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

“When you’re drowning, you don’t say I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me, you just scream.”- John Lennon. Drowning is the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion/immersion in liquid; outcomes are classified as death, morbidity and no morbidity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drowning is a leading cause of accidental death. World Drowning Prevention Day, declared in April 2021 by General Assembly resolution is held annually on 25 July. This global advocacy event serves as an opportunity to highlight the tragic and profound impact of drowning on families and communities and to offer life-saving solutions to prevent it. In 2019, an estimated 236,000 people died from drowning, making drowning a major public health problem worldwide. In 2019, injuries accounted for almost 8% of total global mortality. Drowning is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death, accounting ...

We are all pandemic fatigued. Are you old enough to remember the monkeypox outbreak which occurred in the United States of America almost two decades ago? Many of you might be wondering what the hell is monkeypox. Undoubtedly, we are all familiar with the coronavirus which has upended our lives since early 2020; resulting in a global death tally of more than 4 million. Unfortunately, it seems as if we are living in the age of viruses, diseases and pandemics. Monkeypox virus is very common in parts of Africa. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that monkeypox is a rare disease that is caused by infection with monkeypox virus. Monkeypox virus belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae. The Orthopoxvirus genus also includes variola virus (the cause of smallpox), vaccinia virus (used in the smallpox vaccine), and cowpox virus. Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for r...

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support . Given the new norm of physical distancing many of us have been struggling with issues regarding our state of mental wellness. Children exposed to the traumatic experiences of a pandemic can suffer severe psychological and social consequences. Unfortunately, there is no data in Jamaica for us to gauge the emotional impact the COVID19 pandemic continues to have on our students. This avenue of emotional scaffolding is clearly one in which the government through the Education Ministry can work to expand as we seek to have schools reopen face to face for the 2021/2022 academic year. Save the Children states psychosocial support helps maintain a continuum of family and community-based care and support during and after an emergency and prevents immediate or long-term mental health disorders. Psychosocial support involves a range of care and support interventions. It includes care and support offered by caregivers, family members, friends, neighbours, t...

“Learning is never lost, though it may not always be “found” on pre-written tests of pre-specified knowledge or preexisting measures of pre-coronavirus notions of achievement.”- Rachael Gabriel, Associate Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Connecticut. Professor Rachael Gabriel has a different outlook regarding the concept of learning loss. The professor argues that students continue to learn about themselves and school when we tell them that their efforts to engage with school this year were simply not enough. They learn about inequality when they see some districts open in person and others not, some people vaccinated and others not. They learn that the world still assumes all children live with their parents, and that it is safe to do so. Professor Gabriel concluded that teachers learned too that their already lean curriculum could be even leaner and more focused. That practice and application could and should look different at home, and that family members, frien...