Glowing tributes for Dr Simon Clarke at candlelight vigil

WESTERN BUREAU:

THERE WERE sombre faces all round, depicting the mood of the many parents, students, teachers, Green Island High School administrators, and Hanoverians in general who turned out to participate in a candlelight vigil in honour of the late Dr Simon Clarke, an educator extraordinaire.

The Green Island High School family saw it as a no-brainer, and their duty, to stage the event on the school’s compound for its founding principal on Thursday night.

Moderator Shorna Miller, a teacher at the institution for many years, underscored the indelible mark left on all who passed through the institution, especially under the leadership of Dr Clarke. She said that even years after Clarke had moved on from that school to other educational duties and responsibilities, the policies he instituted and his whole approach to life and tutoring children were still being emulated and spoken about at the institution.

“Our spirits are big, our spirits are high, because our lives have been touched by this great man, this giant, this hero of our time; indeed, we are sitting in the very institution that he first touched, Green Island Secondary, now Green Island High School,” Miller stated.

She argued that his contribution to education in Hanover, Jamaica, and the wider Caribbean, through his tour of duty at various institutions, makes him worthy of any amount of recognition, honour and praise that the people of Jamaica and the world may think worthy.

Apart from a condolence book for the signatures and comments of all mourners, a video presentation of the life of Clarke, a collage mounted in the foyer of the school, cultural presentations from students past and present, along with the lighting of several candles on the lawn, arranged to spell the name ‘SIMON’, made up the programme of the evening. The school’s song had pride of place in the evening’s proceedings.

Principal of Green Island High since 2011, Mrs Maxine Evans, described Green Island High as the place where Dr Simon Clarke began an educational journey.

“Though we are under repairs now, here stands the legacy of the man’s vision, mission, passion, strength, research and foundations for the people of Hanover, the people in western Jamaica, the nation’s children, and those of the entire world; and I say, what a man,” she stated.

She described the life of Clarke as a life well lived, noting that it is marked by a path of love, commitment and selflessness in shaping the lives of children.

In an interview with The Gleaner following her presentation, Evans argued that Clarke’s recent passing has undoubtedly left a void in the education sector.

“Dr Clarke is an icon, a legendary leader, one who has a special way of influencing persons, he believed in people,” she stated.

She explained that Clarke opened Green Island Secondary in 1969 with about 700 to 800 students, with excellence as its motto. Today, the school has a population of over 1,800 students attending on two shifts, always striving to achieving excellence.

Custos of Hanover Dr David Stair, who was in attendance at the vigil, described Clarke as a very special person.

“This nation of ours has a lot to thank him for, and I think the education ministry. If they have special awards he should be one of the top awardees,” he stated.

Stair described the contribution of Clarke to the education of generations of Hanoverians as immeasurable, and worthwhile of all the recognition it gets.

Principal of the Green Island High from 1987 to 2003, Ansle Brown, who happened to have worked with Clarke at the institution in its early years, told The Gleaner that he learnt a lot from Clarke in the early years.

“Dr Clarke had a vision, he was humble enough to leave Cornwall College in Montego Bay and come to these rural parts to teach. To me, there was nothing here to attract him. The only thing that I would say pushed him was his love for people, and his desire to see young people come to something,” he stated.