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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------