GLEANER: It was an evening at the 2017 JET Programme, send-off reception, as is customary, where accolades poured, toasts were raised, and wishes heaped upon the eighteen youngsters who were due to depart to Japan, to begin their journey as assistant language teachers, (ALTs) on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme.

 

The air of excitement and anticipation of what life would be like in an Asian culture, where the pace is slow, culture is deep rooted in spiritual manifestation, attention to detail is impeccable, and punctuality is measured in nanoseconds.

 

Started in Jamaica in 2000, JET’s popularity has been growing since its inception, almost 350 participants have gone to teach English at mostly public schools throughout Japan.

 

“This year, we received a total of 266 applications, and you are extremely fortunate to have this opportunity of being selected from among so many applicants,” said Masanori Nakano, ambassador of Japan to Jamaica. “I would like to congratulate you all again on becoming JET members and representing Jamaica.”

 

JET is a window and a gateway not only to teach, but to be one’s country’s cultural ambassadors and to expand one’s knowledge base.

 

“Lifechanging” and “enriching” are words used by all previous participants of the programme, who described their experiences in the Land of the Rising Sun.

 

 

 

Different Outlook On Life

 

 

Karen Bailey-Coleman, ALT in Kobe City, Hyogo, Japan, says that her experience in Japan has give her a different perspective onlife, both professionally and personally.

 

Growing up on Japanese television drama Oshin, aired on Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation in 1991, her dreams to travel to Oshin’s home was realised 13 years later in July 2004.

 

“My experiences have truly enhanced the course of my life and given me a deeper appreciation of my own Jamaican culture as a non-diplomat ‘ambassador at-large,” Bailey-Colemen said.

 

She returned to Jamaica in 2007, and almost 10 years later, she says that she is grateful that her experiences have gone a long way towards defining her as an individual.

 

“Each day in Japan was a day I spent investing in the growth of my students in understanding how to speak, listen, understand and communicate not only in the subject of English as a foreign language, but also the cultural aspects of Jamaica,” Bailey-Coleman said.

 

Marsha Dennie, who was in Tottori Prefecture from 2002-2005, said that she was nervous at first. “I was apprehensive about my new life,” she said. “Being a person with dark skin, I was worried that I would have trouble fitting in.”

 

But, she said, those fears were dissipated, and she was able to blend in and make memories in and out of the classroom.

 

“Some of the unforgettable memories that now flood my mind,” Dennie said, “were dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out Christmas presents to delighted kids; cooking Jamaican food for an appreciative group of locals.”

 

She sang Bob Marley’s song Three Little Birds with her students at the school festival; harvested sweet potatoes with a group of elementary school kids; climbed a mountain for the first time (Mt Daisen); wore a kimono; and participated in the many Japanese cultural events.

 

 

 

Culturally Aware

 

 

Dennie described her experience in Japan as one that has made her more confident, self-assured, tolerant, open-minded, and culturally aware than she ever was.

 

She is vice-president of Jamaica Japan Exchange Teachers Alumni Association (JJETAA), and she said it is her goal to strengthen the cultural bridge between Japan and Jamaica.

 

Nakano, in his address to the participants of the 2017 cohort, encouraged them to look beyond the classroom and embrace the holistic experience that they have been accorded.

 

“JET participants are encouraged to immerse themselves in the culture and, in return, share their rich heritage with students, teachers, and everyone with whom they come in contact,” he said. “This exchange and camaraderie create an invaluable bond between the two countries.”

 

For Sheena Jarrett, who was in Osaka from 2008 to 2013, it was a fulfilment, among other things, the dream of travelling to a foreign country and experiencing a culture that was very different from her own.

 

“You are compelled to step outside of your comfort zone and explore unchartered territories,” Jarrett said. “It hasn’t always been easy, but I have never regretted my decision.”

 

Bailey-Colemen said that living and working in a Japanese society in Kobe City gave her amazing opportunities to meet and maintain some lifelong mentors, mentees, friends, associates, and acquaintances. These, she said, were responsible for her all-round success as a “Jamaican’anese”.

 

“Each day in Japan was a day I spent investing in the growth of my students in understanding how to speak, listen, understand and communicate not only English as a Foreign Language, but also the cultural aspects of Jamaica,” she said. “I wouldn’t trade my Japan-related experiences for the world. Totemo Arigatou (I express my gratitude), Japan!”

 

“Anyone who has been on the programme will tell you that it’s not just a teaching job,” Jarrett said. “It is a life-altering experience.”

 

It is an embedded philosophy of Buddhism, one of Japan’s major religions, that “it is better to travel than arrive,” for life is a journey and we evolve each day we travel, we experience, we educate, and more important, we learn.

 

Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme

The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme is a large-scale exchange programme administered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) in Japan.

 

Through the JET Programme, people from participating countries are invited to Japan and are appointed to work as ALTs (assistant language teachers), CIRs (coordinators for international relations), or SEAs (sports exchange advisors) by local governments in Japan for one year (up to five years), note that Jamaicans can only apply for the ALT position at this moment.

 

The JET Programme aims to promote internationalisation in Japan’s local communities by improving foreign language education and developing international exchange at the community level by fostering ties between Japanese youth and foreign youth. The objectives of the programme are being achieved as JET Programme participants serve in local authorities as well as in public and private elementary, and junior and senior high schools in Japan.

 

The JET Programme started in 1987, and in 2016, there were 4,952 participants on the programme from 40 countries. There are currently 118 (as of July 2017) Jamaicans on the exchange programme bringing the total to 343 Jamaicans who have participated on the exchange programme since the year 2000. More information, can be had from http://jetprogramme.org/en/.

 

[email protected]

 

CAPTION: Japanese Ambassador to Jamaica, Masanori Nakano, (second right) with Dean-Roy Bernard, permanent secretary, Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, along with the 2017 selected Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme Participants at a Farewell Reception held in honour of the JET participants

JIS: Fifty children with various mental and physical disabilities have been equipped for primary-level studies, having successfully completed the Early Stimulation Programme’s (ESP) special intervention curriculum.

 

Of the number, 35 will move on to special education primary-level programmes, while 15 will matriculate to the regular school system.

 

At the annual graduation ceremony held on Wednesday (July 12) at the ESP Assessment Centre and Multipurpose Facility on Hanover Street, downtown Kingston, the young graduates were presented with certificates and lunch bags in preparation for the next stage of their education.

 

Director/Principal of the ESP, Antonica Gunter-Gayle, told JIS News that the programme has had a tremendous impact on the children, and expressed her pleasure at their successful advancement to primary-level education.

 

“We are very proud, because many of them, when they came to us, they were unable to do a number of ordinary tasks – feed themselves, sit, smile. But thanks to the special intervention provided through this programme, they now have the requisite skills to move on,” she noted.

 

“We focus on the cognitive, language, social, emotional and the fine and gross motor skills. We work with them in stages to reach their highest potential and to prepare them to acquire pre-readiness skills to move on to the primary level,” she added.

 

The ceremony was attended by family, friends and ESP staff; representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), and partner agencies Guardian Life and Digicel Foundation; and Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Kingston, Rev. Ronald Thwaites.

 

Established in 1975, the ESP is a special intervention programme catering to children, up to six years old, who suffer from various disabilities.

 

Administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the programme forms part of the Government’s social safety net designed to assist the vulnerable and poor in society.

 

It serves more than 1,500 children through facilities in Kingston and a community-based rehabilitation programme in Portland.

 

The Hanover Street headquarters, which was upgraded by the Government through $87 million in funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), will enable the ESP to improve assessment and intervention services for children with disabilities.

 

CAPTION: Chairman of the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), Trisha Williams-Singh (left), and Chief Technical Officer in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Damion Cox, share a moment with valedictorian for the Early Stimulation Programme’s (ESP) 2017 Graduating Class, André Campbell. Occasion was the annual school-leaving exercise held on Wednesday (July 12) at the ESP’s new assessment centre and multipurpose facility located on Hanover Street in downtown Kingston.

JIS: Organisers of entertainment events are being urged to desist from placing posters and billboards with lewd material on premises housing educational institutions.

 

Director of the Safety and Security in Schools Programme, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Coleridge Minto, said persons continue to place posters with material that is not appropriate for children, at and near schools.

 

He is calling for responsible use of the nation’s educational facilities.

 

“Our schools must be places where our children can go for learning, and when they are not being used for teaching and learning, they are used for other activities that our communities can be proud of,” he said.

 

ASP Minto was delivering the keynote address at the awards ceremony for the Youth Gambling Prevention All-Island Poster Competition held on Tuesday (July 11) at RISE Life Management Services’ downtown Kingston offices.

 

As it relates to school safety and security, he informed that the Government has earmarked $100 million for the erection of fences at various institutions across the island.

 

He said there has been a reduction of break-ins at schools, and urged communities to do more to protect institutions.

 

The poster competition, organised by RISE Life, is part of activities aimed at preventing gambling among youth, and in particular school-age adolescents, by creating awareness of the dangers that underage gaming poses.

 

It was sponsored by the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) and Supreme Ventures.

 

The Kingston-based Denham Town Primary School dominated the competition, taking the first- and second-place cash prizes of $20,000 and $10,000, respectively, plus trophies, with Immaculate Conception High in St. Andrew receiving a trophy and $7,500 for placing third.

 

Denham Town Primary School also placed fourth, eighth, and ninth and shared tenth place with Immaculate Conception High.

 

RISE Life Management Services operates the only gambling prevention, treatment, research and responsible gaming programme in the Caribbean, which has been in existence for over 11 years.

In order to gamble legally in Jamaica, persons must be 18 years and over. 

 

CAPTION: Director of the Safety and Security in Schools Programme, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Coleridge Minto (left), interacts with Shantae Dyer (2nd left) and Patrick Frater of the Kingston-based Denham Town Primary School, who shared the winning trophy and cash prize of $20,000 in the Youth Gambling Prevention All-Island Poster Competition organised by Rise Life Management Services. Looking on is Executive Director of the organisation, Sonita Abrahams. Occasion was the awards ceremony for the competition held on Tuesday (July 11), at Rise Life Management Services’ downtown Kingston offices.

JIS: Education, Youth and Information  Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says the Government will be installing Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) systems in secondary institutions shortly as part of a programme aimed at improving school safety and security.

 

“There are resources that we are going to make available…but one that I am very fascinated about…is a fulsome deployment of the CCTV network across our schools,” he said.

 

“We are going for the highest grade technology with analytical and artificial intelligence capabilities that will assist (schools) greatly, not only in identifying weapons that are being brought on the campuses, but even identifying students, who are high-risk.  Safety and security is the number one priority for the Ministry,” he noted.

 

Senator Reid was addressing the launch and inaugural conference of the National Association of Deans of Discipline (NADD), held at the Sunscape Resort in Montego Bay, St. James on Thursday (July 6) under the theme: ‘Enabling Education Through Discipline Safety and Security’.

 

He commended the deans of discipline for the work that they have been doing in maintaining peace and order in the nation’s schools.

 

He said the deans must work closely with guidance counsellors in the day-to-day monitoring and management of institutions.

 

“The deans of discipline have to be seen within the context of the overall management of the school,” he pointed out.

 

Senator Reid informed that the Ministry’s programme to boost school safety and security includes the fencing of  institutions whose premises remain open and are proving difficult to monitor.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, addresses the launch and inaugural conference of the National Association of Deans of Discipline (NADD), held at the Sunscape Resort in Montego Bay, St. James on Thursday, July 6.

 

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has commenced the procurement process for literature texts and dictionaries as part of the Secondary Textbook programme under the National Textbook Loan Scheme (NTLS).

 

This is part of the Ministry’s commitment to promote the use of quality learning material at all levels of the education system by providing textbooks annually for students in primary and secondary schools.

 

In a bulletin issued by the Ministry, it was noted that there has been growing concern among parents and guardians about the cost of literature texts required by students.

 

These learning material will be supplied in the first instance to Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) students only.

 

For the 2017-2018 school year, PATH students in grades seven, 10 and 11 will be provided with literature texts and dictionaries under the NTLS.

 

Meanwhile, the Ministry is reporting that the Supplementary Textbook lists for the new school year have been prepared.

 

School administrators are being reminded that in keeping with the Ministry’s principle of school-based management, they are required to exercise judgement in selecting the supplementary textbooks they deem most suitable from the lists.

 

They are being advised that in order to select the most appropriate textbooks, a textbook selection committee comprising a subject specialist at the secondary level and grade coordinator at both the primary and secondary levels should be established.

 

Members of the committee must examine the books to determine their suitability for the students’ needs.

 

The Approved Supplementary Primary and Secondary Textbook lists can be viewed on the Ministry’s website at http://www.moey.gov.jm.

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, through the Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) and in partnership with LASCO, is inviting principals and teachers to apply for the 2017-2018 LASCO Principal and Teacher of the Year awards.

 

The competition provides meaningful professional experiences and exposure to all who participate. It permits the profession to showcase outstanding performers as models for the teaching profession.

 

Application forms can be accessed on the JTC website at https://jtc.gov.jm/index.php/forms-2/.

 

The deadline for submission is Friday, July 7. The Ministry is also inviting teachers to apply for the designation of Master Teacher.

 

A Master Teacher is a professional teacher who has demonstrated mastery of the art and craft of teaching by achieving excellence in current practice, as assessed by the National Committee for the Selection and Appointment of Master Teachers, through a systematic assessment process; and is so appointed by the relevant school Board, as directed by the Ministry.

 

The candidate must demonstrate mastery of a wide range of teaching skills and competencies; content knowledge of his/her subject or area of specialization, ability to use and integrate modern technologies in education, success in guiding students’ learning and academic achievement, active participation in professional development activities, capacity to conduct and reflect on research in teaching/learning, and leadership skills and effective interpersonal relationships.

 

Deadline for submission is Monday, October 30, 2017.

 

Application forms can be accessed from the Regional Offices of the Ministry, Master Teacher Unit, at the JTC, or at the website: https://jtc.gov.jm/wpcontent/ uploads/2017/06/Master-Teacher-Application-Form.pdf

 

JIS: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has partnered with the Education, Youth and Information Ministry to provide grant funding in the sum of US$3 million for a Safety and Security in Schools Project. 

 

Under the partnership, the USAID will provide the funds over two years. The National Education Trust (NET) will act as coordinator for the project.

 

The prime objective for the Ministry, through this initiative, is to implement the necessary measures to transform schools and their immediate surroundings into safe zones through a multilayered and multisectoral approach.

 

It will utilise schools, community, parents and public and private partnerships in an effort to ensure a safe environment that will facilitate a quality education system and raise the bar to benefit all learners, both male and female.

 

Specifically, the project will aid in controlling access to school compounds by installing or repairing perimeter fencing, and controlling the possession of weapons and other contraband in schools, through the use of security monitoring equipment and increasing the number of security personnel assigned to schools.

 

The project will also ensure the implementation of security and safety guidelines and continue the promotion of uniformed groups and clubs, which will promote positive values and attitudes at both school and community levels.

 

Addressing a ceremony to sign the letter of implementation for the project, at the Ministry’s Heroes Circle offices in Kingston, on July 3, Permanent Secretary, Dean-Roy Bernard, expressed gratitude to the USAID for the grant.

 

“We are extremely grateful for the partnership to assist our efforts. This is a moment to be celebrated and we look forward to the National Education Trust (NET) spearheading this project to lessen some of the challenges that we’re having in schools,” he said.

 

Citing the high level of violence in schools, Mr. Bernard stressed the immediate need to reduce conflicts and is hoping for “very good outcomes” with the implementation of the project.

 

Data received from the Safe Schools Programme (SSP) of the Ministry of National Security indicate that during the 2012/2013 academic year, 3,671 students were cited for antisocial behaviours of varying degrees.

 

Substance use and misuse among adolescents also continue to be a major concern.

 

For her part, USAID Mission Director, Maura Barry Boyle, said the project came to fruition based on discussions with the Ministry to improve security in schools.

 

The Mission Director thanked her team for mobilising and bringing the project together in record time. She said it will be implemented once the new school year begins in September.

 

The improved Safety and Security in Schools Project represents a much broader initiative than the SSP, which was instituted in 2004.

 

 CAPTION: Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dean-Roy Bernard (left), listens to United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director, Maura Barry Boyle, at a grant agreement signing ceremony for a Safety and Security in Schools Project, at the Ministry in Kingston, on July 3.

JIS: The Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation is calling for schools to participate in its Youth Environment Advocacy Programme (YEAP), which seeks to empower students to respond to environmental concerns.

 

Senior Director in the Environment and Risk Management Division of the Ministry, Gillian Guthrie, said YEAP, launched in July 2016, aims to engage students in environmental advocacy as well as to help them identify innovative solutions to various challenges.

 

“All the Government agencies produce policies, legislation and environmental programmes. We want the youth to be able to speak to these… we want to hear the voice of the youth. We want to know what they are interested in, what their issues are and also to encourage them to find innovative solutions to national environmental issues,” she explained.

 

Since the start of the programme, the Ministry has hosted regional sessions at St. Hugh’s and Holy Childhood High in Kingston; The Manning’s School, Westmorland; and Mount Alvernia High, St. James.

 

Schools within the vicinity of the host institutions were invited to participate. Themes covered included climate change and waste management.

 

The quarterly sessions will be taken to Portland in September, where discussions will focus on the theme: ‘Disaster Risk Reduction’.

 

“This theme is very apt given climate change and weather events being experienced in Jamaica. I think the youth will have a lot to say on what the challenges are and how the country and they, the youth, can assist in addressing these challenges,” Ms. Guthrie told JIS News.

 

She is urging private sector support for the programme, which targets young people ages 11 to 19.

 

“We are asking the private sector to partner with us in sponsorship of the regional sessions as well as to participate and have dialogue with the youth on national environmental issues,” she said.

 

Public sector partners on YEAP include the Forestry Department, National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Ministry of Health and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NWSMA).

 

Non-governmental organisations such as the University of the West Indies (UWI) Department of Life Sciences and the Recycling Partners of Jamaica have also collaborated on the programme.

 

During the regional sessions, technical officers from relevant agencies engage students in discussion on a particular theme, following which the students are placed in groups for further analysis. They are required to make a presentation detailing their thoughts on the issue and how they can contribute to the solution.

 

Ms. Guthrie said feedback from students about the sessions has been positive, as they have expressed excitement about the programme and a desire to see it expanded to include communication in-between the meetings.

 

In addition to sustained social media engagement with the students on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, YEAP has also led to clean-up campaigns and recycling programmes being implemented at the schools.

 

The institutions are encouraged to establish environmental clubs or strengthen existing groups to further disseminate the messages of the programme.

 

“This is a programme to build the capacity of the youth. We are looking to the youth being able to take ownership and leadership of the YEAP once their capacity gets to a certain level,” Ms. Guthrie pointed out.

 

She is encouraging principals, teachers and students to contact the Ministry’s website at www.mwh.gov.jm.

 

CAPTION: Students participate in a Youth Environmental Advocacy Programme (YEAP) regional session at the Mount Alvernia High School in St. James recently.

THE GLEANER: Minister of Education Ruel Reid has called for a deeper infusion of the right values and attitudes into education if the country is to effectively reduce violence.

 

Speaking at the graduation ceremony for Guys Hill High School in St Catherine at the Guys Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church last week, Reid said that education without values is meaningless.

 

“If you’re not careful, even those who have benefited from education could fall prey (to criminality),” he said.

 

“I’m saying all of this because there is a need for good values – values of honesty, values of respect, values of excellence, value of life,” said the education minister.

 

His comments came as the country fights an upsurge in murders, especially in western Jamaica.

 

Reid said that if wholesome “values and attitudes” are not made to complement efforts to transform the education system, then schools will churn out undisciplined students.

 

“What, then, would be the value and purpose of education?” he asked.

 

He urged graduates to become change agents and to make a difference by exerting positive influences over their peers.

 

Carlene Edwards, sponsorship and events manager at JN Bank, reminded the graduates that the difference they will make in their spheres will be based on the nurturing and caring they received while at Guys Hill High School.

 

Edwards, a former prefect and student council president at the school, urged graduates to be confident, bold and different as they make their journey towards higher education and into the world of work.

 

“Believe me when I say the seeds of confidence sown here will make you stand out from others. It will make you certain of who are and what you can accomplish,” the Guy’s Hill alumnus told graduates.

 

TWICE DEFEATED

“As our first national hero, Marcus Garvey, said, without confidence you are twice defeated in this race we call life. Therefore, to make a difference, young men and young ladies of Guys Hill, you will have to be bold; and to be bold you will have to be confident in who you are and what you can accomplish,” Edwards said.

 

Principal Joan Davis highlighted that the rural school, which caters to some 1,200 students from the parishes of St Mary, St Catherine and St Ann, achieved 100 per cent passes in various subjects in the 2016 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

 

Davis noted that the school has been encouraging students to sit some CSEC subjects from as early as third form. One of two students who sat exams last year passed three subjects, earning two distinctions and a credit.

 

At the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency (CAPE) level, the school has also been performing well. She said 100 per cent of the cohort passed communication studies, Caribbean studies, entrepreneurship, environmental studies, management of business, physical education and sports, sociology and tourism. The average pass for all CAPE examinations was 84 per cent.

 

“We are very proud of our achievement,” Mrs Davis declared. “Our vision is for our students to become critical thinkers and problem-solvers, who will be able to make meaningful contributions to Jamaica and beyond in this ever-changing world,” she concluded.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Honourable Ruel Reid

JIS: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, is urging parents to support schools by becoming actively involved in Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs).

 

Mr. Green, who was speaking at the Pembroke Hall Primary School Excellence Awards ceremony on June 29 at the school, in Kingston, said that parents play an integral role in the development and success of the child, and implored them to work with teachers to instil discipline and respect in children.

 

He reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to improve the primary school sector, noting that the Ministry recognises the importance that early childhood institutions play in the foundation of a child’s education.

 

“If we get it right from early, then we won’t need to spend so much money when they get to high school trying to play catch-up. If they are learning properly from the basic and primary school level, then it will be easier,” he argued.

 

One major step being taken by the Government to improve the sector is the $1 billion budget allocation to these institutions for the 2017/18 academic year.

 

This is in line with the Ministry’s commitment to provide greater support to schools to improve the quality of education in Jamaica.

 

A bulletin issued by the Ministry states that all schools at the infant and primary levels will receive $2,500 per student, up from an average of $850.

 

All-age and junior high schools will get $19,000 per student, up from $1,100.

 

Schools will also continue to receive a maintenance grant of $50,000 and janitorial grant of $172,000 per school.

 

The money will be disbursed in four tranches beginning this month (June).

 

The second and third tranches will be given in September and December, respectively, and the final tranche will be handed over in April 2018.

 

Trophies and pins were presented to students of grades one to five in several categories – top student in class, high achievers, attendance and most improved.

 

CAPTION: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green (left), addresses parents and students at Pembroke Hall Primary School’s awards ceremony, held on June 29 at the school.