#BTColumn – Riviera: education stalwart passes

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by Dr. Dan C. Carter

Today, the phrase Early Childhood Education is just as popular as any other stage of education in Barbados, including primary education, secondary education and tertiary education.

This accomplishment commenced in 1947 when Miss E. D. Murray was appointed the first inspector of schools with responsibility for Infants Methods. In fact, infant education meant using the same methodologies as were practised with children from Class 1 to Class 7 – large ingestion of facts and monotonous memorisation of the same.

However, after Murray’s appointment, infant education was given special attention by successive Ministries of Education. The curriculum was more in tune with the physical, psychological and social development of children of infant age.

The classroom became less rigid and much more friendly and relaxed. More practical work replaced excessive written and verbal instruction. Play became a major instrument in the process of instruction.

Courses in early childhood education became almost compulsory for those teaching this age group. And, in time, Erdiston Teachers Training College gradually became the nucleus of the spread of the practice and theory of modern early childhood education.

A further, major thrust in Early Childhood Education came about when the government commenced its first public nursery school, called the Erdiston Nursery in 1965.

The school was to become the catalyst for the improvement of infant methods and the development of nursery education throughout the primary system.

The establishment of several government nursery schools followed until 2011 when the Maria Holder Memorial Trust collaborated with the Government of Barbados and constructed its first nursery school and has to date established four such schools, the last in 2021.

The growth in nursery education was as a result of the demand for such places as Barbadian parents, both lower and middle income, saw the advantage of an early start to their children’s education.

This, no doubt, since the 1960s, was propelled by the Barbados Secondary Entrance Examination, familiarly referred to as the Common Entrance Examination, which saw parents using every educational means of giving their children an advantage of gaining entry into what they perceive as the island’s top grammar schools.

In the midst of all this development was a group of education officers, now called Early Childhood Education Officers, whose precursor was Murray, and who conscientiously spread the philosophy of early childhood education throughout the primary educational system of Barbados. One such an educator was Jean Riviera, whose passing I deeply acknowledge with great approbation.

Riviera started her teaching career in the public service at Westbury Girls’ School, then Westbury Infants’ and then St. Paul’s Primary.

After completing her Erdiston Teachers’ Training Certificate, she returned to St. Paul’s where she was able to demonstrate her passion for the teaching of infants.

In fact, the Principal placed her in charge of the Infants’ department as she realised that the young teacher possessed qualities of leadership.

Riviera was able to assist her fellow teachers and at the time encouraged them to participate in a Team Teaching Project which was funded by the Ford Foundation, through the University of the West Indies.

St. Paul’s was one of five schools in the project in 1965 which was: a type of instructional organisation, involving personnel and students assigned to them, in which two or more teachers are given responsibility, working together, for all or a significant part of the instruction of the same group of students.

The Ministry of Education was so impressed with the work of this “Master Teacher” of St. Paul’s that she
was promoted to the post of Senior Teacher at Deacons Primary School.

Subsequently, she was transferred to Grazettes Primary. Riviera continued to climb the educational ladder becoming Principal of Carrington Primary (now amalgamated with Erdiston Primary to form George Lamming) and St. Martin’s Four Roads Primary (Reynold Weekes).

Her work also encompassed that of conducting classes at the Induction Course during the summer vacation for teacher either joining the profession for the first time or already in the service without any formal training.

Riviera was next asked by the Ministry of Education to become an Education Officer. As an education officer, she assisted with the Special Needs Education Programme. Subsequently, she was given responsibility for Nursery Schools, Infant Schools and the majority of early childhood classes in primary schools.

During her weekly visits to schools and by conducting many workshops and seminars, she was able to influence teachers to provide quality education for all, allow children to engage in developmentally appropriate activities and to keep abreast of current trends and practice in education.

A critical development in Early Childhood Education in Barbados was the formation of the Early Childhood Education Association in 1990.

The aim of this important subject organisation was to provide teachers of young children with opportunities to obtain and exchange information and be informed of innovation in the field early childhood education.

Riviera used her vast experience in early childhood education to assist in the formation of the association and
was the professional link between the Ministry of Education and the former. For her enormous contribution to early childhood education, the association presented her with an award in the year 2000.

Riviera, through the association, was able to influence the professional development of many of our outstanding early childhood educators, including such names as Shelly Boyce (Principal of Sharon Nursery), Jennifer Jackman, Joan Brewster, Megon Batson (former Principal of Government Hill Nursery) and Marva Griffith.

Boyce vividly remembers Riviera as one who spent much of her after work time instructing teachers in the varying principles of early childhood education.

She was particularly interested in the thematic approach to learning which must have been influenced by her earlier involvement in the Team Teaching Experiment. Boyce summed up Riviera as a “teacher trainer” who enjoyed what she did.

After retiring from the Ministry of Education in 1995, Riviera continued to contribute to the education of children by becoming a member of the team that composed poems and wrote stories to be used as reading material in primary and secondary schools. She also took up teaching assignments at three private schools.

According to one of her closest admirers, Lucille Goddard, former nursery school principal and leading early childhood advocate,  Riviera, in her many roles in the school system, impacted positively the lives of parents, children and teachers. She encouraged parents to be involved in the education of their children.

Goddard noted that many past and present teachers acknowledged her significant contribution to their personal and professional development.

Dr. Dan C. Carter is an educational historian and author.