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

The Intersection of Gender, Culture and Education: Jamaica: The Next 50 Years!: Quote : "Wherever leadership is ineffective and or lacking chaos reigns"-Wayne Campbell (2014)

Reading has been on the decline in the Jamaican society and in particularly in many of the nation’s schools for quite a while. We live in a world and indeed a society where cultural norms are changing almost daily. As the technology develops more and more of our students are acquiring the latest gadgets and in the process leaving little or no time for recreational reading. Many of our students and adults alike have what is obviously an obsession with listening to music mainly of a specific genre. It has become a rarity to see a student or adult reading a novel and or text in our public spaces. The declining rate in literacy is more pronounced at the secondary level of the education system. This fall in reading level can be attributed to among other factors the non existence of a standardized national literacy test at the secondary level of the education system. What is required is a monumental and radical shift by the nation’s policy makers to encourage more of our students to read.  

Global warming and climate change should be everybody,s business. The sheer destruction, death and subsequent displacement of   hundreds of St Vicentians by flood rain on Christmas Eve of 2013 is not only heart rending but should spur the region to pay more attention to matters of the envirnonment. We all saw the images of the aftermath of super-typhoon Haiyan which devastated parts of the Philippines in 2013. These two events should serve as a catalyst for the Caribbean to move ahead with a sense of urgency to find lasting and meaningful solutions to issues of global warming and climate change.   Extreme, unusual and irregular weather patterns have been attributed to global warming and the Caribbean as a region is not immune to such occurrences. Despite not having a hurricane for 2013 Atlantic hurricane season Jamaica was unusually hot for the better part of last year. The massive typhoon which hit the Philippines was one of the most powerful ever on record, with winds exceeding 200 k

In 2013 three hundred and five (305) Jamaicans died from fatal traffic accidents. Of that number eight nine (89) were pedestrians. In addition to the tremendous loss suffered by family and friends as a result of the untimely passing of their loved ones the continued carnage on our roads also rakes up millions of dollars in hospitalization and follow up care of those individuals who were injured in traffic accidents as well. We cannot continue along this path of recklessness on our roads where on average we lose 300 lives yearly. Our pedestrians are at particular risks on our roads. A pedestrian crossing is any location where the pedestrian leaves the sidewalk and enters the roadway to cross. We are now at a point in our nation’s history where we need to be more creative in using the available mechanisms we have in place to decrease traffic deaths. One such road safety system is our pedestrian crossing. I am proposing a change in colour of our pedestrian crossing from the predomina

It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Avoiding contact with any chemical or substance that could possible trigger an allergic reaction is always the best possible option available to those who suffer from allergies. However, there are some individuals who are unable to identify the allergens to which they should stay away from and as a result they continue to come in contact with such allergens. Anyone who had an allergic reaction knows the severe discomfort that accompanies this medical condition requiring multiple visits to the hospital and time off from work and or school. It’s a time of sheer frustration and distress. In North America (the United States of America and Canada) individuals who are at risk from developing an allergic reaction have at their disposal the choice of getting a prefilled automatic injection (EpiPen) containing epinephrine, a chemical that narrows blood vessels and opens airway sin the lungs. These effects can reverse severe skin itching, hives a