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Beloved SoJaCS lecturer
By Camille Hunte
Mention the name Earl Best to any student of the Ken Gordon School of Journalism and Communication Studies ( SoJaCS ) and you will get a mixture of reactions . Some will express disdain , having failed to attain the notoriously elusive “ A ” grade in any of his classes . Those who have yet to experience his unique teaching style will express fear , having heard horror stories from those who have . Those who have managed to earn above 90 per cent in courses taught by Mr Best will express pride and a feeling of accomplishment . As one student put it : “ When yuh get ah A in an Earl Best class , yuh know yuh reach . Yuh have bragging rights fuh life !”
Mr Best has become a legend walking the halls of KGSOJACS . Regardless of their reactions , all students will express a level of respect and admiration for the man who has been a part of the institution for over a decade , and touched many lives in the process .
‘ A lifetime of teaching ’
Mr Best officially retired in January , eleven years after becoming a part of the SOJACS family . At present , you can still find him in a classroom , teaching his last Fundamentals of Reporting class . This will be his final semester . Though he joined SOJACS in 2006 , the 67-year-old has had a long career in education , teaching his first class at his alma mater , Queen ’ s Royal College ( QRC ), in 1969 . He was just 19 years old . Fluent in French and Spanish , he returned to QRC in 1974 , where he taught those subjects until the end of 1992 , with a hiatus from 1979 – 1982 to pursue studies in France . He spent two brief stints teaching French at Holy Name Convent before settling in at SOJACS to teach English , Communication and Journalism .
‘ Journey into Journalism ’
Mr Best had a second career . In the years that he wasn ’ t teaching , he spent his time in the field of sports journalism . His first stories were written for the notice board in QRC . He soon graduated to writing for the Tapia in the early 1970 ’ s . In 1992 , he left teaching to join the Guardian Newspaper as the de facto sports editor , leaving that job in 1996 to join the Express Newspaper where he stayed until being terminated in 2002 .
From then , he worked at the Trinidad and Tobago Review as Copy Editor until being offered a full time position at SOJACS . But teaching has always been his first passion . Mr Best said he never really saw himself anywhere else but in a classroom .
“ I have no idea . I don ’ t think I ever chose it ; it came naturally .”
Those who have had a class with Mr Best know two things are likely to happen randomly .
The first is that he is known to spontaneously begin speaking in French , which is exactly what happened when asked what advice he had for those hoping to follow in his career path .
“ Lisez , lisez toujours ; il en reste toujours quelque chose ,” he said . It means : “ Don ’ t ever stop reading ; the benefits stay with you forever .” The second thing is he will remind you he attended QRC .
He is a proud QRC “ old boy ” and makes sure everyone knows it . So it is not surprising that his best memories in the teaching field are from his time at QRC . In fact , he says he aims to replicate the QRC atmosphere in his teaching by “ showing people how to think rather than what to think , filling empty faces and touching lives .”
He shared one of his best memories at SOJACS : “ The first time I administered a Fundamentals of Reporting exam at NLC and I told the students that they were not required to remain in the classroom , not one student moved ,” he said . “ I remain convinced that their brains had been so fried by the rigidity of the secondary school and other exam protocols that they did not properly process the information I had provided . But I remember it fondly because I felt it was a watershed moment , an important breakthrough in liberal education , which is what education , by definition , should be .”
‘ Tough as nails ’
Even Mr Best knows the reputation he has earned at Ken Gordon School of Journalism and Communication Studies as one of the strictest , most difficult to please lecturers . He has been criticised as being a “ perfectionist ,” he noted . But he is unapologetic about it .
“ Tertiary education is serious business and students should be required to produce high quality work if they are to be rewarded with high grades ,” he said . “ I believe in what I do and I am therefore able to maintain a clear consistency of standards . I think some people respect me because they can see that I stand in a serious way for something .”
He believes in being honest with students about the quality of their work . “ I pull no punches and I tell them the truth . I call a wheel a wheel , always have , always will ; it ’ s the best way to teach and , I think , the Best way .”
But Mr Best expressed disappointment with the standard of journalism in Trinidad and Tobago and even in the role of SOJACS in improving it . For improvement in journalism , there must first be improvement in education , he said . He believes the secondary school system places too much emphasis on teaching students what to think , rather than how to think .
He hopes to be remembered by his students for doing his job well . Asked what he plans to do after retirement , Mr Best said jokingly , “ live forever .” Certainly , he will live forever in the hearts and minds of the many students he has taught .
The Caiman Vybe sought comments from some students who reflected on their experiences being taught by the legendary Mr Best and what they learned from him .
Caiman Vybe | Volume 1 , No . 1 | December 9 , 2017 . 10