If you have never had a single ‘bad experience’ at Goethals please raise your hand.

From: Richard Johnson, June 6, 2008

I think I wrote ‘A Goat Grazing: 1957 to 1963 …’ (http://www.deakin.edu.au/~rjj/) in response to a long lead-up to thinking about the reunion in November 2007 and seeing names and email addresses and memories and possibilities pop into the consciousness. Also, in my work with young teachers I keep stressing the importance of reflective practice and I thought, well, let me put some of this down and practice what I preach. However, all this reflective stuff begs a bigger question: Why do so many Goethalites hold on to their memories of school long after the event? I have discussed this at length with many and my only explanation is that each year at Goethals was an epic event – nine months of each year in a boarding school – in the mountains – very far from home – in a tight, strict and structured environment – managing your own resources and facing adversities largely on your own – it was a tough gig! I compare it to army experiences or group experiences under severe adversity where bonding was an important ingredient to survival and success or failure and each one of us faced all of that in the same ‘hot-house’. Maybe that’s why we tend to remember our days in school more than someone who attended the local primary and high school. Who knows… but I thought about that again prompted by Radheshyam. In an earlier message to me he said:

“You, I and all the other pre-65 batch boys are retired or semis retired and have all the time in the world to take fast action. The younger lot is still working and earning their bread and butter and will only respond with a bit of cajoling. Some who may have bad experiences at Goethals will not respond at all or rather they will be hindrances rather than facilitators. We have to be just patient and be after them to get them to sit down and write.”

Radheshyam was referring to getting Goethalites to contribute to the proposed publication on ‘Passing the Baton: messages from old boys’, and I have been thinking about what he said: ‘Some who may have bad experiences at Goethals will not respond…’. I know exactly what he was saying, but I want to ask the question to all the Goethalites out there: If you have never had a single ‘bad experience’ at Goethals please raise your hand.

I cannot see a single hand raised.

I have many fond memories of GMS and I am willing to share them and recount them, but I also have some not so pleasant memories – some have been buried very deep – some surface occasionally…

In 2007 when I stepped off the plane in Bagdogra, even the atmosphere was reminiscent… as we drove up Pankabari Road, my wife Evelyn, who had never been there before said “Why didn’t you tell be it was so beautiful?” I mumbled something like “didn’t I?”. She was quite overcome by the sheer natural beauty of the environment. So was I, but my view was somewhat coloured by deeply emotional experiences … of the road that took me away from home … my greatest fear (then … 1957 to about 1961… not so in 62 and 63) of never seeing my mother again… The smell of the Toy Train, the steam, the sound of the toots… When I entered the opening Mass, I took one look at the choir (http://youtube.com/watch?v=oAES0nVBrsc) and cried! “Where did that come from?” I asked. I earlier looked at Second Field and immediately thought of the shower area and remembered lining up waiting… it was a cold evening – I had chillblaines – Brother picked up the bathing pants with his Malacca Cane and read out the names from the tags – each time your name was read out you walked up the stairs and presented your palms – you got two strikes for each pant. That evening, my name was called out four times!

We ALL have stories.

My friend (names don’t matter, really…) was a bed wetter. I remember those nights in the Middle Dorm when the night watchman used to wake him to send him to the toilet … often he used to shout at him because it was too late… I thought of his humiliation…It was so public...

Humiliation is a theme that many would relate to … I know that it is not a good experience especially in an educational context … In fact, I know a lot more about education now… I have been in that business for years … So many of those old experiences were so contrary …

We still need to be understanding of the common ground we share through our positive and negative experiences at GMS and the road we have traveled since then. Sharing our experiences and reflecting in a space such as this can be a good thing …