At about the age of 12 years, I read a magazine article on "The Headmasters of Kingston College": Bishop Gibson ("Priest"), Douglas Forrest ("Dougs"), and Reverend E. Don Taylor ("Don T"). While I cannot recall with any certainty the name of the magazine (Swing, perhaps?), one sentence in the article remains with me after the passage of more than 50 years: "Kingston College has had a continuity of principals unique in the history of Jamaican secondary education". That was the prevailing reality in the Hilary Term of 1971-72 when Don T, the first KC Old Boy/Principal stepped into leadership at Melbourne Park and 2A North Street.
Since that time, the remarkable continuity inherent in the period from 1925 to 1971 has understandably lost some of its sheen (with respect to length of service), but several principals have successfully led the school, often in the face of challenge and adversity yet always with an unyielding spirit. In addition to Gibson, Forrest and Taylor, the principals have been the intellectual leader Canon John McNab, the excellent manager and professional Woodburn Miller, Reverend Major Cohen (who combined Christian understanding with firm discipline), the greatly loved and universally admired Old Boy Ivan "Wally" Johnson, another scholarly and committed Old Boy Rupert Hemmings, the student-focused Herbert Nelson and, presently, the highly innovative and energetic Dave Myrie.
As the never yielding KC enters Year 101, we should note some of the issues that our principals have encountered, the principles they have used to address various issues, and how these principles have guided the school. I have in mind mainly, but not exclusively, leadership issues in earlier years of the school.
Balancing Act
As a preliminary matter, it should be emphasized that all principals have been called upon to balance the diverse and sometimes divergent interests and preferences of the various stakeholders in the enterprise that is Kingston College. These stakeholders include, of course, students, parents and guardians, teachers and other staff members, governmental authorities, the Anglican Church, and Kingston College Old Boys at home and abroad. The principal is expected to serve as a bridge from one sector to another and to ensure the school's success from the standpoint of different stakeholders even in the face of limited funding - with limited funding being a constant in the school's history. This perennial balancing of interests, sometimes in the face of stringent demands by stakeholders, is a difficult and, I suspect, seriously under-appreciated aspect of the position of the principal. The matter is further complicated, for no stakeholder group normally comes to the table with a uniform, single perspective on issues of principle.
The principal is also expected to be the head academic in the school responsible for all intellectual directions being pursued, while simultaneously serving as the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer and the head of human resources within the institution. On day-to-day matters, the concept of separation of powers is alien to the position of principal, although a wise principal will not be afraid to delegate some duties to the right persons, including vice principals and other teachers and administrators many of whom have elevated and held aloft KC's purple and white skies with dedication and distinction.
Foundation Time
Prior to Don T, Reverend Gibson and then Douglas Forrest guided the school from 1925 to 1971. On some accounts, Gibson was the founder of KC, unaccompanied in that role and determined with church support to build the school as an institution for Christian gentlemen. On other accounts, the school was actually founded by Bishop DeCarteret, head of the Anglican Church in Jamaica in 1925. From time to time, but not as regularly as intermittent summer rain in Port Antonio, the historical origins of the school are explored argumentatively by Old Boys and church guardians, ultimately to no decisive position, but the prominence of Bishop Gibson in the initial operations at 114 ¾ East Street (partly on the site of the Gleaner Company today) is beyond conjecture.
When Gibson stepped down from KC to step up in the religious hierarchy, as the first Jamaican to head the Anglican Church in the country, he left behind, in the hands of his distinguished second master, Douglas Forrest, a legacy of over 30 years of fortitude at an academically flourishing institution. As the first black principal of a Jamaican Church of England school, Priest must have had to contend frequently with difficult race, class and social issues in colonial Jamaica that have diminished with the passage of time, though they have left lingering footprints on the shores of our education sector as a whole.
Race Issue
Having not met Bishop Gibson, I am obliged to rely largely on observations from knowledgeable persons. On the race issue, the bank story has often been told. Priest, learning of a bank vacancy downtown, sent a particular student of dark complexion to the bank manager for his consideration. The manager reportedly applied a colour bar against the student, prompting Gibson's ire. At this point, Gibson returned the student to the bank manager with a promise that if the young man was not employed, Kingston would hear about the matter from the Sunday pulpit. The student was employed. Score one for non-discrimination on grounds of race and righteous indignation: see, e.g., Anthony S. Johnson, The Brave May Fall but Never Yield, History of Kingston College, 1925-2006 (2008), pp, 112-113).
Things changed with the passage of time. Another story, memorably recounted by Principal "Wally" Johnson, has it that in the late 1960s, Mr. Forrest was asked by a foreign journalist whether there was a race problem at KC. Forrest's response - no doubt with a smile in his eyes -- was that occasionally some boys would sneak off to bet money on the Wednesday afternoon race at Caymanas Park! Apocryphal almost certainly; but designed to underline the fact that Douglas Forrest's KC, through firm recognition of racial equality, had removed discrimination from the agenda of internal discourse on the school's two campuses.
Class
What, though, about KC's role in matters concerning class distinctions in pre- and post-independence Jamaica? Throughout much of its history, the school has promoted the upward mobility of its students without regard to their social origins. In this respect, KC has had a marked egalitarian ethos. No matter where you come from, if you show up with willingness to learn, and with discipline, KC has been prepared to support your advancement.
But some questions of social advancement can be delicate. If a school aspires to promote social upliftment, is it not in some ways casting a downward glance, or even a frown, on the social origins of less privileged students by suggesting that the school wants to take the boy out of a negative situation? And, by expressly aiming to elevate a select group of students from poverty, is it not arguable that the school is actually working to bolster a rigid class structure that allows only a minority to enjoy social and economic progress?
There is some evidence that Reverend Gibson was mindful of such questions as he built the school. In her 2011 book, Bonds of Empire: West Indians and Britishness from Victoria to Decolonization , Anne Spry Rush, writing from the University of Maryland, cited a 1953 alumni dinner speech by Gibson in the following terms:
"Percival Gibson ,,, noted proudly that among the six hundred boys attending his secondary school were representatives of every class in Jamaica -- refined and unrefined, and pointed out, in response to earlier remarks that Kingston College no longer had enough 'posh people,' that 'it is not the "posh" people who were governing today.' Yet Gibson went on to champion 'poshness' itself as long as those who did not start off posh were not excluded from striving toward that status"(pp. 225-6).
Reverend Gibson then added that the job of KC was "to get hold of the uncultured element of Jamaica and to raise the uncultured boy to the standard of the cultured" (ibid.)
Judge in Context?
Admittedly, Priest's references to "cultured and uncultured", "refined" and "unrefined" Jamaicans, as well as "posh" and not "posh" are grating to modern social philosophy; but we should be careful not to judge these comments outside their broad context. Gibson explicitly accepted the existence social division in Jamaica, circa 1953, but his main point of emphasis was that his school should provide an avenue to break through the barriers constructed by the guardians of the social division.
Gibson, then, believed in bringing about change to the Jamaican class system by evolutionary processes, a strategy that has recommended itself to many Caribbean policymakers on grounds of practicality and feasibility. It is an approach that neither romanticizes poverty nor blame the poor because they are poor. In fairness, however, this approach remains vulnerable to the accusation that it does not fully satisfy local demands for widespread, rapid change in society. Taken to its logical conclusion, it lends credence to the view that KC and other long established high schools have helped to entrench conservatism in Jamaican society, though we should be quick to notice that in some circumstances progressive change is best brought about through gradual measures. KC principals have generally favoured orderly change.
Curricular Matters
Another broad set of social questions that must have fallen for Bishop Gibson's early consideration concerned the content of learning - the syllabus writ large - in colonial Jamaica. On its opening day on April 16, 1925, KC's list of courses included the then standard fare of Mathematics (Algebra, Arithmetic, Geometry and Trigonometry), English, Geography, Latin, and French or Greek; and, according to the Gleaner on the following day, these subjects were to be taken up by students in examinations through Cambridge and London Universities ("The Kingston College Opened Yesterday," April 17, 1925).
With the passage of time, Latin and Greek as classics courses, declined into obsolescence, other courses were added or subtracted, and the Cambridge Syndicate prevailed at KC for many years (at the Senior Cambridge and Higher Schools levels and otherwise). These English examinations were gradually displaced in the late 1970s by offerings from the Caribbean Examinations Council (the CXC). It is entirely appropriate that Caribbean students should be exposed to Caribbean examinations. One question that may be mentioned, en passant, however, is whether there should be only one examination body: a second examination body for Caribbean students could provide a wider set of options for students and protect the CXC from the temptations of monopoly privilege.
Questions about the early curriculum come promptly to mind. One is whether the range of courses on offer to students at any given time has been appropriate for the needs of modern Jamaica. This question extends beyond Kingston College, but the school has had to address it. So, for example, by the late 1960s, KC introduced technical education as a full set of options for some students, and, under current principal Dave Myrie, KC will be expected to implement aspects of the Government of Jamaica's "STEAM" initiative relating to Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics to the extent that it has not already done so. The emergence of computers, information technology and artificial intelligence has brought fundamental and even revolutionary changes to how students acquire knowledge and to the nature of scholarly endeavours at the secondary level. One hopes, nonetheless, that the current passion for computerization does not undermine Kingston College's traditional expertise in the literary arts and the humanities.
Europe and Africa
Principal Douglas Forrest, the sensitive and brilliant scholar with roots in the parish of St. Elizabeth, gave much thought to the issue of course options even in his retirement years. On occasion, while working in his memorable rose garden, he would engage Sixth Formers in discussion about the range of subjects on offer at the school. Thus, in the 1970s, "Dougs" was prepared to support the introduction of African History at the College, but insisted that this should not displace European History, and especially learning concerning the French Revolution, Napoleon, British imperialism and the two World Wars.
Most principals and teachers soon come to realize that curriculum reform is often a matter of fitting appropriate courses into limited time in the school day. Today, there is a convincing view that more time should be created for Civics, Caribbean Sociology and History, even for students specializing in the technical sciences. But, following Forrest, and referring to Walter Rodney, if we want to know how Europe underdeveloped Africa or the Caribbean, we need to know about Europe, as well as Africa and the Caribbean. Looking back, I see that Forrest was right: what do we know of Caribbean History if we only know Caribbean History (to borrow from C.L.R. James)?
Too Anglocentric?
Ultimately, KC principals across the years have also had to consider what values they wish the school's graduates to embrace in their lives. Critics of the early years acknowledge that the school imparted universal principles such as integrity, fairness and "never say die" resilience in much the same way all modern principals have done. But was the early KC too Anglocentric in its approach to learning and socialization? At the 1953 alumni dinner mentioned above, Rhodes scholar Old Boy, L.L. Murad, noted that Jamaica was moving towards self-determination, and opined that in this context we should "copy the manners, habits and customs of the English people" (quoted by Spry Rush, p. 236).
It is not altogether surprising that some KC leaders held up aspects of English culture for emulation. English opinion-leaders in the waning years of the Empire continued to link the "grant" of independence to colonies to "readiness", and to link this readiness to acceptance of English values. The message from the British Colonial Office was: Jamaica, if you want independence anytime soon, you must imitate Britain.
This political fact, together with the undoubted quality of many British literary, scientific and scholarly achievements, suggested to pragmatic KC leadership that the school should accept British leadership in educational matters pre-independence. Students who came under the influence of "Dougs" may add the proviso that French language and culture remain in viable competition with the English model. The same "Dougs" would challenge classes of bright but befuddled students with riddles posed in French and expose groups to classical music appreciation with compositions drawn mainly from Western Europe. In the contest between Shakespeare and Jane Austen as against Moliere and Voltaire, who can confidently select the winners? None of this is to suggest that KC today seeks to create "Little Londoners" in its teaching and learning. Instead, emphasis remains rooted in Caribbean culture, which draws inspiration from several sources.
"Persistent Poverty"
Another large set of questions pertains to the role of a church school in a socio-economic environment characterized by what distinguished KC Old Boy and UWI economist, George Beckford, has characterized as "persistent poverty" within the postcolonial plantation paradigm. In keeping with KC's basic mission, all principals have supported the idea that KC should educate its students for their personal advancement and that this will redound to the benefit of the wider society. But for some, if not all, principals, there have been other considerations.
Canon Dr. John McNab was well-versed in Liberation Theology and strongly encouraged students in the upper school to respect the concept of noblesse oblige in our attitudes to each other and to the wider society: a distinctive feature of Dr. McNab's tenure, therefore, was school involvement in an important teaching and work project with persons incarcerated at the General Penitentiary. Under Canon McNab's leadership, Sixth Formers were as apt to know about Paulo Friere's Pedagogy of the Oppressed (and about being your brother's keeper) as we were about Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations.
Canon McNab, who gave heroic, self-sacrificing and inspirational service to the school in the aftermath of the devastating fire of 1977, was also keen to promote social equality within the educational sector placing himself among the academic leaders who sought to erase distinctions between traditional high schools and the then "new secondary schools". For the Canon, all schools, regardless of the timing and circumstances of their entry into the secondary system, should pursue the same academic goals, aspire to the same academic and cultural standards and take part in the same sporting activities, including the Champs, Manning and DaCosta Cup Competitions. I often bear Canon McNab in mind on hearing of signal achievements by some schools not traditionally regarded as leading schools in the country. In my mind's eye, he is cheering them on even as he wishes for great purple victories.
On the Hill
Still on the question of the social role of Kingston College in Jamaica, Reverend Don Taylor and Ivan "Wally" Johnson supported the idea that the school should exemplify qualities that institutions and people should follow. As principal, Don T would, from time to time, march First Formers, cadet-style, through the streets of Franklyn Town, publicly asking students questions about school history - instilling pride and displaying students to the community. In later years, Don T, a former Bishop of New York, was known to proclaim that "If KC fails, Jamaica will fail". His thesis was that the model of social equality built by Bishop Gibson for KC - which by the 1970s had become "the largest secondary school in the English-speaking Caribbean" -- was necessary for Jamaica's success.
Similarly, Mr. "Wally" Johnson, closely associated with KC's formidable sporting and artistic accomplishments, firmly embraced the view that KC boys had a duty to excel, and by excelling, to demonstrate that social origins do not always limit achievement. For "Mr. Johnno", KC's successes, including, for instance, its unprecedented string of victories at Boys Champs, prompted the thought that the school contributed to society by serving as a city on the hill, to borrow a phrase. Together with some other schools KC has across the years demonstrated that an institution drawing from various parts of society, however defined, may provide a model of determination and quality for the wider Jamaica. I have no doubt that this approach has recommended itself to all other KC principals as part of the zeitgeist of postcolonial Jamaica.
All KC principals have contributed to the project founded a century ago. Some have saved the school in times of deep crisis, some have steadily steered it on the paths of significant academic and other achievement, some have emphasized that a proper balance must always be struck between matters of the intellect and extra-curricular affairs, and all, from Gibson to Myrie, have cultivated a spirit of unity within school. The numerous stakeholders, and sub-sets thereof, must remain grateful to the principals for engendering this unity and the famous Fortiscommitment.
Stephen Vasciannie attended KC between 1971 and 1978.