Good teachers are worth their weight in gold

Every year, World Teacher’s Day, which is commemorated on October 5, presents an important opportunity to honour a very special group of people who selflessly dedicate their lives to inspiring, molding and shaping minds. Since many of us would not be where we are without their guidance, affirmation and patient tutelage, good teachers are truly worth their weight in gold. For me, a good teacher is generous with their time, patient, dedicated to the cause of empowering through knowledge, humble, willing to also learn from those they are teaching, committed to helping students actualize their fullest potential, and reposes an unshakeable confidence the ability of their students to excel.

Over the course of my life, there have been a number of teachers who have impacted me. One such teacher is Miss Nancy Anderson (of blessed memory), who tutored at the Norman Manley Law School (NMLS) for well over a decade until the time of her passing in late November of 2021. Miss Anderson was an eminent (yet humble) giant within the legal profession. I met Miss Anderson through my involvement with the Trial Advocacy II course as a second-year law student. At that first meeting in her introduction to the course, she struck me as someone who possessed an unmistakable awareness of her own renown, and the respect that she commanded within the legal profession.

As time passed, I became better acquainted with Miss Anderson when I, along with a small group of colleagues, embarked on a mission to resuscitate the Norman Manley Law School’s then dormant Human Rights Committee between late 2019 to March/April of 2020 (before COVID-19 hit)—an undertaking that demanded heavy investments of time, energy, and personal resources towards its successful resuscitation which culminated in March/April of 2020. Sensing my almost obsessive commitment to the task of spearheading the “resuscitation project” (as I called it) at that time, Miss Anderson, who was the resident human rights expert at the Norman Manley Law School, graciously provided supportive, rather than directive, encouragement in our collective pursuit of the endeavour. This was something that signaled powerfully to me that she sincerely believed not only in the project but also in what we were capable of accomplishing in respect of it. And that is how Miss Anderson was with students. She empowered them to flourish and sought to nurture their confidence in their ability to get things done without hovering, or otherwise attempting to micromanage their efforts. Her orientation in that regard was hugely encouraging and immensely enabling.

Another quality that I really admired about Miss Anderson was her humble, down-to-earth, and unassuming nature. She never egotistically assumed and/or presupposed that persons were interested in associating with her because of her actual or “perceived” success, notwithstanding the fact that she had achieved far more in her lifetime than many persons have and/or will ever achieve in theirs. Miss Anderson also had a way of making students feel important. It did not matter to her that they were not yet Attorneys-at-Law. She notably demonstrated a proclivity for taking students under her wings and providing them with important opportunities to connect with established individuals within the legal profession. In fact, it was Miss Anderson who invited a small group of us to our very first meeting of the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) where we were introduced to Dr. Barnett. Dr. Barnett would later call me to the Jamaican bar when Miss Anderson transitioned almost three weeks before the date on which I was due to be called.

As a noted and highly respected legal practitioner, Miss Anderson was instrumental in championing the rights of Shanique Myrie in a seminal 2013 case that was pivotal in clarifying, among other things, the meaning, scope and import of the very consequential right to free movement of CARICOM nationals under the enigmatic Revised Treat of Chaguaramas (RTC). She was also quite active in the Jamaican Court of Appeal, where she litigated numerous cases alongside her colleague Robert Fletcher. Then there is her ground-breaking work with Dr. Barnett and the IJCHR on death penalty litigation in the Caribbean, as well as her very brave rights advocacy work on the behalf of Jamaican prisoners and others confined (some wrongfully) within carceral settings locally. She was a selfless advocate who embodied the principle of what I call “sacrificial giving”—which is giving that is done from a place of sacrifice and therefore assumes that much more meaning. (Think of the “widow’s might”: it is not necessarily what you give, but from what you give). Finally, Miss Anderson served as coach for the Norman Manley Law School’s Jessup team for several years, with its best performance being accomplished in 2017 when it placed second in the Jessup Moot competition, which boasts the participation of students from “700 law schools in 100 countries and jurisdictions”—a feat which has not been replicated some seven years later. Prior to that memorable showing, Miss Anderson had coached and/or helped to coach the Jessup team as well as the NMLS’ Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) moot team to great success on different occasions thereby proving that her success as a coach was not an accident or “one-time thing”. (Those are just a FEW of her many accomplishments since space constraints will not permit me to litanize them more fulsomely). Certainly, her indefatigable commitment to developing Jamaica, through various means, from the time of her arrival to the country in 1969 as a peace corps volunteer cannot be overstated. This commitment was formally acknowledged and affirmed when she was conferred with the prestigious Order of Distinction (OD) in October of 2016.

Whilst Miss Anderson’s sudden transition has left a void within the legal profession and in the hearts of the many persons she has impacted, her legacy remains potent, full of life, and very much unending. As evidenced by this tribute, her impact continues to be felt and will never be forgotten. On the occasion of World Teacher’s Day 2024, I wish to honour Miss Anderson and all the teachers who have contributed to my development (as a project still under construction) from prep school--including those track & field coaches who genuinely believed in me and contributed to my tremendous success at that level--to now. Good teachers are truly worth their weight in gold.