The Intersection of Gender, Culture and Education: Jamaica: The Next 50 Years!

“People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”- Maya Angelou. Very often, we associate trauma with physical pain. Sadly, many of us walk around daily with mountains of trauma from various manifestations within our lives. Trauma can happen at any age. In fact, trauma can affect us at any time, including long time after the event has happened. Outside of personal trauma, there are also collective and generational traumas. Generational or intergenerational trauma is a type of trauma that is experienced across generations of a family, culture or group. On the other hand, secondary trauma occurs when you witness trauma or you are closely connected to it. It is sometimes called vicarious trauma. Many of us as Afro Caribbean people are still traumatized when we watch slavery-inspired movies or films, such as ‘Roots’ and “12 Years A Slave". The movie 12 Years a Slave is a 2013 biographical historical drama fi...

“Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog, it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs your heart is very big.”- Erica Jong. He was lifted one last time. After an agonizing consultation with my mother and brother a decision was arrived at. I knew this day was coming. Rover was no pup; he was ten years old with a growing number of health issues. He was no longer the frisky Rover, had became lethargic. In recent times Rover’s abdomen became extended. Upon examination the vet, ordered her assistant to draw fluid from his abdomen. The drawn fluid had traces of blood. Rover was not going to get better. His condition was one of management that would require him to be on a particular drug until death. I braced myself for Rover’s prognosis. In the last few weeks he had lost his aggressive and adventurous personality. Yes, dogs do have personalities. The panting almost gasping was more frequent. He h...

“A narrow focus of awards can lead to decreased motivation, increased stress and a sense of exclusion among students who don’t fit the traditional mold of what a successful student is supposed to be.”- Linda Iwenofu clinical child psychologist and assistant professor in applied psychology and human development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Congratulations to the class of 2025. Graduations are special events. What happens after the flash of the cameras go quiet, the balloons burst and the crowd disperses? In many instances, graduations are viewed as rites of passage. Rites of passage are important indicators of transition culminating in adulthood. Graduations are oftentimes grounded in great expectations not only for the grandaunts but also for their parents, guardians and well wishers. Many graduates over the years of formal schooling developed strong connections to both their educational institutions and friends. Formal schooling is much more than academics a...

“Decolonizing the curriculum is a “multifaceted process” that aims to tell the truth. At the heart of it is the aim to offer a rigorous, inclusive education that recognizes that our current systems of knowledge and education are products of specific historical, social, cultural and political contexts.” - Michael Mumisa, Cambridge Special Livingstone Scholar. The Caribbean has had a shared history of enslavement and colonization that has significantly shaped Caribbean education systems. Colonial powers established education systems that routinely prioritized the interests of the colonizers, limiting access and curriculum for the colonized population. This history has resulted in lasting impacts on the region's educational landscape, including disparities in access, curriculum, and overall quality of education. Sadly, current educational leaders in the Caribbean have done very little to right this wrong. Too many of us in the Caribbean region have felt the weight of generational ...

The Tropics are a region of the Earth, roughly defined as the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Although topography and other factors contribute to climatic variation, tropical locations are typically warm and experience little seasonal change in day-to-day temperature. An important feature of the Tropics is the prevalence of rain in the moist inner regions near the equator, and that the seasonality of rainfall increases with the distance from the equator. The tropical region faces several challenges such as climate change, deforestation, logging, urbanization and demographic changes. Did you know that the Tropics host nearly 95% of the world’s mangrove forests by area and 99% of mangrove species? The Tropics have just over half of the world’s renewable water resources (54%), yet almost half their population is considered vulnerable to water stress. The International Day of the Tropics was initiated by the United Nations as an opportunity to celebrate co...

Globally, only 16.5% of engineers are women. Historically, the field of engineering has been a typically male environment. STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) at school were seen more as male subjects, while females gravitated towards the humanities subjects. Traditionally, women and girls were encouraged to study non-STEM subjects. The humanities are more a collection of disciplines than a single discipline. Disciplines that focus on the human condition, from a philosophical or artistic perspective, are generally included in the humanities. These include fine arts, performing arts, literature, philosophy, religion, and history. This gender biased perspective and reality must be interrogated. Regrettably, in some societies, such as Afghanistan, women and girls are excluded from accessing secondary and tertiary education. Disturbingly, the global community has been muted for the most part. Engineering is about innovation and problem solving. The field of ...

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited blood disorder. That means it is passed down from a parent’s genes. It causes the body to make abnormal hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to all parts of your body. When you have SCD, your body’s tissues and organs do not get enough oxygen. Sickle cell disease is a lifelong condition. Healthy red blood cells are round and move easily all over the body. With SCD, the red blood cells are hard and sticky. They are shaped like the letter C (and like a farm tool called a sickle). These damaged red blood cells (sickle cells) clump together. Sickle Cell Traits versus Disease . People who have sickle cell trait inherited a hemoglobin S gene from only one parent. They inherited a normal gene from their other parent. People with sickle cell trait typically do not have any symptoms of sickle cell disease. However, ongoing research may show that these people may have symptoms. Importantly, they can pass on the ab...