Uncategorized

The Housing Crisis in Jamaica- A Cautionary Tale

I write to draw urgent attention to a structural transformation quietly reshaping housing markets across the developing world — one that Jamaica must confront before its consequences become irreversible. For generations, the fundamental logic of housing was simple: a developer builds, a family buys, and the price is anchored to what working people can reasonably […]

The Housing Crisis in Jamaica- A Cautionary Tale Read More »

Beyond Rhetoric: Reclaiming Rigour, Relevance, and Integrity in Jamaican Classrooms

Teachers across Jamaican classrooms demonstrate remarkable commitment to plan lessons, manage behaviour, cover curricula, and prepare students for assessments. Yet, a critical instructional distinction deserves reflection: a classroom may appear orderly, busy, and engaged while meaningful learning remains cognitively shallow. Activity is visible. Depth of learning is not.  A classroom may appear orderly, busy, and engaged while meaningful

Beyond Rhetoric: Reclaiming Rigour, Relevance, and Integrity in Jamaican Classrooms Read More »

Hurricane Melissa – Reflections on Preparedness, Recovery, and Public Relations: Lessons for Today and Tomorrow 

In a few weeks’ time, it will be four months since Hurricane Melissa wrought untold and unprecedented devastation on the south and west of Jamaica.  I have had the painful exposure to  some of the horrific destruction, first hand.  The latest of which was on February 7, 2026, when the Philosophy of Education Movement of the Caribbean (PEMCA)

Hurricane Melissa – Reflections on Preparedness, Recovery, and Public Relations: Lessons for Today and Tomorrow  Read More »

Addressing Education or Trauma: The Rush to Normalcy, Post Hurricane Melissa

& Patricia Scarlett-Forrester Hurricane Melissa, which hit Jamaica on Tuesday, October 28, 2025 as a Category 5 storm, was a large-scale disaster that had  strong emotional effects on those who experienced it, and even for individuals not directly affected. The scope of devastation and loss of lives is very disturbing and hard to comprehend, therefore students,

Addressing Education or Trauma: The Rush to Normalcy, Post Hurricane Melissa Read More »

Urban and Physical Planning and Water Management in Jamaica: Gaps and Opportunities

I watched with gut-wrenching pain, the horror stories of people whose homes were damaged by the torrential rains in Kingston on Friday, September 19, 2025.  The videos of cars being washed away and bundled together in flooded roads were scary. It is well-known that nature expresses her wrath ever so often.  As a real estate developer and

Urban and Physical Planning and Water Management in Jamaica: Gaps and Opportunities Read More »

Public Service, Political Sides, and Transparency

Public service is an honourable endeavour and those who engage, or aspire to engage, therein, are to be commended and supported on all fronts, provided their activities are legal and ethical, and advance the public’s best interests.  In many cases, engagement in public service requires that one choose a political side, although many public servants do

Public Service, Political Sides, and Transparency Read More »

How a Struggling Class of Grade Nine Students at an Upgraded High School Passed CXCs -Part II

In the previous article we examined the genesis of the journey, information gathered from research and the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on CXC preparations. In this second piece we will be examining the methodologies that were applied, and how learning challenges were bridged for the students’ development in preparation for CXC. Policy recommendations

How a Struggling Class of Grade Nine Students at an Upgraded High School Passed CXCs -Part II Read More »

How a Struggling Class of Grade Nine Students at an Upgraded High School Passed CXCs: -Part I

This is a two-part article. The first segment will discuss the genesis of the journey, the type of research conducted and the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic. The second instalment will examine the methodologies that were applied, and how learning challenges were bridged for the students’ development in preparation for Caribbean Examinations Council Examinations

How a Struggling Class of Grade Nine Students at an Upgraded High School Passed CXCs: -Part I Read More »

On the abolition of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) Examination in Jamaica

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting and Research Symposium of the Jamaica Association of Education Officers in August 2025, I proposed that Jamaica’s high stakes examination be abolished and replaced with an assessment system rooted in individual assessments using the growth-focused and milestone-sensitive evaluation system called the Individualised Learning Plans (ILPs). The Primary Exit Profile

On the abolition of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) Examination in Jamaica Read More »