being alone. We used kerosene lamps because there was no electricity in Bush Lot.
One happy period in my primary school years was during October when we had holidays for the rice harvest. Many students helped their parents. Some of us went to Mr. Chinapen’s home in the next village for extra lessons which he gave without remuneration. Next door was a rice mill and a sandy reef with coconut trees. It was a beautiful setting. We had lots of fun running under the trees and playing hide and seek between the rice bags. With the passage of time, I have always longed to revisit that spot.
From our original class, five of us wrote The Government County Examination in April, 1948. In preparation for the exam, we received the strap regularly if we did not know our work. Mr. Chinapen was a very conscientious person but he belonged to the old mold and believed in ‘not sparing the rod’. I subsequently learnt that he himself had received the strap at the hands of my uncle Dr. J. P. Lachmansingh when the latter was his headmaster. We were so afraid of Mr. Chinapen that we used to run and hide if he were passing near to our home. Early in 1948 my family moved to Georgetown and I was left at Bush Lot with an aunt to complete my studies. One week before the exam, I got the measles and had to miss school. Each day my friends came and told me what they did at school and how much strapping they had received. I was glad to be absent.
We travelled by bus and ferry to New Amsterdam to write The Government County Examination. Our feet quickly developed bruises because we did not wear shoes regularly. Near the end of our stay in New Amsterdam we had to remove our shoes due to the pain. All the townspeople knew that we had come from a rural area. Our exam consisted of Mental Arithmetic, Arithmetic, Dictation, English and Local Geography. I was the only one in my class who passed the examination and had my name published in Guyana’s newspaper. I was in Cloud Nine for a few days even though I did not win a scholarship.
My four other classmates went on to do well after they left primary school. Hansraj Singh later took over his father’s grocery business but unfortunately died of a heart attack. Valentine Mohabir is a veterinarian in Trinidad. Phyllis Ramphal came to Canada but she also died recently. Jerry Butchey went into teaching in Guyana.
Many years later, when Mr. Chinapen had retired, I gave him a ride home and we had a long, friendly chat. I did not have the heart to tell him how much fear he had instilled in us at school. Many of his former students and I feel that we are greatly indebted to him for the amount of time and effort he had spent with us to the sacrifice of his family. He was a dedicated teacher. Our village is also indebted to him. He organized his former students and founded The Bush Lot Youth Club which promoted public speaking and debating. He was also active in promoting village cricket. He was a leader. In his later years, Mr. Chinapen became a well known poet in Guyana.
Why do I consider my old headmaster in such high esteem? Not so much for his discipline. I feel that it is because of his dedication to his students and his caring attitude. Because of this he spent countless hours with after school classes, extra lessons during holidays etc. I consider myself very fortunate to be one of the few from my village who was able to attend High School. The background that I received at Lachmansingh Memorial Canadian Mission School under Mr. Chinapen, Mr. Joseph Butchey, Mr. George Bulkan, Mr. Goolcharan and Mrs. Celeste Jaundoo stood me in good stead in my later years.