Beverley Ingram - Elgin Taylor

It is an indisputable fact that in the field of music there are many Jamaicans who have made and are making an indelible contribution on the world stage. Names like Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Toots Hibbert come readily to mind.

In a similar fashion, there are many unsung heroes of music in our schools. Among this group is Beverley Ingram, a music teacher at Old Harbour Primary School in St Catherine.

Music is my life

In a recent interview with The Star, she spoke glowingly of her love for this art form.

"Music is my life, music is my heartbeat. I developed the passion from primary-school days. I was once a teacher of general subjects, but all that changed in 2000 with the construction of a new school building by the Ministry of Education. A department was established which provided the scope for teaching music as a subject," she said.

Prior to this, music was taught as an extracurricular activity, mainly for entry in the annual Festival activities. But even then, she said, students showed a lot of enthusiasm and won several trophies and medals.

In fact, she created such a positive impact that in 1990 she was awarded a three-year scholarship to study music at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.

Old Harbour Primary School is the only teaching institution at which she has worked in a trained capacity. She has been there since September 1980. She was trained at Church Teachers' College in Mandeville, Manchester from 1977 to 1980. The training included an internship year which was spent at Hazard Drive Primary School in Clarendon, the parish of her birth. (However, most of her childhood days were spent in Black River, St Elizabeth).

She returned to Church Teachers' College in the late 1990s to upgrade her certification to the diploma level. Later, from 2003-2005, she read successfully for a bachelor's degree in primary education at Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville.

While some educators blame dancehall for indiscipline, Ingram believes it is a legitimate form of expression. "I m not knocking the dancehall culture," she told the STAR.

"I consider it a form of expression. However, I must say that I only support clean lyrics."

Joy in teaching

She said she has on occasions incorporated DJ music in her teaching. She has also made the claim that the music can be used as an antidote for boys with unruly behaviour.

currently she has a heavy workload, teaching students on both shifts. In addition, she is a Sunday school teacher and choir director at the Old Harbour Baptist Church. She believes that she "can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".

Ingram said that her joy in teaching is seeing her students excel. Her other delight is that her three children are all musically gifted.

"Music is my life, music is my heartbeat."