AT 40, ROBIN DOUGLAS is the youngest deputy principal in the island. Apart from his age and youthful appearance, the recently-appointed deputy at Princess Margaret Secondary School is also in a minority of those in that position of authority who wears dreadlocks.
As if accustomed to that type of scrutiny, Douglas did not bat an eye when EASY magazine posed the style question to him. His answer was quite matter-of fact.
“We all have our rules to abide by. I can assure you I abide by mine. I’m going to say that when the Ministry of Education or the Public Service picked me for this position, I believe that they put a certain level of confidence in me to put me here, because I had to interview against many people.
“And I would not imagine that they would have put me here if my hair went against the rules for hair. So, yes there are conservative views about hairstyle and teaching . . . . I can assure you that my rules for hair dress are abided by, because my hair is neat and tidy. And by the same token students need to abide by their rules, so if the rules say hair can’t be worn in a particular way, then students need to abide by those rules,” he said.
That standard also goes for his 12-year-old son who likes to wear his hair in a particular cut. But Douglas said he insists his son’s preferred haircut is worn only during the holidays.
Robin, a teacher of sciences, was head of that department at his alma mater Harrison College and is also a stickler for deportment.
“I like to be well attired, whether it is work or play. That’s how I’ve always been. I really take pleasure in being well-dressed and I’m quite particular, right down to my socks,” he said with a laugh.
He holds his students to the same standard.
“You’ve come to Princess Margaret and you are a Princess Margaret boy or girl, then be a Princess Margaret boy or girl and abide by the rules of Princess Margaret,” Douglas stated.
“You’re wearing a uniform, you’re not out at a fete. So be neat, be properly attired. So, yes I try to translate to the students, but what I think may not always suare with what they think. And you know how we get over that? Rules. Abide by the rules, and me and you are going to be good. Simple as that.”
Douglas also holds strong views on discipline, for which he employs several methods including flogging. In fact, he describes it as a “constant” challenge.
“It is very important that when disciplining children you don’t go against their rights as a human being, so to speak, and you be fair and impartial. And for more extreme forms of punishment it is important that you, in my opinion, exhaust your other options.
“Sometimes children will do things where you have to go to the more extreme forms, I’m talking about things like suspension and expulsion, but if you’re going to do that with a child, then you want to have exhausted all your other efforts to discipline that child . . . . I’m about using discipline to help kids, not to torture them.”
Douglas acknowledged that his school takes in children who have not done as well as others in the Common Entrance exam, and said there were several reasons why that is the case.
He said the challenge is to convince the children that while the exam was a one-shot, it is not a one-shot in terms of their entire future.
“One of the things that we’ll deal with is trying to bolster their self-esteem . . . . One of the challenges is trying to help our kids excel even though the exam might have told them, in their mind, that they are not good enough, that they’re not the best.
“And by the way, by the time our kids get to fifth form and upper fifth, I can see that we have managed to get through to quite a number of them. Unfortunately, there will be those who are really difficult to get through to,” he said.
The elevation to deputy principal is just another step up the ladder for Douglas, who has always desired to be in administration at a school.
“There is only so much you can do at the ground level and so the amount of people that you can affect, and the amount of change that you can effect on the ground, is limited by the amount of people that you have responsibility over. I mean that responsibility can have far reach if you are willing to become involved in things.
“But my thoughts were, well yes, I’m a subject teacher, I teach every year on average about maybe 150 to 200 students in my seven to eight classes, so every year I get to touch those 150 to 200 people. But if I become a Head of Department, then I’d be able to influence and guide policy in terms of teaching and curriculum for a bunch of teachers who maybe will then be able, each of them, to influence and impact their own 150 to 200 students.
“So I’ve always wanted to get into administration because it was a great opportunity for me to affect the kind of changes that I wanted to see in education. And I’ve always had my own vision of what I wanted to happen, how I thought education should work; the kind of citizens that we should produce from our schools; the kind of nation-building that is possible through education, those have always been my thoughts. And so, I thought to myself well I’m going to have greater ability to affect more people the higher up I go. So that’s where I want to go.”
Even with that kind of drive, he said he did not put a time frame on his progression.
“There was quite a bit of early career, where I was just doing my job and enjoying it. I really enjoy teaching. I’ve always loved the classroom . . . being in front of students, interacting with them and conveying information,” he said, adding that he became more interested in making an impact after completing the diploma in education in 2008.
In the 17 years he has been teaching Douglas had a chance to touch students at St Leonard’s Boys’ and The St Michael, before a short stint at Harrison College and his new post at Princess Margaret.
Strategically, he immersed himself into “the life of the school” and the roles that would prepare him for administrative roles in the school and ultimately the educational system over the years.
“I remember once thinking to myself ‘If I want to be an administrator, how do I do that?’ Schools are complex animals, they are machines with so many working parts and it’s very easy for that to fall apart, if it isn’t led properly . . . . The school has got all this stuff going on, outside of your own classroom, so I started doing time-tabling and that gave me an amazing view of the entire school,” he stated.
Douglas was also house leader, helped in theatre arts, rejuvenated the students’ council, and prefect master. Everything had a place in his head, he said.
“I love competition. I don’t think there is anything wrong with competition, I think it brings the best out of us and there are many ways in which competition can bring out teamwork and various other concepts that build people and make them into team players and contributors to a greater whole,” Douglas shared.
He said he tries to remain contemporary in his interests and as such, he pays attention to world politics, developing technologies, changing morals and values of humanity, which invariably impact on his role as a teacher.
“Schools tend to be a kind of lens and a microcosm of society or particular part of society and sometimes it can be scary to watch how society changes from what you would have considered your own norm. My thing has always been how do we equip our children with the skills? How do we make our children capable of coping with the type of society that we have?” he queried, given the global society in which we live, the new technologies and the various media.
“I teach 12, 14 and 18 year-olds and I have to understand them if I am to reach them, so I’ve tried to remain current. But we still have to impart upon them the values that we hold dear and build our society, and maintain our society. It’s kind of a balance between changing with the world so that our children can survive well and be successful in it, but still not lose our grip on the kinds of things that make a good person. That’s not the easiest thing to do, but that’s what I want to do and what I think schools should be doing,” he said.
Douglas has not verbalised what the ultimate is for him on this administrative journey, but he seems to be enjoying the ride.
“I’m going to tell you what I tell my son. I tell my son when people ask me where am I going, I tell them up. Wherever I get, I get. But I’m going up as far as I can reach,” he said.
