Teacher mom highlights challenge preparing son Mikhail Clarke for PEP success

And just as expected he did brilliantly, registering an average of 95.2% to be the second highest ranked student at Old Harbour Primary.

“I feel very good and I work hard for my grades,” said the12-year-old who will be attending St Jago High School.

But his celebrated achievement wasn’t easy he noted, as he “felt like giving up sometimes” confining himself to brain-busting marathons studying.

Such excellent placement score would have certainly guaranteed Mikhail a place at any high school in Jamaica but the budding track athlete had his heart set on continuing his education at Monk Street, Spanish Town.

“I am happy that I pass for the school of my choice. I knew I already wanted to go to St Jago,” said the sprinter. “St Jago is a good school academically and I also do track.”

For Mikhail this chapter has been quite a journey. However, the same could be said for his parents, especially his mom Charmaine Clarke.

Clarke is a senior teacher at Old Harbour Primary and is tasked with preparing grade six students like her son for the perennial school-leaving examination. She also has the unenviable job of juggling her work and other personal obligations with preparing Mikhail as well.

This tested her resolve as a teacher and as a mother mentally and physically.

“It’s very challenging,” she admitted during an interview from home in Longville Park, Clarendon. “It’s a good thing he’s very self-driven.”

“I had little time to work with him,” she added. “I have to give thanks to the other teachers at Old Harbour Primary, they really put out a lot for the students. Mikhail is not a person that you have to tell ‘go and do your homework’ or ‘go and take up your book.’”

What made her situation more challenging was the fact that this batch of PEP student spent the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic learning virtually, a new modality that was a novelty to both teacher and student. The entire education system went ‘off track’ as many students fell behind. This was self-evident when normalcy started to slowly return to the physical classroom for the first time in more than a year.

“When we went back in January and we realize the amount of things the children forgot it was really challenging. One night I came home and I was really sick because of it,” she said. “We had extra lessons and we gave the children some work to do and then we realize that they couldn’t even set out the sum to work it out. They forgot a lot of stuff. We weren’t reaching them [the majority] online. We made up our own practice papers and gave them and then we realize that was working.”

While students like Mikhail were not far behind the programme he needed time to reintegrate himself to face-to-face mode. Mrs Clarke, said she had to draw on all her experience, ensuring that Mikhail would stay back at school with her, as she was on the opposite shift.

She said: “He was at school with me all day. I know at times it was really tiring for him but it paid off.”

On the day the results were released Clarke said she could not eat until she saw Mikhail’s report which showed that he was highly proficient in all areas.

“I got nervous at times because it’s not like we as teachers know what will be coming on the exam,” said the mother of two. “Basically they are the second set who did the curriculum-based, so it’s not like we had pass papers to work with or anything, we had to just go through the syllabus with them and leave everything to God. And then when they put off the exam we were happy because it gave them a little more time to prepare.”

Dad, Lovell Clarke, wasn’t there with them to celebrate Mikhail’s success due to the nature of his job as a member of the Jamaica Defence Force.

But the matriarch of the home said her husband is very supportive as he calls them on a regular basis to ‘check-up’ and offer special advice and words of encouragement to his son.

“I am more than pleased,” said the proud army man while crediting his wife for a tremendous job done on their son. “In today’s society a lot of the young boys them are not so strong in their heads… I am pleased to see that Mikhail works hard, he’s focused and I’m just happy.”

“Both of us didn’t say this is how we are going to grow them,” he added. “But we just know we are there to support them and make it possible for them to have whatever they want and plan to achieve.”

It is expected that Mikhail will continue in this vain at St Jago. However, his parents are careful not to overburden him with any undue weight of expectation.

She expects her son “to remain focus and continue to produce because I know he can do it. I let them have an input in their career choice”.

Mr Clarke concurs, stating: “He loves to debate and with his attitude I know he will do well in whatever he decides to participate in.”

And Mrs Clarke is urging parents to spend study time with their children.

She said: “Don’t just tell them to study. Study with them and it will pay off.”