OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Tatline Brown Rose was born to be a teacher. For four years before she got a job at Clapham Basic School in Moneague, St Ann she taught neighbourhood children from her house.

“I always wanted to do teaching… Children would always come along my pathway and I would take time to help them in whatever area I could,” she said.

The 85-year-old has seen the basic school grow over the years, and its students with it. She taught there for more than 20 years.

“When I started teaching there were about 16 children at the school, it was a small school and we made it work. I have to say it was the greatest years of my life because I loved my job very much. I am a lover of children and so I was happy to be among them,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

In January 1991, Rose was elected to head the basic school, then housed in a small room inside Clapham Seventh-day Adventist Church.

“The former teacher was a lady and she got sick and decided to leave the district. There was a vote [within] the community to determine who should take up the post and all the votes came in my favour. I was so happy!” said Rose.

She worked there until she retired in 2004. Under her leadership, the school was the first in the community to be recognised by the Ministry of Education as having achieved the standards to be registered at the basic school level.

Her hard work has not gone unnoticed. Last Sunday, Rose was among those recognised during the Moneague District of Seventh-day Adventist Churches’ Service of Excellence and Recognition awards ceremony. It is part of the church’s celebrations to mark Jamaica’s 60th year of Independence.

“I’m feeling delighted about the award. It was really a great moment for me,” Rose told the Observer.

It was also a gratifying moment for event organiser and senior pastor of the Moneague District of Seventh-day Adventist Churches, Jermaine Johnson.

“We are truly grateful for the tremendous impact that these awards have had on the lives of the recipients, as well as the wider community, who have expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the acknowledgement of these nation builders,” he said.

Though she appreciates the recognition, Rose admitted that it pales in comparison to kind deeds and words she receives from past students.

“My children still love and look out for me. When I go out, those young men and women that I taught they would see to it that I reach my home in a good way. They would pay my fare and at times they find somewhere for me to be seated in the town and get a taxi to come for me and drop me straight home,” she told the Observer.

“Even the ones that are abroad would call me and remind me of the good days and tell me how happy they are,” she added.

Having gained so much from the profession, she is urging others to become educators.

“It is a good field to work in,” Rose said.