Joan Burnett - Elgin Taylor

Some persons have been able to realise their dreams through hardship, suffering and sheer perseverance.

One such individual is Joan Burnett, principal of Parottee Primary School in St Elizabeth.

In a recent interview with The Star, she shared her story of how she went from being a domestic helper to a school principal.

"I was born in Springvale, St Elizabeth, to a large family of five boys and seven girls. My parents were poor, and so when I passed the Grade Nine Achievement Test I was unable to attend high school.

"So at age 15 I had to resort to being a domestic helper to help make ends meet.

"I got work in Montego Bay with a family of three - a father, mother and a one-month-old baby.

"The mother was a teacher and the father a youth club organiser. My work involved washing, cleaning, cooking, ironing and baby-sitting. I was a live-in helper and I worked for the family for one year," she noted.

She also stated that while working for this family, she attended evening classes at Montego Bay Secondary school and studied for the Jamaica School Certificate Examination (JSC).

She sat four subjects in the exam - mathematics, english language, history and civics. She was successful in three but failed to pass English Language. The job of domestic helper, however, was fast becoming a part of her resume.

"After a year, I left and went to work for another family. This time it was for a husband and wife. I washed, cooked and did general duties for them. This was at a place in Montego Bay called 'Capture Land'. I stayed with them for a year as the volume of work seemed too much for me. I then left and worked in a shop and bar. It was rough as sometimes I worked until two in the morning."

Life going downhill

It was at this point in her life that Burnett realised that her life was heading downhill. She decided to return back home.

"I went home and picked up a job in a shop. I also washed and cooked for the proprietor. During this time I did some JSC subjects on my own. I got three, health science, general science A and cookery, but still did not get the english," she stated.

She stayed at the shopkeeper's abode but was not given a bed on which to sleep. Instead, she had to sleep on chairs. Some nights, she simply sat up, stared at the ceiling and prayed.

Later on, she got an offer from a young man and his girlfriend to sleep at their house. One night the man armed himself with a knife and demanded sex from her. There was a tussle, she managed to escape and ran and hid in bushes where she stayed all night.

Sister to the rescue

Burnett went back home to her parents, hoping to get a reprieve from her problems. She started reading her Bible a lot and was convicted to become a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This did not bode well with her parents.

"My parents told me that if I wasn't cooking or eating the pork, I would have to leave their house."

She left and went to live with one of her sisters who was a teacher at Lacovia Primary School in St Elizabeth. It was here that she decided to sit English language again, and this time she was successful.

She got her first teaching job for four months at Accompong Town All Age in St Elizabeth.

She later worked at Santa Cruz All Age School in St Elizabeth, Garlogie Primary in Manchester, Retrieve and St Leonard's All Age schools in Westmoreland. She spent nineteen years at the latter, from September 1980 to August 2009.

A graduate of Sam Sharpe Teachers' College, the University of the West Indies and Northern Caribbean University, she holds a teacher's certificate and diploma, and a bachelor's and master's degrees from these institutions.

The principal also teaches grade six. She and her staff of four have managed to raise the academic level of students, as well as enrolment and attendance. She also reported getting positive support from the parent-teachers' association.

She gave the following as reasons for making public her life story:

"I want my story to serve as notice to others that you do not have to stay where you are. If you are dedicated, work hard and stay focused, you will achieve your goal."