Well, I have an interesting update to that story. There is a donor who has issued a challenge that will speed us reaching the goal of $14,000 US by June 15.She is willing todonate $1,000.00 if there is another Jamaican who will match her gift!
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For those of us who are experiencing a pinched personal budget, here is an idea I will be using to support this program. Father’s Day in June 12. I am telling my kids to support this cause in my name instead of giving another tie, book, etc.
If you forgot Mother’s Day, here is a great make up opportunity!
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Tell them to send a tax deductible contribution to:
Tough times raises the vulnerbility possibility for many of us.
I saw an article in the New York Times stating that $30M (US) was scammed last year from lottery scams.
The story shared that Americans sent more than $30 million to Jamaica last year to claim winnings in a nonexistent lottery. Jamaica has become a new center for such schemes, which authorities say have helped finance a network of violent traffickers in drugs and guns.
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A letter bearing the logo of the Mega Millions lottery is actually a scam designed to steal your money, the lottery announced. The letter tricks you into thinking you have an unclaimed Mega Millions prize, and includes a counterfeit check, lottery officials said. If you cash the check, it will bounce, and your bank’s routing and account information will be sent back to the scammers, who will then try to withdraw money from your accounts. .Mega Millions said it is investigating to see who is sending the letters.
“A vision is a clearly-articulated, results-oriented picture of a future you intend to create.
It is a dream with direction.”
Zemel
I had the privilege of hearing the vision of Minister Andrew Holness on educational transformation.
He shared the challenges and the vision to drive us to a new reality.
In part 1, we shared the challenges to the system.
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We will now share the details of the vision.
it is a three prong vision comprising :
Parenting accountability
Teaching performance acceleration
School infrastructure investment.
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Talk to any primary school teacher, and their number one lament is the state of
the behavior of the students. My reading on childhood development shares that
if the mental ability of self control is not developed by age 3, the chances of this
happening is severely diminished. The minister shared that parenting will be defined within terms
of the public good. The current practice is one where most of the responsibility of parenting is passed to grandparents.
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The national debate has been engaged on this issue by none other than the prime Minister in a recent address to educators. Read his comments carefully.
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Prime Minister Bruce Golding says democracy does not apply to the rearing of children.
He said, “As committed as I am to democracy, there is no democracy in bringing up children. There are rules that have to be laid down; there is a certain standard of behaviour that must be demanded and when it is not forthcoming, it must be sanctioned.”
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This is heavy stuff folks. What should be the the right balance and methods used by the government to influence the family unit for its betterment?
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The next component is focused on the leaders of the classrooms. Teachers are the catalyst that inspire wisdom, skills, and knowledge to the students. The platform of excellence need to be raised and made uniform through the system.
The profession of teaching has been one where the reward of the student success exceeded the monetary rewards. Performance incentives are on the table to drive results beyond the ordinary.
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The final leg of the stool is investing in new school infrastructure. The demographics demand the building of 200 new schools, with 45 new high schools.
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The approach being considered is cutting edge in its approach. A private/public partnership is being considered. The government would enter into contract with a private company that would be the primary owner of the facility. The establishment of a national educational trust fund to resource this system is being formulated.
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A diaspora bond successfully used in Israel and India to fund great achievements in these countries is the instrument being developed. The launch date is slated for the end of 2009.
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This is out of the box thinking as other private investors is looking for skin in the game from the diaspora to combine efforts to propel Jamaica in the 21 st. century.
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Minister Holness has engineered a bold game plan that has all the right engines to power the development of our human futures.
I readily support the fundamentals of this plan.
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There are two concerns I have in giving unquestioned support. They are: 1) How will he and his team get buy in from the current system that is elitist in nature ?
2) How will his team manage the parenting issue without overly intrusive government intervention?
Will marriage be encouraged and strengthen?
What role will the institution of the church play in buttressing the education transformation?
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Minister Holness has a keen grasp of the scope and depth of his charter. He also knows that building the
equity of public trust is key.
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I now understand why he spent much minutes talking about corruption. He declared that corruption will find no refuge in this government. The rooting out of this cancer in
the police force is evidence of a determination to ensure a transparency that will serve us well in the wider community. I have much confidence in this transforming direction! .
Now, have your say - what is your opinion on his plan?
Imagine for a moment if there were nine (9) other athletes of Bolt’s capability training to represent Jamaica at the next Olympics.
What would that do to boast our nation’s possibility ?
What would that do to the rush on yellow yam exports?
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Well, I will leave the implication of such a possibility to your vivid imagination.
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There is another sphere of engagement where we have Jamaicans excelling with Bolt-like performance.
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I attended the graduation program of the school of dentistry at Howard University a few weeks back. From an awards recognition perspective, a Jamaican, Dr. Tashorn Lewis took the gold. I am sure you can recount similar experiences during this graduation cycle. While our chest swell with national pride, the question has to be asked, is where are the other nine Bolts in the sphere of educational achievement?
Who is leading the charge in ensuring we understand the issues, and developing the game plan in Jamaica’s human capital development?
Hon. Andrew Holness, Jamaica’s Minister of Education
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The point person in charge of answering these questions is the Honorable Andrew Holness, Jamaica’s Minister of Education. He has been studying this question for a while as he served as special assistant to the Honorable Edward Sega and was a part of the team that created the bi-partisan political space to allow educational transformation to be sustaining regardless of changing political leadership.
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He was in Washington DC this past week, and we had the opportunity to listen to his vision and access his readiness to be the watchman and shepherd to this critical transforming social process.
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He began his sharing with a bold, confident statement of hope that stated:
“Jamaica is on the verge of surmounting her problems”.
I must confess that my mischievous mind said to myself, “Who has been keeping the Gleaner from this man? He better be prepared to buttress his claim with solid arguments.” Well, let me share my recollection of his conversation and see if you are persuaded by his perspective.
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He must have anticipated my cynical mind as he admitted to the culture of mistrust that exists between the citizens and the government. Hon. Holness then shared two key bread and butter issues that the new government will be judged on in establishing a new era of trust - education and health care.
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One sign of hope came from the recently concluded budget debate, where the gas tax was increased. Prior years the reaction has been spectacularly demonstrative. This year, the tight, transparent communication has led to a sacrificial acceptance rather that the usual. This is a hopeful sign of the rebuilding of the trust equity between the government and the people.
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Hon. Holness then proceeded to speak with much sincerity some very awkward truths. I summarized them as:
Post Partisan Political Consensus is key - When the politics is right, things can happen.
Education system is elitist - We take the cream off the top and do not invest appropriately in the rest.
.Wow! We have practiced an elitist education system, where the cream of the crop gets the rewards of our education system, and those without the resources and familial support suffer the slings of poor chance. He then clearly made the link between economic participation and social order.
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Hon. Holness then provides a profile of the educational system he administers.
Percentage of national Budget – 13% (Second only the debt payment).
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Number of schools in system 1,000.
Number of school that are forced to double a double shift. – 114.
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Number of High Schools that are included in the double shift system 45 (Imagine the social implications of unsupervised teenagers).
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Percentage of functional literate students – 80%. The 20% are illiterate, but function with the limited capacity.
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As we are quite aware, education needs a healthy environment to take root. Hon. Holness also shared the non-classroom challenges the system faces. Here is my summary, which I list under :
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Early childhood education has been a primary responsibility of the home. However, the practice of solid parenting have been found wanting.
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There is also a growing subculture of the un-attached , primarily in the demographic of ages of 16 - 19. They will need opportunities and intentional integration into a productive mainstream.
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A corollary to this issue is the gender (male problem) who are without positive role models, and success ladders. They are seduced by the pied pipers of deviant activities.
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This is a tall order to reshape the direction and social mobility of a society. Let these soak in for a while.
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I know you are eager to hear his proposals. That’s tomorrow’s post. All I will say is that he is engaging the diaspora in an exciting, innovative way.
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Yes, we are a key component in providing the rocket fuel for Jamaica’s 21 century launch!
Ambition and the desire for a better life beat in the heart of every Jamaican.
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One of our wise men Ambassador Anthony Johnson, our ambassador to the USA captured it well in his recent presentation on the history of education. He sees Jamaicans as a dynamic bunch always on the move, be it escaping the throes of slavery, working the sugar cane fields of Cuba, or building the Panama Canal.
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In contemporary times, some of us are blessed with the pole vault of education, and have successfully used it to improve our station in life in the diaspora. Some of us have been able to migrate and find good jobs to sustain a middle class life style.
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There is another important work group that we need to appreciate. The seasonal workers represent the abiding spirit of Jamaicans who want to make a difference for their families. The technical name is the H2 workers, named after the visas granted to temporary workers (both in agricultural and non-agricultural areas). The program in the US started in the 1940’s during the labor shortage of World War II.
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Well, how did these workers fare in realizing their dreams?
In 1990, the most significant documentation of the issues surrounding the agricultural seasonal workers was captured by renowned filmmaker, Stephanie Black.
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Her pioneering work captured the drama and injustice happening on a sugar cane plantation in Florida. This is just one of her many excellent documentaries capturing important issues related to Jamaican and other Caribbean life.
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The very much acclaimed Life and Debt captures the issues surround the impact of the IMF on Jamaica. This will be an important work to revisit, given Jamaica is inching back to dialoging with the IMF in light of the prolonged global economic meltdown.
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H-2 Worker won both the Best Documentary and Best Cinematography at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival. This important work was re-released on DVD at the end of April,and so we can add this treasure to our educational archive.
We recently caught up with Stephanie for an interview, where she shared her reflection on this fine work and her perspective on the current seasonal worker issues.
This DVD captures the human drama as you can never imagine. The letters shared between spouses, the impact on the kids, the relationship of the men in the bunk, the rip off of these men set in the larger economic struggle of an Island (represented by these workers) trying to find its sea legs in a unforgiving world.
Our struggle will continue, and we can use the past experiences to help us support and influence new policies. Our youth need to appreciate the weight of the journey and this movie provides the big picture context. Channeled anger can be used to strengthen our determination to overcome. Let us remember:
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We are a people of “nuff hope”, a hope that will keep us striving, and striding until we reach home.
I am assuming that on Saturday, you invested in your intelligence success, got a free listen coupon, and share this precious gift.
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How was the interaction with your listening partner?
Are you getting the information with greater clarity, but feeling clue-less; thinking that the other person maybe from a different planet ?
Before you give up on shoring up this vital new skill, let me share another insight that may help.
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You might have heard about that book entitled, Men are from Mars, and Women are from Venus, that describes the collision differences gender perspectives bring to the conversation.
There is another difference I would like to raise as you strengthen your hold on this vital item of effective communication.
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It is the left brain, right brain biases.
The two hemispheres of our brain process information differently.
Left brainers are serial, detailed processors, while right brainers are parallel processors, focused on the big picture.
Left brainers prefer verbal thinking, while right brainers are visual thinkers.
I confirmed that I am a right brainer. My true passion of innovation and marketing certainly align with this perspective. I start thinking through all my relationships and especially those that have conflict to see how this maybe playing a role in our interactions.
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As you soup up your listening skills, and profile your brain bias, may your relationships blossom.
I am sure that as you surf the web you have seen the IQ banner ads. Yes those ads that declare the IQ of Oprah or some other celebrity and invite you to find out what your IQ is.
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Whenever most are asked to endorse a candidate for a position, the first words of affirmation is usually how smart she is. The image of Einstein as the icon of success is embedded in our psyche, but is brain power the true measure of success?
If brain power is the true measure of success, why are we not championing the accomplishments of Bernie Madoff?
Our singular acknowledgment to rationality downplay the importance of social (emotional) intelligence. Social intelligence is very vital to:
Communicate properly
Enhance a sense of self
Develop relationships
Fulfill social obligations
Exchange ideas
Influence others
Just think about this for a moment. What is the one gift needed that allows us to explore, identify, understand, learn, apply and model? It is the gift of listening.
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I had the privilege to discuss these concepts with a pioneering Jamaica, Marva Shand-McIntosh . She is a nationally certified Speech Language pathologist who is doing some incredible work of identifying issues early in the school system and providing therapeutic intervention.
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She has developed “I love to listen ” day, which is every May 16.
This is a day where each of us is given the opportunity to give some special focus to our listening habits, and thus enhance our success profile. Marva launched this initiative in 2006 in 16 US states, and 16 countries.
In 2009, this day will be celebrated in all 50 states, and in 50 countries!
She shared some of her keen insights in a recorded interview that we have captured for your listening.
On Tuesday evening, I got the distinct privilege of being a remote fly on the wall at the agri-business seminar held in the Jamaican Consulate in New York City. I am indebted to the graciousness of Hon. Geneive Brown Metzger, Consul General, and the technical wizardry of Mr. Aubrey Campbell of the Jamaica Information Service in making this possible. My commenting on farming issues is most important to me, but details regarding that will have to wait for another post.
Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and a high powered team was in the Big Apple to share the exciting happening in the farming sector of Jamaica. Here is my take on his presentation.
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For the past generation, this segment of Jamaican life has languished at the margins, and was not considered a core element of a developing nation. Our taste buds have also lusted after foreign foods that we are a net importer of food products! However, the recent wild gyration in food commodity prices provided a rude awakening. For example, corn prices went up 100% in a matter of months. This had a chilling, and rippling effect throughout the economy, from chicken feed and other goods. Suddenly, food security became a central concern. We began to understand why developed nations subsidize their farmers. They or we cannot afford to put at risk and expose the stomachs of our people to the whims of external forces.
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We however needed to develop a program beyond subsidy, and revive a farm game plan that would:
Raise up a new generation of farmers with an agri- entrepreneur emphasis.
Profile our land for soil and irrigation matching to field crop or live stock development. Develop a database to keep permanent record of such needed profiling, and Include hurricane season implication in planning.
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Move from a splintered farm system to one where scalability and competitive economics is possible.
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Give farmers the knowledge of the various market places they are serving, and the where with all to win customer mind share.
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Further develop an agri-processor infrastructure to add additional value point in the value chain. Have strategically placed processors ready to serve the farmers.
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Segment the product offerings and realize premium profits for the top grade produce.
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Provide and facilitate needed capitalization of the farm system to give it long term sustainability. Provide real and attractive investment possibilities for members of the Diaspora.
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Develop the human resources through a robust extension program. 300 new farmers between the age of 20 – 30 are now on board.
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Provide the marketing horse power to communicate and maintain the Jamaican brand. How else are we going to capture our share of the growing ethnic food marketplace?
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I came away very encouraged as to the scope and comprehensiveness of this blueprint. The results after 18 months are impressive. The high degree of professionalism and accountability is very evident, as this blue print is not a seat of the pants approach, but one that is based on research and a systematic implementation.
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It was reported that agriculture achieved a 13% growth in the last quarter!
Sure tourism held it’s own, but the heavy discounts given to attract recession depleted consumers is not sustainable.
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Farming is indeed on its way back, and is worthy of our pocket investment.
Going forward, how will we equip our kids to compete?
Is it getting a job with some company?
What categories will these jobs take?
The traditional ones - farm, fish, mine, manufacture, manage, heal, teach, build and defend come to mind.
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Let me take you on a different journey, the journey in your fertile imagination, where Jamaicans everywhere are participating smack dab in the heart of the knowledge economy.
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Why is this important?
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Well, with the current economic meltdown, and loss of wealth in pension funds, 401K portfolios, and real estate, a driving demand to replenish these bare cupboards will be upon us soon. The Internet will play a critical role in providing new capabilities. The human component of this renewal will be the intellectual muscles we bring to bear. Our intellectual capital capability will separate the men from the boys.
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Yes our ginnal factor will be our competitive edge! We will need to practice the cunning of Anansi coupled with the integrity of a dove.
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Imagine a place where folks are supporting themselves and their families by arranging words, images and sounds. How about developing a high value knowledge economy infrastructure that will create work for others too. Yes I know of our Reggae stars, and Oliver. But show me how their business model is having a large wealth big foot that is contributing significantly to the nation’s GDP?
How big are we thinking folks?
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Knowledge as expressed through the currency of words have major influences on our lives. They shape our governance, provide a conception of our time, and forge our culture. Google has become one of our most frequent verbs.
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I got a present snapshot of where our brave new world is heading when I attended an Expo last week at the US Patent office. This expo was celebrating , promoting the development, management, and protecting of intellectual capital. There was a parade of trademark characters, music, speeches and a ribbon cutting. Attendees enjoyed and interacted with such iconic trademark costume characters as Popeye, Olive Oyl, Dennis the Menace, Betty Boop, and Curious George .
Popeye and I clowning around
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Visitors learned about the vital role trademarks play in the global economy at many exhibit booths and educational workshops. Total attendance for the two-day Expo exceeded 7,000. I was struck by the many kids who attended. Kids of elementary school age were the most visible attendees. Parents and teachers appreciate that the future belongs to those who can use knowledge to create new realities.
How many batteries have you bought because of his tireless ways?
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I know this brave new world of the Internet is giving many parents pause as the dark side of the web is keeping them on the virtual sidelines. I think this is a strategic error.
The approach I have taken, and encouraged is to equip them with the necessary skill to avoid the dangers. I am sure you have taught your kids to use the stove without being burned. Use the same principle here to fully equip your child in this very competitive, global world.
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Let me share a resource that will help you and your child navigate the web safely.
When one has an entrepreneurial impulse, keeping it under wraps is like stopping the sunrise from happening each morning.
That’s the sense you get from talking with this energetic Jamaican business owner, Sherese Francis, who hails from Chicago.
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Sherese recently started My Sherese Sweets, a specialty desserts company that handcrafts gourmet double-fudge, English petit cakes - the “Hmmm Hmmm” cupcakes.
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Her favorite quote is “A day without chocolate is a day without sunshine”.
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On the surface, you may say so what’s so special about a chocolate cupcake. I want you to give that some serious thought as you go to that vending machine to get a snicker bar. For years chocolate businesses such as Hersey has turned chocolate into mega green backs.
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Well, Sherese is extracting new value by creating a niche segment in the chocolate spectrum that will please your palate .
She appreciates that great marketing is something that communicates the value proposition totally clear… and it’s something no other competitor has. Sherese communicates the heart healthy value of chocolate in a way that was new to me.
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She also knows that having your product in isolation can be short-lived, so she is ingeniously weaving offerings with other products to even enhance her value proposition. We need more visionaries like Sherese who possess the drive and perseverance to create new opportunities that will add to the Jamaican business capital.
