Retired Clarendon teacher spells it out: Age is no barrier

At 75, Madgeta Pinto is still spelling out what she can do and, perhaps, more importantly, what she refuses to believe she can no longer do.

The retired Clarendon educator recently put that conviction to the test on the national stage, competing against fellow senior citizens in the National Senior Citizens Spelling Bee competition and securing sixth place among the country’s seasoned wordsmiths.

The competition formed part of the activities being observed for Senior Citizens’ Month, which runs from September 1 to October 1.

For the former Garvey Maceo High teacher, there was no elaborate preparation regimen or professional coaching behind her latest achievement. Instead, there was curiosity, a love of words, and years spent enjoying Scrabble, enough, she said, to fuel her desire to expand her vocabulary and put her recall to the test.

Asked what inspired her to enter the national competition, Pinto’s answer was succinct: “Curiosity!”

It was that same curiosity that she credits with drawing her into the competition.

“As a lover of the word game ‘Scrabble’, I’m always interested in finding new words to improve my game,” Pinto told The Gleaner.

When the words began coming at her on the national stage, however, Pinto said she resisted the pressure of expectation. She was simply there to enjoy herself, describing the experience as “absolutely ecstatic!”

“I really was just having fun, no coach as other competitors had, and yet I did so well. I’m pleased,” the septuagenarian told The Gleaner.

Her sixth-place finish has, nevertheless, yielded something more valuable than a position on a score sheet: affirmation of a belief she has carried into her later years that ageing is not synonymous with limitation.

“It reiterated my belief that I’m not old. Aging is just another phase of life. Unless an activity is too strenuous, there’s still so much I can accomplish,” Pinto told The Gleaner.

That philosophy mirrors the National Council for Senior Citizens’ (NCSC) broader push to promote active ageing, according to Toshane Young, parish organiser with the NCSC within the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

ACTIVE AGEING

Young said the spelling bee is designed to engage seniors beyond simple recreation. It is geared at giving them an opportunity to stimulate their minds, interact, build friendships, and challenge themselves.

“It provides both mental stimulation and social engagement,” Young said, noting that the competition requires participants to concentrate, recall information, and continue learning.

But the value, Young stressed, extends well beyond spelling a word correctly.

She said the competition builds confidence as participants practise, retain words and successfully spell them before an audience, while fostering healthy competition in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

For Young, however, the wider message carries greater weight: older Jamaicans should not be defined by the narrow confines of age.

She said the spelling bee gives seniors a platform to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities publicly while confronting the perception that growing older inevitably means becoming less capable.

“It is definitely an opportunity for the seniors to learn, participate, challenge themselves. Age is not a limitation; it’s not a barrier. It’s actually a chance to grow and to show that while you grow, you can still achieve,” Young said.

For Pinto, that philosophy extends beyond the spelling stage.

The retired teacher remains active as chair of the 4-H Advisory Council, continuing to invest in the development of younger generations. Her motivation, she said, is rooted partly in a desire to remain connected to activities she enjoyed in earlier years while helping young people develop an appreciation for the “four Hs” — head, heart, hands, and health.

Retirement, Pinto shared, has, therefore, not marked an exit from purposeful living but a transition into new avenues of engagement.

Still, she believes the responsibility for active ageing cannot rest solely on seniors themselves. She wants to see more deliberate efforts to make programmes and services accessible to older people, particularly those outside urban centres.

Pinto is also calling for the relocation of the Clarendon National Insurance Scheme (NIS)/NCSC office in May Pen to a more accessible location, pointing to the difficulty some senior citizens face accessing the upstairs facility. She also hopes for increased community-based activities to ease the transportation burden associated with travelling to town centres or Kingston, and for the establishment of community groups where older people can access information, activities, and support in familiar surroundings.

olivia.brown@gleanerjm.com