Mrs. Dos Ramos proudly displays the Jean Persico Award she received in 1989
“Teachers should have incentives, and work for them, gaining a sense of pride. The only real benefit you get from teaching is seeing children you taught succeed as men and women.”
By Leon Suseran
Rose Agnes Dos Ramos is a multi-talented woman and has made the utmost use of that gift.
From an early age, she was exposed to the stage and performed, and even won a medal at the then British Guiana Music Festival for Verse Speaking, as well as another award, in 1969. She was brought up very close to the Roman Catholic Convent in New Amsterdam and said that she wanted to become a nun, but somehow found herself in teaching and stuck with that in the years that followed. She has taught for 38 years; had been deeply involved in community life; the Guyana Teachers’ Union; and has still been a mother to many.
Whether it is ‘Aunty Rosie’ or ‘Miss Dos Ramos’, her name always elicits a smile.
Childhood Years
She was born at Pope Street, New Amsterdam, to Harry and Mary de Souza and spent all of her childhood days there. She attended St Mary’s Carmelite Convent School from 1960-1966 after which she wrote the Common Entrance Exam in 1966 and gained a place at the Berbice High School. In June 1972, she wrote the General Certificate of Education and obtained three subjects.
“I came from a very large family— eleven of us”, she recalled. “We had love in the family…there were times as a little girl that I used to sell old newspapers. Those days the tailors used to buy papers to wrap up the clothes.” She used to save that money to buy gifts for everyone at Christmastime.
She developed that sharing spirit from early.
“From very young I learnt to give, because my mother’s policy was ‘if you bring it home, you had to share it’. If you got something you didn’t want to share, you had to eat it outside.”
She was also tasked with taking baskets to the poor, with the assistance of her father.
Rose was deeply involved in drama, poetry and singing. Catholic nun, the late Sister Rose Magdalene, nurtured her talent.
Never one to be afraid of the limelight, Rose admits that she may have a little stage-fright at times, but does not show it. “I might feel a bit nervous but I get over it quickly. I don’t show my nervousness, and once I get into it, it goes, because I have been on stage since five years old, so crowds don’t bother me… plus I have a loud voice.”
A family portrait
Teaching
Rose was offered a job at the Infant of Prague Nursery School for a year, 1972-1973. That school is Trinity Street Nursery in the town today. The budding teacher then applied for a job at St Therese’s Primary, where she spent most of her career— 34 fruitful and memorable years to be exact.
She began as a Pupil Teacher and was successful at the teachers’ exams after which she entered In- Service Teacher training at the Cyril Potter College of Education from 1980-1982, optioning in Social Studies and Music and Drama. She taught all levels at the primary school and spent a lot of time teaching the Grade 6 level.
“I really didn’t want to teach; I wanted to become a nun and I never had teaching in mind…but that didn’t work out so I started teaching and I was going to use it (teaching) as a stepping stone, but then I liked it and stayed,” she reflected.
She was appointed Assistant Mistress in 1982 and Senior Assistant Mistress in 1989 after which she assumed the positions of Senior Mistress in 1998 and acting Deputy Head Mistress from January 2000.
Rose later applied to transfer to the Edinburgh Primary School in the same region where she was appointed Head Mistress in January 2008 and would complete her longstanding career there as an educationist, and a respected one at that. The school that same year performed exceedingly well at the SSEE. She retired three years later.
She vividly recalls giving free lessons to students. “That was one of the things I am proud of…I would keep everybody in the afternoons and we worked; we did reinforcement work in the afternoon so the children who could not afford it could have had lessons.”
“Teaching does not have too many benefits; that’s why I say, for instance, it makes little difference if you fight for salary increases, because the cost of living goes up shortly after. Teachers should have incentives, and work for them, gaining a sense of pride. The only real benefit you get from teaching is seeing children you taught succeed as men and women.”
Rose was also involved in writing of text books for the Easy Path series in Social Studies as a Committee Member in 1994.
A touch of Politics
Making a simple, but earnest appeal (with her husband) to the President in May last, for a new East Bank Berbice road
An unpleasant taste of politics in the early ‘90s caused her to completely leave the pursuit behind. The group, New Amsterdam Concerned Citizens’ Group, an independent body, was trying to run the town of New Amsterdam, but Rose saw a lot of dishonest practices during the election period and this turned her off completely. She was running for Deputy Mayor of the town. “We used to have public meetings…and we went out to the different areas in the town.”
She also served for a number of years on the National Psychiatric Hospital Management Committee from its inception in 2000. “We used to actually run that hospital and those new chalets, we were involved in planning…I was Secretary”.
Union activities
Our ‘Special Person’ was a very active member of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and served in a number of positions, including Branch Secretary, Treasurer, Sports Secretary, District Sports Secretary and District Sports Representative for District 15.
At the national level, she served on a number of committees, namely Professional Development, Awards and Scholarships, Berbice Building, GTU Health Plan and was even a delegate to the Conference for a number of years. She was also involved in planning and executing a number of Branch activities including GTU/CTF (Canadian Teachers’ Federation) Workshops, May Day rallies, fund-raising activities, sports, and community projects. The vibrant young teacher brought life and vigour to all the positions she held. She had a passion for sports, especially athletics and dominoes.
The GTU then and the GTU now, she opined, have major differences, “because to me, the union now is not as active as it should be…you hardly hear much of it and hardly find members who want to see the union going”. Long ago, she noted, they had the zeal. “May Day, we had a big contingent and banners and we had a get-together at the end— May Day was a big thing. But I don’t know if teachers eventually became disillusioned with the union and people stop coming… but then to now, there is a difference.”
Looking back through the years and advice
Rose also reflected on several personal aspects of her life. She met her husband, Ranold ‘Peter”’Dos Ramos, as a teen. He used to work at the Church in New Amsterdam. They got married at 18 and her father had to sign, because at that time, 21 was the age of consent. The union produced four children.
Generally, Rose insists she does not have any major regrets, “maybe I felt that I could have done a little more for less fortunate people and that is why now, I try to make up and sometimes I would do things for them without even my husband knowing, because I feel I still have life and can afford a little and that was something instilled from my parents”.
Rose (3rd from left) singing ‘Doh Ray Me’ at Convent School
Her father, she recalled, used to regularly remind them of the words of Jesus, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you did it unto me”. “I think my upbringing has made me the person I am and I am grateful to my parents.”
“As a people in this country, we need to forgive each other. To me, forgiving, it’s a very hard thing, but it’s very important. I find that I can easily forgive; I may quarrel about something and I might hold it against you for a couple of minutes, but it doesn’t stay with me. I can easily come back to you and talk. So I feel it’s something we need to learn; to forgive others, because sometimes we harbour these bad thoughts and ill feelings toward people for so long it destroys you.”
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
The aforementioned activities as a tutor were duly recognized. Rose received the first ever Jean Persico Award in 1989 for being a dedicated teacher and actively involved in Union activities. She was also given the President’s Award for Distinguished Service in 1995 (the highest award of the GTU); the long-service award from the New Amsterdam branch of GTU; Department of Education Region 6 and Women’s Affairs’ Committee Region 6 Awards, as well as a Department of Education Award Region 6, for being “a hard-worker and leader (head teacher) in the education system”.
Today, she and her husband reside at Lot 33 Heathburn, East Bank Berbice and have been among the staunch advocates for a new thoroughfare.They speak often of enduring the dust and vibrations caused by speeding vehicles on the pot-holed roadway over the past years.
Rose is actively involved in the Ministry at the Roman Catholic Church in New Amsterdam. She served as the President and Secretary of the Parish Pastoral Council as well as Secretary of the Liturgical Committee and Social Committee. She serves in the Ministry of Lectors.
In addition to all that has been told of Rose, she is a poet. She has penned numerous poems including ‘The Berbice River Bridge’, The Pride of Berbice’ and her most recent parody poem about the dilapidated East Bank Berbice road, ‘Ode to the Road’.
A life of true service, active involvement, sharing of talents, dedicated mother hood and love of the Church; that’s the life of the beloved and respected Rose Dos Ramos.
BY KAIETEUR NEWS