MONTEGO BAY, St James — LINCOLN James, the man who took the Howard Cooke Primary school to the top of Western Jamaica’s public education rankings and kept it there for fifteen years, on Sunday shared his success formula at an appreciation ceremony put on by the school’s board and alumni.

“I was reared in discipline. If I had to be firm, I did it not to please myself. I just wanted to do a good job. I loved them, my staff and the children. The children were my heartbeat. Never mind the strap, the shouts. They understood and they responded in a positive way with their performance,” the 62-year-old James told the large gathering of friends, family and past students who turned up at the Sunset Beach resort to celebrate with him.

According to those who testified about James, who retired last year with 44 years of classroom experience to his credit, his no-nonsense modus operandi was balanced, taking into account the contribution of those he worked with.

“You had the uncanny knack of seeing potential in young members of staff and in your quest to assist them to maximise this potential, you sometimes took on the role of father. Initially this led to resentment, sometimes bitter arguments, but your intrinsic knowledge of human nature, your zero-tolerance of mediocrity and your charm usually diffused the tension and in the end it was clear that you were right,” said James’ secretary, Mavis Evelyn.

Evelyn, who along with teacher Charlene Jackson read the main tribute to James, also commended James wife, Jean, for staunchly supporting him by keeping their four sons in line during the many times he had to be absent from home.

This sentiment was echoed by US Banker Trevor Mattheson who jetted in to acknowledge the contribution that James made to the graduating class of ’76 during his tenure at the Johns Hall All Age school in St James.

“Thank you for lending him to us those many evenings when he mentored us,” said Mattheson, who moved on from Johns Hall All Age to attend the Herbert Morrison Technical High school.

Although James has officially retired, he is still making his contribution through the Ministry of Education.

The holder of several degrees including a Masters in Education and a diploma in Educational leadership, James’ legacy includes the Boys’ Brigrade group that he formed first at Johns Hall and a host of infrastructural improvements to the compounds of the various institutions through which he passed.

At the same time he remained true to his philosophy that a complete student was one who did well academically and participated in extracurricular activities. Consequently, in addition to the many after-school academic classes he conducted for the benefit of those who couldn’t afford to pay tuition, he ensured that the school was prepared to enter various sporting and performing arts competitions.

The proof of the impact his formula had on the school was evident in the large turnout at Sunday’s event which saw him being chauffeured to the venue in a stretch limousine at about 2:30 pm before being feted for over six hours by family, friends and members of the educational fraternity.

At minutes after 8:00 pm when he took the podium to thank the organisers of the event, he noted that if he had the opportunity he would gladly give another 44 years to the classroom even though the wealth he had amassed during his career was intangible as opposed to financial.

“I have the great satisfaction of seeing my students do well and of knowing that God chose me to be a teacher. That to me is wealth,” he said.