Hodgson tribute to teacher

A former Cabinet minister has paid a warm tribute to a strict but strong teacher whom he credits with turning his academic career around.

Former educator Solomon Kawaley, father of Chief Justice Ian Kawaley has passed away at the age of 87 — just days before his 61st wedding anniversary.

Mr Kawaley was at the Berkeley Institute in the 1950s, teaching the likes of former Premier Ewart Brown and lawyer Arthur Hodgson.

Mr Hodgson, a Rhodes scholar and former PLP Environment Minister, described how Mr Kawaley put him firmly on the right track: “He certainly made an impression on the kids at Berkeley during my day.

“I think he was our first chemistry teacher. Berkeley didn’t offer chemistry before his arrival.

“That was milestone enough, but then he was also from Africa. At that time Africa was very much a mysteriously distant land.

“We knew that we were a part of the African diaspora but we never had any real connection until Mr Kawaley’s arrival.”

Mr Hodgson continued: “But more than that, he was a very personal influence in my life. I will never forget my second year in Berkeley. I was quite a nuisance.

“The first term I came bottom of the class. Mr Kawaley finally got sufficiently fed up with me that he called me up in front of the class, bent me over a chair and whacked my backside. The next term I came top of the class. I haven’t had a problem with school since.”

Mr Kawaley came to Bermuda more than 60 years ago from Sierra Leone and married Elizabeth Musson Kawaley.

The couple had three children, Ian, Kathy and Sylvia and six grandchildren. Mr Kawaley died on March 19 and would have celebrated his 61st wedding anniversary this Easter weekend.

Asked to reflecting on his memories of Mr Kawaley, Dr Ewart Brown told us: “I will always remember Mr Kawaley for his extraordinary patience in the face of rebellious pre-teens such as myself.

“He taught mathematics, my favourite subject, and was frustrated because I had shut down and would not do my work as instructed.

“I recall one instance when I figured out the answers to every math problem on his exam but refused to show my ‘working’. I simply wrote the answers and he gave me a big fat zero.

“He and my dad were friends at Leopards Club and I finally figured out that was how my father knew so many details about my conduct at Berkeley.”

A spokesman for the Kawaley family said they were sad at their loss and politely declined to comment further.