ARE YOU SERIOUS, MINISTER?

You know what, I like Minister of Education Andrew Holness, M.P.
I really do. So far, most of his utterances in relation to his portfolio, have for me, been like a breath of fresh air. Especially in light of his predecessor, who despite the number of times I have been told of how bright she is, never ever struck me as such.

But for me, Minister Holness has been the one shining beacon in this 7-month-old JLP government. I know it's not yet a year, but can you tell that sometimes I feel like "we swap black dog fi monkey". So far the JLP have performed less than stellar and every single minister except Holness is currently at a 'C' average, but I'll write about that some other time, since this post is really about Minister Holness.

You see, he first started to impress me when he said that the former education policy - the Jamaican version of "No Child Left Behind"- where students who could not read and or were performing below grade average be promoted, was foolishness.

Then, he stepped up and spoke openly about the violence plaguing our schools, going so far as visiting affected institutions - something his predecessor would never have done.

Next, he said that the manner in which the Grade 4 reading test was being administered would be changed, and that he would be moving to make that exam into a national one, which would be used as a first certificate from school, a certificate of reading if you will.

And then he launched an investigation into how the much discussed P.J. Patterson $5 billion gift from the National Housing Trust (NHT) for Education Transformation was spent. Not that the Minister has to do much digging there, the money was all wasted.

So far, on all these counts he receives 'A' pluses from me, because it sounds like education is getting more than lip service, since for once the Minister is not approaching the issue with their head in the clouds.

So imagine my shock and awe at a boneheaded statement from the Minister. He says that he wants an investigation to be launched into Literature books with profanity! He wants these books to be removed because they are corrupting "young minds", or some crap like that.

What?!!!

Now, I remember some of the books he's speaking of. One of them, Becka Lamb by Jamaica Kincaid, was one of my favourites in C.X.C literature. It spoke to so many things that especially girls could relate to. How your adolescence turns your life upside down, the relationship between a girl and her mother, the feeling of ugliness that every child goes through - it was a beautifully written gripping tale that I think resonated even more with those of us who went to all girl high schools. But the Minister, would have this beautifully told tale of a young girl's coming of age, taken out of the system because it has profanity!

I was a literature buff, can't you tell? It and history were and still are my favourite subjects and from ever since I have nurtured dreams of one day writing a book. So, I feel passionate about it and hate when writer's words or intent are messed with anyway - I am a purist like that.
And honestly, I can't remember any profanity being in Becka Lamb. It's probably there, I certainly am not calling the Minister a liar, but so caught up was I in the story, the way in which it was being told, the effortless manner in which Kincaid used words to paint a vivid picture which for me leapt up off the sheets of paper, that I never noticed it/them, and certainly did not commit them to memory.

Plus, I doubt any form of profanity would have shocked my 14-year-old self. I certainly knew all of them by that age, having nearly been given some serious licks from my mother when at three years old I complied with her request to repeat the 'bad words' I had heard. And let's take time to note that 14 for me was more than a few years ago.

So does the Minister expect me to believe that he thinks profanity in literature books is going to affect today's youth? Minister, in case you haven't got the memo, today's "schooler's" are having sex and recording it via cellphone to share among their peers and anybody else who cares to see it. Minister, today's youth - male and female - will sell their bodies for a pair of sneakers, or a hot cell phone, or insert material good here. Minister, today's youth prefer to take to school in their backpacks, not books but the following items:- bleaching cream, shoe polish, mirror, jewelery, weed, knives and in some cases guns.

So I doubt that profanity in a literature book is gonna affect them much. Hell, before we start working on removing books from the system shouldn't we be trying to get the kids to pick them up in the first place?



P.S. And Minister since you seem so interested in profanity in literature books, should we expect that Shakespeare will be on the list of offending books since some of what he wrote was considered profanity back in his day? And seriously, shouldn't we be having a discussion on what makes a word "bad"? And Minister since you want to sterilize the books shouldn't you also check for the content in them since not all of them were promoting a puritanical value system? Just some food for thought Minister.