“You're Educable”: Personal Reflections on Rex

Abstract

It is by education that we become prepared for our duties and responsibilities in lift . . . Never stop learning . . . No one is ever too old to learn.-Marcus Mosiah Garveymuch praise has been accorded Professor the Honourable Rex Nettleford since his untimely passing, but there is still room for more. Prof deserves every bit of praise we accord him, and I now do so unashamedly. In doing so, I use three words which were dear to him: Get an While I am at it, I could also add two more: You're educable.We have been given the opportunity to reflect on how the wisdom of a Rex Nettleford, the quintessential Caribbean sage, has prepared us for the times in which we live. Today, more than any other time in contemporary history, we are continually reminded of the value of education and the benefits which can result. Jamaica, indeed the Caribbean, owes much to our sage, a man who gave early warning that when we look in the mirror, if we would wish to see ourselves in the light of success and true self-actualisation, we need to get educated.The title of the symposium held at the University of the West Indies in April 20I0 in honour of Rex Nettleford spoke to the coming of age of the sage. Rex, our sage, came of age a long time ago. There is a sneaking suspicion that he entered the world already a wise old man. Certainly, throughout his life, he demonstrated that he knew more than most, but often relished the role of play fool fe ketch wise. Despite his extensive involvement in leading others to drink at the fountain of knowledge, we either underestimate or miss altogether the extent of his contribution.Anybody who knew Professor Nettleford can attest to the fact that the pursuit of education, the acquisition of knowledge - real knowledge - was a mission for him. For him, those who can be saved by learning must get the opportunity to be educated. He believed passionately in education, not as a policy statement but as a way of life. If he could have had his way, no Jamaican would go through life uneducated, and he did more than can be imagined to ensure that as many persons as possible - especially the young - actualised their potential through education, formal or informal.If one were to find out the number of persons whom he supported in getting educated, it might come as a surprise. Firstly, one would have to work hard to get the numbers and the details, for although Rex Nettleford lived a very public life, he was a very private person, especially when it came to assisting others. The few who knew his business can attest that he was a one-man student loans bureau and scholarship donor for any number of persons on the Mona campus and elsewhere. He spent a lot of his personal income in this cause. Little known is the fact that with nearly every book that he wrote, the royalties went to assist someone to acquire knowledge. He did this all without fanfare. Sometimes the effort paid off, sometimes it did not, but he found it hard to give up on anyone. He continued giving.He had a word which he used all the while, and that was educable. I was not acquainted with it until he introduced it to me, teaching me that there were some people who were open to learning, while there were others who resisted all attempts to change their status. His effort also went into persuading the reluctant or timid ones that they owed it to themselves to get knowledge, to come in from the cold.There were some interesting contradictions about Prof, when it came to the way he viewed his own education. How many recognise that he never wrote a PhD thesis? One would assume that it would have been natural, after the Rhodes scholarship, Oxford and all that, for him to add Doctor to his qualifications. When I asked him once why not, he responded, I've gone so far up to now without being called Doctor, so just let me get on with what I have to do. However, if the number of honorary doctorates is any indication of how others saw his scholarship, then it is telling us something. …