From Primary School Teacher to Ethno-Psychotherapist: Why Sound and Pedagogy Mattered for Beryl Gilroy (1924–2001)

Abstract

Beryl Gilroy (1924–2001) is often referred to as one of the first Black primary school headteachers in London, England. Her refusal to continue teaching in schools once she reached her fifties has not been explored in recent publications. Her interest in sound, pedagogy and therapeutic recovery can be revisited retrospectively. She strove to counter racism through the power of communication as a teacher, radio broadcaster, headteacher, therapist and published writer of memoir, novels and children’s reading books. The unifying thread in this article interweaves different perspectives on why Beryl Gilroy tried to create colloquial and phonetic speech in her published writings. It is argued that perhaps this was devised to help the reader share in her own reimagining of “poignant veridicality”–an appreciation of truth as something reached through sonic immersion in valuable and contrasting interpretations and feelings that do not always have to have rational explanations.