WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS
Growing up the old-fashioned way on Roatan…
Back in 1970, Cat Stevens released the album Tea for the Tillerman that opens with the song Where Do the Children Play?
The refrain asks:
I know we’ve come a long way
We’re changing day to day
But tell me, where do the children play?
According to Wikipedia, the song reflects awareness of the turmoil of the late 1960s and the issues involved: war, urban sprawl, poverty, ecological disaster, and the future of humankind.
It seems to me not much has changed in 60 years… and I’ve lived them all.
I was fortunate to grow up in the countryside, free to roam the neighboring pine forests and cornfields, only to be called home by the ringing of our front porch bell.
Each house in the neighborhood had a bell with a distinctive sound so we all knew who had to go home and when. One of my Canadian friends, born in the same time, grew up in a suburb of Toronto. His rule was to come home when the street lights came on.
I know, I sound like your father or grandfather – I walked ten miles in the snow barefoot to get to school every day. And I bet you are wondering why I’m telling you this. It’s because to a degree, this “old fashioned” way of growing up still exists here on Roatan.
During my 11-year tenure here on the island, I have done many things including teaching earth science to middle school students at the private American-style school… class sizes of ten or less with kids who seldom wore shoes.
Most walked to school (no snow here so no repeating of Grandpa’s story) and rarely went home right after class. Instead they met with friends, went to the beach or just hung out somewhere. There aren’t any house bells on the island, but today kids carry cell phones to be summoned for supper.
I am not saying that we are oblivious to the world’s problems or that we do not have problems of our own, but life is slower here, more tight-knit and quite frankly, safer than the majority of the world.
Many clients ask me what it’s like to relocate to the island with a child and my response is that it is wonderful and challenging. Like any kid growing up in a small isolated town, the older ones become anxious to see the rest of the world. But didn’t you feel that way at 18 years old?
The great news is that almost all of the kids from my teaching days took their PSAT and SAT tests and were accepted into major universities around the world. Sure, they had to ride the ferry to La Ceiba on a Saturday morning to take the tests, but that was part of the adventure.
Kids will be kids, but they did listen and they learned. I bet if you asked my former fifth-grade student Julia Watkins, who is now in her twenties, to tell you what the rock cycle is, she would remember!
Roatan has taught me many things, but most importantly I have learned that life can be simpler. Many children on the island are getting the best education possible… in all facets of life.
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