Amina Blackwood Meeks, Contributor
Amina Blackwood Meeks
But see yah now, Miss Lady pick up herself an write de Prime Minista. When I grow big I want to be just like she, sey yu mind widout fear or favour. She show me de letta an me cudden keep it to meself. So me a go pinch an show you one. Nuh badda sey which part yu get it.
HON. PRIME Minista, Sir,
I listened to de Budget Debate on and off. On, when certain portfolio masters was going to talk, and off when dem start to say de tings dat been saying from 19 how-long wit de same disastrous consequences. Me turn it off Sar, for I could not afford to pay JPS plus 16.5 per cent fe hear de same ting again.
But you now, Sar, me listen to yu careful, all when me cudden cipher out what yu did mean to sey, me listen good. For yu faada Teacha Patterson was a good smaddy an everybody who grow yu, grow yu wid good education backitive so me did want to know what you had to say pan de subjeck of education an how long it was goin to teck yu to say it. So me glad yu sey weh yu sey. For even Tony Blair come out an pronounce recently dat is tree tings to solve de problem of fe him country and is Educashan, Educashan, Educashan. Me did laugh when him did say it. For him pronounce like him did expeck people fe bow down an say "Hail Columbus" like de balance o we wudden recognise dat him teck it straight outa de ancient fairytale bout Pete an de Dragon.
Still, me glad sey him finally discover dat dere likkle gem an me glad sey we a start fe learn sey dat mean sey a leff dem out fe leff we a back again, Sar, like de ting what we have a proverb bout which kean write into a letter to you, but we nuh intend fe leff a back like dat again,
NOT ONLY ABOUT BUILDINGS
So meck a pinch yu an tell yu what concerning me bout fe we education initiative. Teck it from me yu know Sar, for yeyelash older dan beard. An me see nuff tings what you doan see an people who write up figures an give yu doan see neida.
De education ting is not so-so bout how much building we have, how much teacha we train an how much millions we spend. If we nuh discover an put into practice sey it is all about what we teach de teacha dem fe teach we children we are going to end up with a nation of people who have plenty Head-Decay-Shan. Meck a speak me mine frankly wit no offence, PM, it is happening areddi.
A nuh jus de values an attitude like mannas an respect an such what gone, we need fe put back tings of value into de curriculum dat we can have proud attitude bout. Civics fe in deh, Sar. Me mean ole time civics like what your faada did teach. Me nuh mean late-a-days Social Studies. Me mean Civics what teach bout how to be a person, what it mean to be a citizen, how to understand what Jamaica give to de worl, what it means to be a good Jamaican an how fe equip weself fe give more to weself an de worl.
EDUCATION MUST EDIFY
Heddycation, sinting fe edify we, is not studiration. Nuff tings what we studying is not getting we anywhere. So it doan spell sense or millions of dallas fe study it. Start wit de teacha dem, Sar. Dem need re-training. Nuff a dem still a teach sey Marcus Garvey was a teef an nuff a dem refuse fe mention de name of Nanny. Nuh teck my word fe it Sar, ask de Director of Culture bout de Culture Agents in Schools Programme.
Meantime when dem a give example of tings like Statesman, dem nuh call one Jamaican name, dem gane a England an Merica fe dig up up Blair an Bush dem fren fe call Statesman an a falla people inna wig an jacket an Parliament fe sey we nuh capable fe dispense justice to weself or organise how fe sell weself two finga a banana an couple yam-head. All some who a pose bout dem a
rewrite curriculum, Sar, swear bline sey ef Ananse story doan translate into "proper Hinglish" it is not to go nowhere near we children.
Furdermore dat is so-so extra-curricula activity. So fe de amount a chat some a dem inna classroom an roun big boardroom table a chat, dem might as well be dumb As a matter of fack das why we pikney dem a behave like dem dumb so Sar. Me tink is a plot.
Yu know what a mean by dumb, Sar? Meck a explain it inna Bush an Blair terminology. By terminology I mean which part dem philosophy terminate, de end of dem tinking, de end game of war an death an destruction. Into dat deh game dem meck a bomb yu see, Sar, dat dem call de Dumb Bomb. It chupid. It nuh have no sense of direction.
Dem jus let if off an it go which part gravity carry it. Drap a grung widout aim or purpose. Ef we nuh teach we teacha bout who dem are in de context of we history an what we is about, we expensive classroom dem is nutten but a factory fe manufacture dumb bombs what gravity is going to pull outa we hand an lan up inna farm work under some disgraceful conditions like we still deh pan de sugar plantation.
An annada ting, Sar, dem have a ting name Dumb Cane. Dat a nuh de real cane. It have a poisonous juice into it. If dat ketch into yu mout it burn it up, meck inflammation in dere, swell up till yu kean talk. It cause asphyxiation, mean sey it a choke yu an how yu tongue swell yu kean even bawl out fe help.
Is dat me see a gwaan, Sar, dem a hole up fe dem flag an a fly it high an call it patriotism, but dem meck sinting fe we wear wid fe we black, gold and green pan de back which part we battam deh so we siddung pan it an call it fashion. Dat is dumb ting, Sar, but nuff people nuh Hedicated to dat. Which is to say dem Head is not dedicated to reading de symbols an intentions of dem deh kine a sciance, dat is foreign science dat come inna dem séance as conditionality of loan agreements and assistance plans an we teck it like is something wonderful.
We haffe come offa de plantation, now Sar. Odderwise we life dun, dumb. No Sar, we haffe stap tun factory fe meck dumb bombs. Fe we terminology have to be about Content, Content, Content. Odderwise we going end up like a dumb terminal, de sinting into de computer dat daon have no internal microcompressor. All it can do is show couple characters and numbers an respond to some simple control codes.
As one grandparent to de next, Sar, we grandpickney deserve better dan dat. Selah.
Respeckfully,
Miss Lady.
