To Sir with Love:

2026-03-21 - 23:35

Retired Brazil RC School teacher, Edward Ramsumair, was honoured by close to 100 of his former students at a special semi-formal black-and-white event on the school’s compound on February 27. Ramsumair, 85, was assigned to the school in 1971 and faithfully gave of his time and knowledge to scores of students until he retired in 2000. “There is something about the Brazil RC family. Whenever someone is assigned to this school, they spend the rest of their career in the school,” Ramsumair said. “Maybe that’s why the school does so well.” The event was planned by Brazil RC alumni Joanna Hayde, Yvette Mendoza and Carlene Lewis, with the assistance of Monica Ralph, Camille Delande, Wayne Caldon and Michelle Gopie. Hayde told Guardian Media she and her former schoolmates felt it was fitting that Ramsumair be given his flowers while he was alive and well to accept them. “You know we have this habit of waiting until someone passes to honour them? He taught for decades, and he was a role model for a lot of children at school. He is one of the first teachers who introduced sporting events such as football and netball to Brazil RC. He deserves his flowers.” Hayde said as a teacher, Ramsumair was big on order and discipline. But he was also seen as the father of the community. “His name reigns there still. Every wedding, funeral, christening, he was there; he was a big supporter.” The compound reverberated with laughter and applause as student after student took to the mic, recalling stories of their days at the school and the teacher who played a role in shaping who they turned out to be. But, Ramsumair said, his students, too, were teachers in their own way. “I want to say that I learnt a lot from the students themselves. It was a two-way traffic.” His interaction with the students had especially taught him that not every student had the same access to the necessary learning tools, and he tried his best to help in any way he could. For example, he said, not every student was able to listen to or read the news. So every Friday, he made sure the students had a copy of the newspaper to read so that they could complete assignments based on information from the paper. “My experience there has been a great one,” he said, adding that over the years, many of his former students became friends. Live entertainment was provided by Edwin “Crazy” Ayoung.