During the eulogy he was painted as a saint. Education background and community interest were given. We sat in awe to hear so much about the dearly departed.

But during his life he was painted as a pain in the neck. If you had mentioned his name, his faults would have been repeated first. The things he had done poorly would have overshadowed all the good he had accomplished.

When the Minister told us that the people of Israel had only a 15-day journey to the Promised Land, but it became forty years, I started to reflect. Fear and doubt obviously got in the way and difficulties set in and this prolonged the journey.

On a regular basis this happens in Bermuda. It happened with the incinerator project and the East Broadway project. Every time a project is mentioned it is condemned before questions are asked and answers given.

And when they are done there is never a thank you or an apology. The doubt that was expressed in January when the Minister of the Environment indicated that "The Exhibition" was going to happen is another clear example.

How to resolve this constant fear is the $64 million question as we now see fear and doubt being expressed about our Independence. Those same fears were expressed about the potential loss of the US bases in the 1980s and just like that they were gone and we have continued to prosper.

The same will happen when Britain tells us we have to go independent or we decide that we cannot live with certain European conventions. We will go and we will do well.

In the April 22 edition of , MP Neville Darrell, who lived a significant amount of his life out of Bermuda, states, "it would be a far better tribute to the public education system if the Department of Education first addressed some fundamental core challenges". Where has he been?

The Minister of Education, the Hon. Terry Lister, has been doing precisely that. We have witnessed the numerous reports and speeches and changes are being made.

To use this as an excuse for not renaming our middle schools is a serious injustice to so many people who have given so much to public education. I therefore take great exception to his remarks and would like to state why. For me, it started in 1972 when I discovered that I knew more British colonial history than my professor.

But when asked about Bermuda I knew virtually nothing. Determined, I acquired a knowledge from authors like Terry Tucker and William Zuill. When I graduated in 1976, after four years of history, I realised they had done a mere summary of our history ? especially the black experience.

I therefore attempted to correct that and 50 books later have made a start. As a teacher, and later principal, it became obvious that our children needed to know more about their own history and it was incumbent upon me to ensure that they did in order to break this pattern of denial about "our worth".

I rejected the notion that it was "black history" in February because you cannot study Dr. E. F. Gordon without looking at Sir Henry Tucker, his arch enemy.

The establishment of a Hall of Fame, the Dawn Lamb Day, Heroes Day, Dr. E.F. Gordon Day etc. at St. George's Sec. helped create a foundation for all students. And during it all, Founders Day and an annual speech by Mr. Albert Jackson.

When Mr. Jackson returned to Bermuda from university, he quietly got involved with a variety of groups trying to bring about social change . The written records will not show this, but he and Mrs. Jackson were there. Others in their group did stand out front and this was recorded in "Let Voices Rise" by Bermudian film-maker Errol Williams.

Out front or in the back, the Jacksons were there and history cannot deny this when it is written.

When changes did take place, Mr. Jackson became the first principal of St. George's Secondary School, later an education officer and an executive in the Bank of Butterfield.

His quiet and professional demeanour as a gentleman and scholar led to his appointment as a Senator and because he never indicated his "political colours", and perhaps because his contribution to the cause in the living room discussions was not widely known, it was thought that he was "independent" enough to be an "Independent" Senator. He acquitted himself well and was later chosen to be its President.

Father, husband, principal, teacher, education officer, bank executive, Senator and President of the Senate, he should have received a Knighthood.

But in Bermuda we are yet to make that fifteen day journey. We believe that we can make the world in four days and not six. We think that Moses should have had 12 commandments.

Twelve Founders' Days were celebrated and each one ended with a speech from me stating that the school should be named after Albert Jackson or a combination, with another great principal, Ms Eunice Hodgson (Jackson- Hodgson Middle School). But it never happened. Taking precedence after 12 years of recognition, respect and pride was naming a school after a beach. (Clearwater)

This great man, who is a role model and a fine example of what it means to be a Bermudian, was ignored over a beach.

This great man inspired our students just with his presence, but was ignored for a beach.

This great man who was revered by so many of his own former students and teachers, was ignored for a beach.

Perhaps if MP Neville Darrell and that anonymous parent, both of whom probably hold in high regard Martin Luther King Jr., Bob Marley and John F. Kennedy, could only stop and think that a mistake had clearly been made and must be changed, we would start to appreciate our own worth while our heroes are alive. (In the Caymans they actually name their National Heroes while they are alive)

The PLP Government could not continue such a stupid policy of denial and absolute disrespect for the people who live among us and go above and beyond the ordinary.

Hence the naming of the W.E.R. Joell Tennis Stadium and the Valerie T. Scott Building. In renaming our schools we will give recognition to our people.

It is a policy that must be endorsed while we continue to work hard on those "core" issues and stop ignoring our heroes as though only the "high and mighty" are the only ones to be recognised.