Teacher challenged herself as she prepared GSAT students
IN PREPARING her students for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), Nicole Fray-Johnson had to do something she had never done before.
The grade six coordinator at Rollington Town Primary School in Kingston said she was led to share her experience growing up in a children’s home during her teenage years – a journey that was filled with abuse, abandonment, and rejection.
In giving an overview of her students’ performances in the recent examination, she indicated that she could easily relate to some of the emotional challenges many of them displayed.
“I was left by Mom when I was couple months old. My mom had children, but she didn’t want the burden of growing us. So each child that she had was left somewhere. I was left with my father. My mom eventually came around when my father migrated, hoping that my father would send money so she would have the opportunity. I was abused; sometimes I was beaten for days. I was burnt with iron and cigarettes,” FrayJohnson shared with The Gleaner. “I was very suicidal, so I tried to take my life several times. Nevertheless, I came here (Rollington Town Primary), I pushed through, did my Common Entrance (Examination) and got through for St Hugh’s (High School). I started running away now, because I didn’t know what to do. I would also walk the streets.”
Using her own life story as a lesson for her students, FrayJohnson said she could better relate to steering and motivating them on a path to success.
“As a matter of fact, I had to have them say declarations every single morning: ‘I’m created for purpose’, ‘greatness lies in me’ and ‘nothing will stop my purpose’ – things like that,” she said.