Beyond parents , teachers are undoubtedly the most crucial influence on
children as their most formative years are spent under the auspices of the
various teachers they encounter. To underscore the critical nature of the
relationship it would not be difficult to have any member of this list rattle
off  names of teachers especially those who taught them in primary school.
Teachers , it seems are forever  etched into our memory in what may be an
inadvertent  expression of gratitude for having received knowledge and all
the wisdom that entails.
In my case a particular teacher stand out as a vivid example of  how
far-reaching  his impact was. Sure he taught subjects that were stipulated by
the Education Department curricullum, but he somehow transcended  tradition
and was always looking for ways to inspire curiousity .  Mr Bah  taught me at
Primary 4 and one of the awesticking thing about him was he  would always
ensure that we did not have a substitude  teacher anytime he was going to be
away. Instead he would leave a rather detailed note at the headmasters'
office stipulating the days task from calling the register to the class work
for the entire day all carefully calibrated to keep us busy  for the full
duration of classtime. Whoever was designated would have to read the entire
task assigned to him infront of the headmaster in what i later realised was
meant to assuage any nagging fears that the  class was being neglected.
Infact those who got selected to stand in his stead took the responsibilty so
seriously that they went out of their way to avoid  anything that would make
them look incompetent. I remember  incurring the wrath of my brothers because
i had to collect all the classwork at the end of school  and take it the
office  and my hungry brothers weren't thrilled about having to wait for me
to eat lunch. But such was the urge to successfully  complete tasks assigned
that ruffling a few family feathers was well worth it. Mr Bah's speciality
was to make us feel that whatever we were doing was the most important
atleast for that moment. Exams  for Mr Bah were  not mere assesments, he made
them into events often going beyond normal school hours. We all new we were
going to tested comprehensively and all was expected to work hard at it. At
the end of the academic year Mr Bah had so much ehanced both  our abilities
and most importantly our notion of what  potential we had that all we saw was
a world waiting for us to conquer.  At the end of the school year in 1978  he
left not only us but teaching as  a whole . I remember  being their on that
rainy day when his stuff was being loaded  on the PWD truck feeling  a
tremendous sense of loss. Five years later while on vacation from Armitage a
rather professional looking Mr Bah would walk in right into our home in
Georgetown. Clad in shirt and tie he told me he was now essentially a
journalist working for the government. I was  very pleased that he seemed to
have moved on to even better heights but i was particularly moved by what is
clearly an enduring regard for me as a former student. Sadly  by 1989 i learn
Mr Bah has developed psychiatric problems and was in his hometown of
Pakalinding and with  our nations  non existant capacity to care for people
with mental illness , my heart aches at the constant thought of an
exceedingly goodman being trapped in the bottomless pit of mental illness.
While i felt sad when  he left in that truck a decade earlier , I am
devastated that he may never get help.

I hope and pray that a miracle works it way and somehow  somewhere another
person shares in the wisdom of Mr bah.

Karamba

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