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Patricia Williamson, educator with the Golden touch

Patricia Williamson... "If one is not prepared to do it all and become it all for their students, the classroom may not be where they belong." - Yolande Gyles

"A VERY HARD working teacher, the kind of teacher who puts her students above herself and everything else," that is how Mrs. Patricia Williamson is described by one of her colleagues.

Another colleague simply describes her as "pure gold. The sort of teacher, I one day hope to become."

So, who is this woman who has everybody heaping praises on her? She is sixth grade teacher Mrs. Patricia Williamson of Shortwood Practising Infant, Primary and Junior High School. She is a 25-year veteran of the classroom and has been at her present school for the past 14 years. Prior to that she taught at Bramley All-Age School in St.Mary.

Favourite teachers

It was her two favourite teachers Mrs. Grant and Mrs. Harrison who inspired her to enter the classroom.

"Mrs. Harrison used to call me blue foot, because I would wear blue socks and a blue crepe to school, she would always tease me and say 'blue foot' come here. They would treat you so good, they would support you, and they would always look out for your best interest,... they supported me right up to college," she said of her favourite teachers. "They were my heroes, and I wanted to emulate them, so I decided to become a teacher."

Mrs. Williamson says her greatest achievement has been watching a slow student do well in exams simply because they were challenged to succeed.

She bemoans the fact that over the years children have become less interested in school work. She says that over the years students realised that education is not the only means by which success may be achieved and in fact, it is by far one of the harder ways in which to reach their goals, so they focus on things that are not book related.

Today's teacher Mrs. Williamson says, has to play the roles of "mother, father, teacher, preacher, social worker and financier." "If one is not prepared to do it all and become it all for their students, the classroom may not be where they belong," she suggested.

Mrs. Williamson is married to Trevor, and has two children, a son Junior who is following his first love by working on cars, and a daughter Lorece who is a medical student at the University of the West Indies.