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

“The world has changed since 1966 but our determination to provide every woman and man with the skills, capacities and opportunities to become everything they wish, in dignity and respect, remains as firm as ever. Literacy is a foundation to build a more sustainable future for all”. –UNESCO Director-General It is rather alarmingly that data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), indicates that there are 758 million adults, 15 years and older who are unable to read or write a simple sentence. Disturbingly, two-thirds are female. Of the global illiterate population, 114 million are between the ages 15 t0 24, 509 million are 25-64 years and 135 million are 65 years and older. The statistics speaks volume and signify that a lot of work is still required to attain universal literacy. The International community pauses on September 8, 2016 to commemorate International Literacy Day. The day is used as a platform to raise awareness of the plight of millions of our fellow human

Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of genius of each. Plato The job of an educator is quite challenging and requires much planning in order to effectively impact the 21 st century learner. The issue of indiscipline in the education sector continues to plague policy makers as the search for meaningful intervention goes unabated. Sadly, the creation of a special position in the education system, that of, Dean of Discipline is a direct response of the disciplinary problems most if not all schools grapples with. Our boys are at particular risk and as such the intervention to save our boys should be a priority.   Our male students need a firm hand regarding setting guidelines about issues concerning discipline. However, we must be careful not to crush the male intuitive sense of curiosity and their masculinity in our attempt to correct that w