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

What a mighty force of nature? The power of the wind. There is something about the sea breeze. Cathartic for some; a mystery for others. Resting on the seagrape trees; trees as old as the St. Catherine Hills. Listening to the chirping noise of the black birds; duppy birds perched high, thus providing much entertainment for those so inclined while the blazing lyrics from the latest dancehall competing for attention from the afternoon crowd. The white sand caressing the toes of the gleeful beachgoers amidst the broiling sound of the waves brings up the troublesome seaweed. Beachgoers fearful to dive in. The seaweed speaks to strength in unity. Watching! Walking around with their smartphones taking phoptographs. Waiting! Finally, a clear area to quickly take a dip. Sargassum! Children busy making sandcastles under the stern and watchful eyes of their parents. A visitor to the island deeply riveted in her novel with back turned towards the sea. The engaging lifeguard occasiona...

"Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela. Jamaica’s education system is at a crossroads. Those of us who are in the trenches are very much aware that all is not well in the local education system. However, there is the official narrative that fails to acknowledge that a band- aid approach will not solve the issues that we face as a society. The truth is many students have switched off their dial regarding the education system. Having said this we must also concede that boys in particular have realized from very early that there are more lucrative pathways available than the long and sometimes arduous pathway of academic rigours. As a result male underachievement in the education system has become a global concern. The society is also hypocritical in that we continue to send our students conflicting messages concerning academic success. The adage ‘children live what they learn’ is a truism. Additionally, those who are tasked with...

“Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged as humility.”- Robin Morgan. The Caribbean region has had a rich and enviable history of adhering to democratic principles and ideals. In fact the English speaking Caribbean is probably second to no other bloc of nations regarding having peaceful and fair elections. The process of involving the people in the structure of governance was not handed down on a silver platter but was instead a gradual and sometimes painful progression of blood, sweat and tears. It is therefore extremely troubling to learn of recent developments in Grenada, a fellow Caricom member state. For the first time in modern Grenadian history, the government of Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell barred reporters and photographers from the swearing-in of new cabinet ministers, signaling a disturbing move towards information control and suppression of the free press. Dickon Mitchell, an a...

“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”- Robert John Meehan. Team teaching can be defined as a group of two or more teachers working together to plan, conduct and evaluate the learning activities for the same group of learners. Quinn and Kanter (1984) define team teaching as "simply team work between two qualified instructors who, together, make presentations to an audience." Team teaching can be a wonderful and effective strategy regarding teaching and learning. Team teaching involves a group of educators working purposefully and cooperatively. Teachers together prepare lesson plans, share insights, teach students and evaluate the results. It is widely reported that the team teaching idea originated in the United States of America in 1954. It is rather unfortunate that in many instances there is no prior meeting of the team in order to get some synergy going. Regrettably, it h...

“By voting, we add our voices to the chorus that forms opinions and the basis for actions.”- Jens Stoltenberg. The year 2024 will be quite interesting politically. In the first instance the year promises to be polarizing, especially given the pending US presidential elections in November as well as unpredictable, given the current wars involving Russia and Ukraine and Hamas and Israel. Of course there are other forgotten wars and social and political unrest such as those in Syria, Haiti, Libya, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Yemen and Mali to name a few. Local Government Elections . In Jamaica, local government elections are constitutionally due no later than February 28, 2024. The local Government elections, which are constitutionally due every four years, were last held in November 2016. They were due to be held in November 2020 but were postponed as the country was still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, a general e...

“At the time, enslaved Black people could find little respite from ever-present surveillance, even in practicing their faith.” - National Museum of African American History and Culture. The legacies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade continue to reverberate decades after the abolition of slavery. The United Nations states that the enslavement of over 13 million Africans during the Transatlantic Slave Trade was driven by the racist ideology that these women, men and children were inferior because of the colour of their skin. The African Holocaust or Maafa involved numerous European powers such as England, Spain, Denmark, and The Netherlands who were all responsible for the trafficking of our ancestors. In the British West Indies the slavery system was referred to as Chattel Slavery. This was a system whereby the slaves and their offspring were enslaved during their lifetime and were the sole property of the owner. The slaves were bought and sold as commodities. Thank God we made it. It i...

“In the case of cigarettes and e-cigarettes, history will judge us harshly as to how we answer this billion-person question. It may also look back in anger at policy-making amounting to institutionalized manslaughter.”- Professor Julian Kinderlerer- President of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE). Vaping is a relatively new phenomenon. However, this practice has caught on like wild fire in many parts of the world. Vaping devices are popular among pre-teens and teenagers. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse vaping devices are the most commonly used form of nicotine among youth in the United States. Some research shows that many teens do not even realize that vaping cartridges contain nicotine, and assume the pods contain only flavoring. The attractiveness of vaping is rooted in: the easy availability of these devices, appealing advertisements, various e-liquid flavours, and the belief that vaping devices are safer than cigarettes. Additiona...