Garveyism goes on Jamaican school timetable

| 20/08/2012

damgarvey1.jpg(Caribbean Journal): A new civics education in Jamaican schools will include the teaching of Garveyism, Education Minister Ronald Thwaites announced. Thwaites said the teaching of Garveyism is about “building value systems in the schools.” “Today, resolutely and over all the grades of schools from pre-primary up to grades 11, we say as a people, that we honour our own and that we will uplift the values and attitudes of our people,” he said. “We will remember one amongst us who struggled so that we could have that second emancipation which is our right and our heritage.

” The Minister, who was speaking at the Marcus Garvey Technical School in St Ann’s Bay, said the government’s education objectives transcended test results.

“We want students who are conscious of themselves, who know their place of dignity, of worth, who understand their rights and their responsibilities as citizens of Jamaica,” he said.
The new curriculum, which launches Sep. 3, will include Garveyism as a mandatory part of the curriculum of every grade in schools in Jamaica.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Ah, teaching the works of a man who blamed his criminal conviction on the Jewish members of the jury.  Classy.

  2. Anonymous says:

    To Anonymous 15:53 – I HOPE you were being totally sarcastic when you suggest that Caymanian kids should be taught "Jimboddenism"! Unless you were thinking of it as a deterrent!  Don't even try to compare Jim Bodden to Marcus Garvey! Without giving a history lesson here, Garvey was a proponent for people of African heritage to take pride in that heritage, for their own empowerment. Jim Bodden preached division by encouraging Caymanians to take pride in their nationality by disparaging others! His political rhetoric started the "foreigeners taking away your jobs" thinking of many Caymanians; he promoted the greed of wanton development without forward thinking and planning (his administration dumped the very structured Development Plan crafted under the vision and guidance of a true Hero, Sir John Cumber), his administration introduced victimization and the reverse, cronyism,  based on political allegiance –  to say nothing about stacking the civil service with inept deadwood. Promoted the 'entitlement culture'; destroyed the education system………. I could go on and on, but just look around and everything wrong with Cayman now (except the economy) can be traced back to Jim Bodden's policies. I know, I was there!

    As a born Caymanian I'm embarrased that he is a national hero – but never to me!!

     

  3. Anonymous says:

    Cayman needs to teach Jimboddenism to its kids.

  4. Anonymous says:

    For those of you who did not know, Marcus Garvey was Founder of the United Negro Improvement Association. He was also a prominent member of Prince Hall Freemasonry, so you can rest assured that this is a move by high-ranking masonic elements in Jamaica to indoctrinate their brightest and best into their dubious, devious and secretive cult.

    This development has ominous forebodings for Cayman seeing as the Cayman Lodge is a junior lodge to the Jamaican one.

    They'll be choking on their cornflakes over this one, but someone has to call them out.

    I call a foul play. Regarding emancipation, Mr. Garvey's philosophies will rather bring the Jamaican youth into mental slavery. Perhaps Bob Marley was onto something?

  5. Anonymous says:

    That's exactly what we need in this world – more nationalism…

  6. Whodatis says:

    No, no, no, no!!

    We don't need any such teachings within these blessed shores.

    We all went through the official education system and were rightly taught true Caribbean history and culture:

    Some Europeans arrived on some big boats. Encountered some Arawaks and hostile Caribs in some little boats. Killed off those horrid primitives. End of story.

    Oh yeah – the primitives flattened the foreheads of their babies, crossed their eyes (so they would grow into excellent archers), grew maize and refrained from eating turtle – because they believed doing so would make them "slow".

    Also, the Aztecs were a short-bodied tribe of people that created pyramids, an astronomical system, and liked to sacrifice people to the gods.

    Now – fast forward to the 20th century.

    End of lesson.

    Honestly, what more could a Caribbean nation of our ancestral make-up ask for in regards to history, ethics and a sense of self?

    (In all seriousness, this was the mandated curriculum as it concerned Caribbean history in our government schools – and this was not very long ago. In fact, it was under the (existing?) CXC system. Our teachers were actually instructed to bypass certain "controversial" chapters of the textbooks.)

    I love my country but sometimes … I can only shake my head.

    However, when everything is viewed in a wider context, a lot of what has taken place and continues to take place comes as no surprise.

    Nor was it accidental. (The school story above is all the proof required to back up that claim.)

    I only hope things have changed somewhat today. Can any recent high school graduates, public or private, speak to their experience in this regard? It would be greatly appreciated.

    • Anonymous says:

      As usual, does your little rant have a point?  No, no, no, no!!  Didn't think so.

      • Whodatis says:

        I doubt you would have bothered to reply if there was no point to my "little rant".

        (Sigh).

        • Anonymous says:

          Their point was that your post had no point to it and that this was not unusual for one of your postings.  That point was made and made quite clearly. 

    • Pitt the Even Younger says:

      These isles were largely uninhabitable but thanks to the unbroken links to the Empire, the swamps were cleared and this paved the way for an economic miracle fuelled largely by the decision of other neighbouring islands to go independent and start their spiral of self destruction and crime that Cayman avoided until it demanded too much self rule. There, history in one sentence.

      • Whodatis says:

        Hmmm … interesting.

        Tell me, what is the current standing of the 'homeland' of the "Empire"?

        Furthermore, are you a native, and have you abandoned her to seek greener pastures here in "these isles"?

        🙂

      • Whodatis says:

        Furthermore, you post is very, very telling.

        Have you realized that everything therein was founded upon and focused on economic / material "wealth"?

        Do you even understand the difference between those things and a sense of self, the appreciation and respect of culture, and the importance of traditions?

        Your perspective perfectly describes the mindset of those very Europeans that arrived in the "new worlds". From then until now it has been the catalyst of "the west", but as we can all see – she is falling … hard!

        Through greed she has eaten herself and transplanted her life-blood to all corners of the world but her own – again, all in the name of $$$, of course.

        Good job.

        P.S. Maybe you ought to pick up a copy of "The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey"!

        🙂

        • Pitt the Even Younger says:

          I am aware of the focus.  But there was little point to Empire and is little point of territories other than to provide a means to create and repatriate capital to the homeland.  It is the prospect of the accumulation and repatriation of capital that makes living in otherwise unacceptable conditions acceptable.  That was the case then, it is the case now. 

          • Whodatis says:

            Ok, so … where exactly do the hundreds of years of ancestry, history, culture and existence of my people play into your little equation?

            Oh, let me guess … "we" don't matter – am I correct?

            (Eagerly awaiting your sincere reply.)

            By the way – tell your mom I said hello … she must be oh so proud.

            • Whodatis says:

              Still waiting …

              • Anonymous says:

                Keep on waiting.  Other people don't jump when you demand they jump.  Some of them even have a life.

                • Whodatis says:

                  We can pretend all we want but we all know the true reason(s) behind the silence.

                  🙂

                  P.S. The year is 2012 … your Grandpa's view of the world is no longer relevant – nor was it ever acceptable.

    • Anonymous says:

      Whodatis, you hit the nail on the head with the phrase that you chose, "mandated curriculum".

      Years ago, we would simply accept anything in a textbook as truth because we were naive, trusting and innocent. Having watched this planet descend into near chaos over the last 50 years, many of us are waking up and actually questioning some of the sanitized drivel that we have been force-fed over the years.

      For instance, there is a whole lot written about World Wars 1 and 2, but to find out what really happened, I suggest you employ the same tactics that you would use today to smell a rat, and that, my dear friend is simply this, "Follow The Money."

      Try digging a little deeper into who actually sets the curriculum and you will run into walls of bureaucracy, panels of faceless people and endless documentation designed to thwart any efforts to find out who is behind what we feed to our innocent, trusting children.

      Ok, rant over. Back to sleep. I wonder what's on TV tonight?

       

      • Whodatis says:

        Greetings, friend.

        Yep, you clearly know what time it is.

        Regardless of what others may say, react, or "thumb vote" – truth is truth – and that is the simple reality that floors the objectors.

        Glad to correspond with a fellow awoken soul.

        Appreciate the feedback.

    • Whodatis says:

      CHALLENGE FOR THE ROOM:

      Interesting comments and reaction thus far. Actually, this provides a unique opportunity.

      By way of thumb votes;

      Do you consider the Caribbean history syllabus as described in my initial post as adequate for students of the Cayman Islands?

      Thumbs up for "Yes". Thumbs down for "No".

      Feel free to post your thoughts as well. Don't hold back, we're all big kids here – let your true colors shine through … albeit anonymously. However, please stay on topic and limit postings to the subject at hand.

      Hopefully we won't shrivel away now.

      Looking forward to all your responses.

       

      • Pitt the Even Younger says:

        But any poll will be distorted by the automatic reaction of many CNS posters to give you the thumbs down rather than waste time reading what you have blurted out this time to confirm deserves a thumbs down as is invariably the case.

        • Whodatis says:

          "However, please stay on topic and limit postings to the subject at hand."

          Clearly, someone missed a bit more than a few history lessons in school.

          🙂

      • Whodatis says:

        Just as expected … (crickets).

  7. Anonymous says:

    They can teach whatever they want for as long as they want, but its' not going to solve their social problems.  The only way to address those is to have two caring parents raising their children in a stable environment.