Sheldon Channer, Contributor
Jamaica is a small country with a great deal of potential. It is no secret that the key to unlocking this potential is to increase the number of motivated, ambitious, educated and skilled people living in Jamaica. If the effort is put into making the necessary sacrifices to ensure that every Jamaican child age three to 12 receives the very best intellectual stimulation and the highest standard of education at no cost to their families, we would create a workforce that would be a force to reckon with in the coming CARICOM marketplace and the world at large.
If we educate enough of our people, even if some migrate to other countries, enough intellectual capital would remain to ensure that an ambitious, intelligent and qualified work force remains to take the country into the future.
There can be no success without ambition, motivation, intellect and skill. This is true for the poor individual and this is also true for the poor country. Look to the model presented by Asia; China, India, Japan, even up-and-coming South Korea. Their governments motivated then educated and trained the workforce prior to stimulating the economy.
Power of stimulation
How should this be achieved? First and foremost, the Government needs to implement programmes to stimulate the minds of our poorest young people. After graduating from Wolmer's Boys' sixth form, I went to work with Mrs. Lorna Archer-Stanley on Operation Restoration, in Trench Town. It was there that I first became cognisant of the power of stimulation on a person's level of motivation and desire to improve their situation.
I remember taking a small group of the young people we were working with on a tour of 'uptown'. We drove from Trench Town to New Kingston, up to Red Hills, Cherry Gardens and UWI, Mona campus. Many of these students had no idea that there were parts of Jamaica that were so sophisticated, opulent and modern. One student, a 13-year-old boy who was getting ready to take his exams to get into high school, in utter awe and surprise asked me "Can cars drive to foreign? 'Cause a mus foreign we de" Another youngster asked "Black people live in a dem place ya?" These students were surprised and inspired to discover that Jamaica had places were poverty, violence and deplorability were not the norm.
Once I realised that this had opened their minds, I spent a good deal of the remainder of my time among them introducing them to how the other half lives. All but one of my gang of five went on to pass their respective exams and received placement into 'traditional' high schools. They were inspired by what they saw to strive for a lifestyle which they came to realise was not only present in Jamaica, but also within their grasp.
Boost the desire for success
The Jamaican Government needs to work with our colleges, high schools and institutions of skills training to spend the country's money on initially stimulating the desire for successes in our country's children and young people and then provide them the education and training to realise these ambitions.
I propose that the Government in unison with educational institutions implement programmes that introduce our elementary and high school students to classical music and fine art, poetry readings and classical literature, world history and cultures. And ensure that all public libraries have sufficient computers with high speed Internet access and the latest educational software. If this is already being done, it must be expanded.
My way may not be the best way, but we must find a way to stimulate the minds of Jamaica's young people and in turn their stimulated minds will be motivated to improve the future of Jamaica.
Sheldon Channer is coordinator/graduate adviser, SAGE Programme, Bloomfield College, Bloomfield, New Jersey.
