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

“Emotional intelligence begins to develop in the earliest years. All the small exchanges children have with their parents, teachers and with each other carry emotional messages.”- Daniel Golemen A lot has been said about the impact of the novel coronavirus regarding the disruption of students’ education. Governments all over continue to struggle with whether or not to resume face-face school as opposed to online teaching and learning. We have all heard the voice notes which have gone viral with the voices of children expressing frustration, anger, anxiety and fear regarding issues surrounding virtual teaching and learning but also the impact the closure of schools have had on their socio-emotional development. Sadly, we have had the suicide of two pre-teen girls in recent times. To this end it is safe to say that many students are just not coping emotionally during this pandemic. Another negative consequence of COVID-19 is the widening gap of out of school enrichment programmes. The...

“We know that more than seventy to eighty per cent of women masturbate, and ninety per cent of men masturbate, and the rest lie.”- Joycelyn Elders We are socialized not to speak openly about certain issues. We are often told as youngsters it’s not polite to bring up specific topics. It does not help neither that sex education is not part of the curriculum. As a result what we have regarding sexuality and sex is a lot of misinformation oftentimes rooted in the street corner culture. The concept of brotherhood is not a frequently used term in the wider society. The more archaic word brethren is more popularly used in the Jamaican culture, especially among a specific social class. Perhaps it is out of fear or the inability to distinguish the terms homosexuality and homosociality, many men recoil from using brotherhood and instead use brethren to denote a non-sexual friendship and or mentorship. Brotherhood is the affection and loyalty that you feel for people with whom you have somethi...

“Education is a human right with immense power to transform.”- Kofi Annan Education is a right not a privilege. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948 is a groundbreaking document in the annals of human history. Article 26 (1) of the UDHR states everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations… (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children. We experience life in different ways. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended many lives. One of the major casualties of this coronavirus is the closure of schools and subsequently, the disruption in the education system; without any educated wo...

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tells where his influence stops.- Henry Adams Jamaica joins the rest of the international community in observing World Teachers’ Day. It is most befitting that World Teachers’ Day is being celebrated on same day that the 2020/2021 academic years begins. Since 1994, October 5 is set aside to observe World Teachers’ Day. This important day commemorates the adoption of the 1966 International Labour Organization and the United Nations Educational, Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommendations regarding the status of teachers. According to UNESCO, the recommendation sets the benchmark with regards to the rights and responsibilities and standards for teachers’ initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. The concerns of teachers are real and most be taken seriously. To date a significant number of teachers are yet to receive their tablets,which were part of a 2018 salary nego...

"Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."- Ruth Bader Ginsburg In the words of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time. It is the dream of every United States of America president to nominate and have his confirmed by the US Senate to sit on the US Supreme Court. It is sheer bliss to have the confirmation of more than one nominee sit on the US Supreme Court for any president. For most of us the US Supreme Court is far removed from our average lives as we try to eke out a daily living. There are nine (9) Justices on the US Supreme Court. Like most institutions globally there is a gender imbalance regarding the composition of the members of the US Supreme Court. Currently, there are only three females Justices, one of whom was the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We must be mindful that at one point the US Supreme Court was an all male institution. Justice Ginsburg was soft spoken and smal...