On the recent PSE social studies was one of those subjects that showed improvement, but as any of those school children will tell you, Social studies is mostly a matter of memory.
But after the studying and rote recitation of facts fade away, how much do we really remember about key social studies topics? That's what we wondered. Our summer intern Emaun Hyde took to the streets for the first in a series to find out what Belize Citizens really know about historic figures.
She started with Phillip Goldson:…
Emaun Hyde
"You can't tell me anything about Phillip Goldson?"
Interviewee
"Am, he is a patriotic man."
Emaun Hyde
"What else can you tell me?"
Interviewee
"He is like the father of the Country."
Emaun Hyde
"You know anything about him at all?"
Interviewee
"Well I know he was a great minister. I understand that he was a great leader and encouragment for the Country and many of us leaned from him."
Emaun Hyde
"What can you tell me about?"
Interviewee
"Am, I guess he was a great minister he was one of the original leader of the original party with George Price and then he came and form his own Party after word's and at the time he was a major figure in politics, but at the same time he felled back you know, I guess he was sick and then he dropped out of politics you know and I guess they named the Air Port in his name. "
Interviewee
"I don't know Phillip Goldson. Sorry so I can't tell you anything about him."
Interviewee
"He was involved in politics and the Airport and the International Airport is named after him."
Interviewee
"The Airport."
Emaun Hyde
"It's an Airport?."
Interviewee
"International Airport"
Emaun Hyde
"You can't tell me anything about the person Phillip Goldson? They didn't teach you anything in school about him?"
Interviewee
"Not really, I don't really know much about him."
Interviewee
"A well known Belizean, he was a member of the PUP Party before George Price. As time go by well you can't have all the people that are voting for you, so what we say about him is, he was a loved person and we missed him and we remember him for the rest of our lives."
Interviewee
"A leader of our nation and he was one person to be respected and I think in fact, he should be name the father of sour nation instead of other persons no? That's my comment of that. "
Interviewee
"He was a leader."
Emaun Hyde
"He was a leader?"
Emaun Hyde
"Anything else?"
Interviewee
"No (Nodding)."
Interviewee
"He was the leader of the opposition for a long time and he fight politically for his people."
Interviewee
"I know there was an Airport that was named after him."
Emaun Hyde
"Anything else they teach you in school?"
Interviewee
(Nodding)
Emaun Hyde
"No?"
Interviewee
"I don't know"
Interviewee
"I don't know Phillip Goldson"
Emaun Hyde
"You don't know anything about him?"
Interviewee
"No."
Emaun Hyde
"Do you anything named after him?"
Interviewee
"No."
Interviewee
"He is one of the leaders of this country, if we follow his footstep we would be great, we would be a great country."
Interviewee
"Phillip Goldson he has like, he has an Airport."
Emaun Hyde
"He owns the Airport?"
Interviewee
"Well he doesn't own the Airport, but they name it."
Emaun Hyde
"They named it after him?"
Interviewee
"Yes."
Emaun Hyde
"What can you tell me other than that? They teach you anything in school about him?"
Interviewee
"Well he was one of the, am, politics right Ricardo? (asking his friend) one of the politics yes."
Emaun Hyde
"Can you guys tell me anything?"
Interviewee
"Well the Airport was named after him and that's how they got the name of the Airport. "
Interviewee
"I know he was an active, he was a politician and he served in the legislative from 1961 to 1986. He was a long standing member of the United Democratic Party and he ran in the Albert division for a long time. Our Airport is also named after him."
Emaun Hyde
"Where did you learn all of that about him?"
Interviewee
"In school (laughing)"
Interviewee
"Well i know that he was one of the funding fathers of this country. So to speak, the Airport is named after him, i think he is featured in the novel Beka Lamb, Pritchad and Gladsen I believe are one of the two guys, Richardson and Goldson were fighting for Belize's Independence way back in the days, that all I know about that (laughing)."
And for the record, Philip Stanley Wilberforce Goldson is a national hero and considered Belize's super patriot. His story is too large to compress easily, but suffice to say he was a editor of the Belize billboard - who was jailed by the colonial government for sedition, and a career politician.
He served in the House of Representatives of Belize as member for the Albert Division from 1961 to 1998. He was a founding member of the People's United Party (PUP), National Independence Party (NIP), United Democratic Party (UDP) and National Alliance for Belizean Rights (NABR).
