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

“I wish I had carried a life jacket while sailing with you. You swam away, and here I am drowning in the infinite ocean.”- Simran Dhawale. About 71 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water. Most of us live on an island yet, many of us are unable to swim. We enjoy going to the beach or river, however, only a few of us can swim. Swimming is a survival skill which we should all make the effort to acquire. As the global heat wave continues to ravish many societies, more and more people especially youngsters will be heading to the beach, unfortunately, many of them are unable to swim and will probably get into difficulty. Every drowning is preventable. Drowning is the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion/immersion in liquid; outcomes are classified as death, morbidity and no morbidity. The United Nations (UN) states every year, an estimated 236,000 people drown, making drowning a major public health problem worldwide. It is estimated that almost 650...

“Self-care is not self-indulgence, it is self preservation.”- Audre Lorde. Those of us who are caregivers know how challenging it is to make time for self-care. As a caregiver you do not have any down time or time off. The primary focus of the caregiver is always on the individual/s being cared for. It is not uncommon for caregivers to encounter those insensitive folks who render thoughtless comments regarding the worth of those who care for others. Whether you provide caregiving duties in an institution or a home the task can be quite daunting. The fact is we live in a society where the value of caregivers is discounted. As a result those who are in this noble task find it difficult to put aside time to cater to their own needs. Attending to one’s needs is not selfish, not by the stretch of one’s imagination, in fact it is a matter of preservation and survival. However, despite this sad reality self-care is critical in replenishing one’s self in order to continue the journey of car...

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” – Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela is a much revered icon. Mandela had a gentle and magnetic persona which allowed both rich and poor, sinner and saint to gravitate towards him. Nelson Mandela, affectionately called Madiba is the first black elected president of a post-apartheid South Africa. Mandela’s willingness to forgive those who imprisoned him unjustly for almost three decades shows the character of the man who many referred to as ‘a giant of our time.’ United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres described Mandela as “a leader of unparalleled courage and towering achievement; and a man of quiet dignity and deep humanity, who walked the path to freedom and dignity with steely determination and with compassion and love.” Mandela demonstrated through his life that everyone has the ability and respons...

“By 2030, the youth population is set to increase by more than 78 million. At a time when the world of education and work is undergoing fundamental changes, we must re-imagine our education systems and position the learner at the core of the transformation process. On World Youth Skills Day, let’s highlight the key role that TVET can play in helping young people build equitable, inclusive and sustainable societies. “- Friedrich Huebler, Head of UNESCO. According to Recovering Learning , a recent report from the Education Commission and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) only around 1 in 4 of the world’s young people are on track to learn the skills they need to get a job either through education, employment or training. This is problematic and clearly speaks to the work ahead for the Education Ministry in narrowing the skills gap among the youth population. The report further states that with high rates of out-of-school young people and low attainment of secondary-level ski...

“Reaching a global population of eight billion is a numerical landmark, but our focus must always be on people. In the world we strive to build, 8 billion people means 8 billion opportunities to live dignified and fulfilled lives.”- UN Secretary-General António Guterres. It was only eleven (11) years ago in 2011 that the world reached a population of 7 billion. In 2022 the world’s population will reach 8 billion. Our planet has not gotten any larger yet the global population, national populations continue to increase. It is an understatement to say that resources are stretched and are being stretched in order to cope with the increase in population. Developing societies are perhaps more impacted regarding the fight for scarce resources. Resources such as affordable housing, food, access to education and health care facilities continue to be pressured as the world’s population increases. According to the United Nations (UN) advancements in health that have extended life expectancy, red...

Salamu kaka na dada , is the Kiswahili for greetings my brothers and sisters. The United Nations Educational, Scientific Educational Organization (UNESCO) celebrates the first ever World Kiswahili Language Day on July 7, 2022. Kiswahili is among the 10 most widely spoken languages globally. At least 200 million people speak Kiswahili. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa and the most widely spoken in sub-Saharan Africa. It is now an official language of the African Union as well as in the countries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. UNESCO states that indigenous peoples number some 370 million and their languages account for the majority of the approximately 7,000 living languages on the planet. Many of us who have been socialized along Eurocentric principles have forgotten or try to disassociate ourselves from our genetics roots. We have been told over and over that anything too black is not good. Unfortunately, we have c...

“Discrimination against natural black hair violates an individual’s dignity and humanity.”- Rebecca Lucero. The black hair continues to be policed. Shockingly, the policing of the black hair is not being done by our former European colonizers but by those who have black skin. We have all read about black students being barred from school due to what is deemed inappropriate hairstyles. In most instances male students are the ones whose rights to an education have been suspended due to the overarching and misplaced power of school administrators. Too many of us have allowed power and prestige to cloud our judgment. We tend to bring our personal biases and prejudices to hair. Undoubtedly, each educational institution has the right to establish its own rules and accompanying sanctions. Rules must be relevant to the cultural space in which we live and operate. Even in instances where parents or guardians agree to these rules there must be room to challenge rules which make no sense. Clear...