Posted by Marianito Jose Luspo
on 5/29/2001, 5:57 pm
My maternal grandmother was among the first students of the Americans. She was born in 1888, so she must have been about 13 years old when the first batch of Thomasites arrived in Bohol. She used to tell my mother about her experiences under the American teachers. One of them was a woman (I have this vague recollection that she mentioned the name "Miss Russel") who taught them their first lessons in English by way of learning the song "Five Little Chickadees." This portly woman, according to my grandmother, would mime the words of the song, running around the classroom to illustrate her point. It must have been an ordeal for her, considering her weight, the ponderous attire at the time and the unforgiving tropical climate. But she remembered her very well because her teaching style contrasted sharply with what my grandfather (seven years older than her) experienced in the Spanish school. Another teacher she remembered very well was a Mr. Edward Curriton who inscribed his name on the lip of a budyong shell which used to decorate the stairway of their old house. Were these two Thomasites? The ship's log available to us does not mention specific assignment. Also, I could not find any Edward Curriton listed in the log. The closest I could find is a Mr. W.M Carruth of Cleveland, Ohio. Could it be that my mother confused Carruth for Curriton? I guess unless we get data on the names of teachers assigned to specific provincial destinations, then we will have to content ourselves with opaque yet intriguing persons somewhere in our historical existence as a nation.
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