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

The discourse surrounding the lack of interest by some students have been making the rounds in recent times. As we look ahead to the start of a new academic year it is perhaps a good time to revisit the issue from another perspective. There is huge problem in Jamaica regarding student under-participation at all levels of the education system. The time has come for us to put measures in place to capture the interest and imagination of our students, especially our boys who are grappling with male underachievement.   We need to ask the question how can schools build a culture that takes students beyond mere engagement to ownership of their learning? It is difficult perhaps even impossible to have a discussion about student ownership in education without mentioning John Dewey. In his book, Democracy and Education : An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education (1916), Dewey, showed a link between student involvement and student ownership. According to Dewey, the type of activities th...

In spite of the significant progress women have made in almost all areas of public life; the issue of public transportation continues to be a sore point regarding gender equality. Regrettable, women still continue to feel unsafe in the public arena and much more needs to be done to reverse this trend. The journey to women’s fundamental right to freedom of movement continues to be plagued by male-induced harassment. For example, in Bogota, Columbia, ranked as the most dangerous city for a woman to take public transport in the world, six in every ten women report physically harassment while travelling. This is most unacceptable and requires government intervention to address this issue. A report issued by Plan International captured the fear of violence felt by adolescent girls in specific developing cities of Kampala, Delhi and Lima. Gender inequality has many variations and requires many interventions to bring about equality. There is an urgent need to include w...

While many of us are glued to our television in the safety of our homes celebrating the successes of our athletes at the Rio Olympics, darkness and terror reign in a world not that far away where there is nothing to smile about. The haunting picture of a young bloodied Syrian boy rescued from a partially destroyed building in Aleppo has disturbed many of us. The image of a dazed looking boy, covered from head to toe in dust has been etched in our memories and will be with us for a long time. Disturbingly, 5 year old Omran Daqneesh has become the face of the suffering in Aleppo. The besieged city of Aleppo has more than 2 million people living there.   The Syrian war gone on now for over five years and yet there is no end in sight. The United Nations (UN) has been unable to get both sides of the conflict to commit in guaranteeing safe passage for convoys with food and medicine to reach those who are suffering in a conflict which has displaced millions of Syrians and have contributed...

“In a world that is ever more digitally connected, each of us has the power and responsibility to inspire our fellow human beings to act to help others and create a more humane world." — UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon For those of us who do not live in a war- torn country or an area of the world torn apart by conflict we cannot fully understand and appreciate the dangerous and equally critical work of aid workers, who risk their lives in humanitarian service to bridge the divide between war and peace. Whether the conflict is on the battlefields of Syria, or South Sudan, Central African Republic, The Democratic Republic of the Congo and or Yemen, disagreement have been with us from time immemorial. Sadly, the average citizen usually bears the brunt of the strife when political leadership fails to prevent and or bring about an end to humanitarian crisis. The United Nations as a result has set aside August 19, to commemorate World Humanitarian Day.   The day was designated by...