Arts and education

As I stood jammed tight in a crowd of swooning, crooning women outsinging Lionel Ritchie at last night’s Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival in Montego Bay, I had a thought: “What if we were to use music to educate Jamaican children?”

Throughout his show, Ritchie had stopped and stared incredulously at the audience that knew every word of every song he sang, every pause, inflection and nuance of the recording – from the first note to the last, the audience knew it. There is something about music that makes us remember and recall, that makes us feel good and connect emotionally. No one last night had time to fuss or fight – all were caught up in the music of the moment, for almost two hours of rapture and bliss.

I got deeper insight this morning when I opened an e-mail that detailed a program in Venezuela called El Sistema. The article reads in part:

In the poor hillside neighborhood of Chapellín and at nearly 250 other locales throughout this nation, tens of thousands of young Venezuelans are learning to play classical music and to make art a permanent cornerstone of their lives. They're the latest recruits of El Sistema, or the System, a 34-year-old program that many regard as a model not only for music instruction but for helping children develop into productive, responsible citizens.

El Sistema is the brainchild and lifelong spiritual mission of José Antonio Abreu, 69, an economist and politician. When he started the program in the early 1970s, with 11 children and a handful of volunteers operating out of a garage, a few skeptics scoffed at the idea of imparting classical music to the disadvantaged. Today, around half a million children are enrolled in El Sistema's training centers, called nucleos, and the program has been copied throughout Latin America and in Europe. "Art education is an essential component of the educational system," says Abreu, a deceptively soft-spoken man with the fiery social conscience of a Jesuit reformer, speaking at El Sistema's central offices here. "It cannot be a peripheral element. It's not possible that a child would have access to an arts education as an option, by accident or out of charity. Because an aesthetic formation is that which touches our sensibility. Art and religion influence, definitely, the formation of our values."

The Jamaican education system is woefully lacking in attention to the arts. Few schools have meaningful music programs, where children are trained in the rudimentaries of music. There is only one tertiary institution devoted to the arts. Art is a viewed as a subject for those who don’t have the “smarts” for science. There is little or no incorporation of the God-given human talent for artistic expression and creativity in the pedagogy. It is chalk and talk. No sing, dance, draw, play and learn.

I have read that there is a neurological similarity between math and music i.e. the brain functions and uses the same patterns for learning math as for music. My actuary friend once explained it somewhat simplistically to my math-challenged, yet music-loving mind that music is all about rhythm and pattern and so is math. Big learning for me!

My mind has been running wild all morning – could we teach spelling and reading by singing? Could we teach math through music and biology through dance? Could we teach English and Geography through art? History through drama? I am not a trained teacher, which may be why I feel free to ask such questions. As I watch and listen to my 13 year old son who is totally demotivated by the boredom and drudgery of his sedentary curriculum-bound teachers, learn every popular song word for word in no time flat, I somehow believe that this could be a missing link in true, abiding education of our nation’s children.

I am further fascinated by Sr. Abreu’s statement: "an aesthetic formation is that which touches our sensibility. Art and religion influence, definitely, the formation of our values." Could the much touted decline of values in our society have anything to do with the decline, or indeed absence of and inattention to the arts in our society? Could the aggressiveness, the intolerance and the violence in our society possibly be related to the lack of "aesthetic formation"?

We need to ask different questions about our education system. We need to stop asking questions like "What’s wrong with the children of today" and "Why can’t boys sit still and learn" and "Why are girls outperforming boys" and instead ask questions about what motivates and engages our children, what interests them, how we can build on that and redesign our education system around those responses. Our children are already learning – if we want them to learn different things, then we need to use the approaches that engage and inspire them. I would love them to feel the same bliss and rapture that Lionel Ritchie's audience felt last night as they are being educated. Then, they will be truly motivated - not by others, but by their true inner selves.

What the leader must do in times of crisis - crime in Jamaica

There is a sense of panic in Jamaica over the recent spate of abductions mostly of young women. Consistent with panic are the decisions people make – not going out at night, not exercising early in the morning, suspending after-school activities, cancelling events. There is no rational decision making when people are in a state of hysteria. I understand that many of the reports of abduction are not true. This does not matter to people anymore as they are now fearful not just of abductions, but of everything – going to the supermarket, travelling to and from work, walking on the street, sitting in their homes, watching TV, etc.. As the stories spread, mushroom and multiply, so does the hysteria and frenzy. No conversation nowadays is without some story of a recent abduction, usually begun with “I hear that ….”

As I reflect on my recent keynote speech to the Caribbean Association of Indigenous Banks in Barbados, it occurs to me that our political leadership would be well-advised to follow my 6-step “CRISIS” formula for leading in times of crisis.

Communicate – there is an paucity of information about the abductions, which creates a vacuum which by natural law must be filled. In the absence of the facts, people will create stories. The first step of the leadership therefore is to give the populace the facts – how many true abductions have been reported, the status of the investigations and perhaps some report on the rumoured abductions. There must also be clear, ongoing communication about the solutions that are being implemented. Leaders MUST speak the truth

Respect - our leadership needs to respect and listen to the voice of the people. There are many that have great ideas about how to solve crime, but they are not to be found in the hallowed halls of power, nor in academia, but rather “pon di corner” or even in the prisons! Listen more than talk is always good advice to politicians!

Independent – the leadership itself must not get caught up in the hysteria. The Parliament is slated to take a conscience vote on the issue of the death penalty tomorrow. Each parliamentarian must stay independent of the panic about crime, examine the facts and figures, weigh the issues and then vote as he or she TRULY feels – not by what they think is expected of them by their constituents

Stay on message – leadership must find a message that resonates with the people in terms of authenticity, and then stay on it. To say “we are in control, don’t worry” is not very authentic nor reassuring in these circumstances, as crime continues to run rampant. A message such as “Together, we can create peace” or some such thing is what is needed

Invicibility – the leadership of the nation MUST send clear messages that they WILL solve the crime problem. I would like to see some targets set, for example, reduction in murders, and a focused, targeted action plan implemented, along with monthly reporting on progress. The criminals MUST get the message that they will not conquer the people, and that law and order will prevail

Smile – throughout all this, the people need to see leadership that is calm and collected and that is not afraid (perhaps dispensing with some of their own security detail).

Now more than ever we need leadership that does not succumb to fear – we need leadership that can rise about the crisis and take the tough decisions required.

Lessons in Leadership – Jamaica Football

Captain Horace Burrell, the President of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) first assumed office in 1994 and boldly stated that he would take the Jamaican team to France for the World Cup finals in 1998. Although he faced many obstacles and hardships, he stuck to his vision, took tough decisions and delivered on his promise. One of the key factors in delivering on his promise was the hiring of Professor Rene Simoes as the Technical Director.

Captain Burrell relinquished the Presidency in 2003 to Crenston Boxhill and wrestled control once more in 2007 where he vowed once more to take Jamaica to the world cup finals, this time South Africa in 2010. Shortly after assuming the office the second time around, the Captain took a tough decision to dismiss then Technical Director Bora Milutinovic. He turned to his good friend Professor Simoes who arrived in Jamaica in January 2008. Over the last 14 years the Captain and the Professor developed a deep mutual respect for each other and were very close friends.

Jamaica was drawn in the proverbial “Group of Death” for the CONCACAF semi-final qualifiers alongside Mexico, Honduras and Canada. Everyone knew it was going to be tough to be one of the two qualifiers from this Group. Mexico, the perennial kingpins of CONCACAF was expected to go through, however Honduras and Canada were no walkovers. Having lost the first three matches, and with Jamaica’s chances of qualifying literally hanging by a string, Captain Burrell had to take a tough decision. The fact that it involved the future of Professor Simoes, his very close friend and one well loved by Jamaicans, made it very difficult. Shortly after 1 am in Honduras, the decision was taken and Professor Simoes was no longer employed to coach the Jamaica National Football Team.

What lessons can we learn? Some persons agreed with the Captain, while many said it was cruel – he should have waited. The fact is that as leaders we are always faced with tough decisions, we may not always take the “right” decision, but we must be decisive and work with what we have done.

I reflect on the tenure of Mrs. Portia Simpson-Miller as Prime Minister. She was faced with tough decisions regarding persons very close to her. Most notably was then Minister Phillip Paulwell who should have been held accountable for the cement debacle which crippled the construction industry for months. He should have been held accountable for the Trafigura Affair. Unfortunately, Mr. Paulwell was the greatest supporter of Mrs. Simpson-Miller leading up to the PNP Presidential race in 2006 and thereafter. It is my opinion that had Mrs. Simpson-Miller taken the tough decision and stripped Mr. Paulwell of his Ministerial responsibilities, she would most likely have won the General Election in 2007. Instead her popularity rating snowballed from in the 70’s in March 2006 to the 40’s by time the election was called.