Giving Back.

Having been to several High School reunions, my interest has been peaked and I sometimes wonder where and why am I not going or hosting for the schools I so much am attached to. After doing some research, I amazingly arrived at the conclusion that a great majority thinks that giving back means monetary contributions.
Being a past student of the Alva Primary School in St Ann, Jamaica, I would like to bring out the awareness that although monetary contribution is very important, the contribution of motivation weighs heavily on young minds and if starved of the visibility of the successes channeled through their schools, districts, towns, etc, the route for and choosing a direction can be of a challenge to say the least. Knowing that it has been proven repeatedly that effective learning has great relationships with, 'what you live', 'a picture is worth a thousand words', 'lead by examples', I would like to implore all to, instead of visiting for only fun and frolic, make some effort to visit your schools and give talks when possible. I would also like to bring out the fact that having an established alumni group, actively involved in the well being of your schools, and having a feed down to the students' level, will obviously highlight the successes of all in the school and this will, without the shadow of a doubt, raise the level of positive competition and increase effort.

Who is this

Achiever is the seventh of sixteen children whose parents, a farmer and a housewife, struggled to provide for them through the rearing of animals and the planting and marketing of cash crops. Born on August 28, 1934 young Achiever attended the Prickley Pole Elementary School. At age 17, he transferred to the Alva Elementary school as a private student. He remained there until age 19 when he passed the Jamaica Local Examination and became a probationary teacher. Three years later, he enrolled at the Mico Teachers' College. In 1960, on successful completion of his studies at Mico, he secured a post at the Bensonton All-Age School in St. Ann. Subsequently, he was appointed to the position of principal of several schools including the labyrinth elementary in St. Mary, Mount Waddy and Golden Grove All-Age and Aabuthnott Gallimore High Schools in the parish of St. Ann. In 1971, Achiever graduated from the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Achiever, an involved community member and builder, has held several positions including vice-chairman of the board of management of the Johnstone Kennedy High School, president of the Armadale approved school association, field coordinator and member of the St. Ann JAMAL committee. On four separate occasions he was appointed the president of the Kiwanis club of Alexandria. He is the regional coordinator of the national youth service for the parishes of Trelawny, St. Mary and St. Ann. As a foundation member of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), Achiever has figured prominently in the development of the association. Over the years, he served as the general council representative and as the president of several sub-sections of the association. For his efforts he received several awards from that organisation including the Edith Dalton James service award and the Golden Torch award for long and meritorious service. He also received other awards for outstanding work in community service including the Kiwanis international new club building Award of Excellence, HEART Trust Service Award and the Anglican diocese of Jamaica long service award for faithful service to education. A committed Anglican, he has served as lay preacher and rector's warden. Achiever Achiever, you are recognised as a man of great counsel and an outstanding role model. We salute you, as the recipient of the Governor General's Achievement Award for the parish of St. Ann in 1999.

Positive Reasoning: Bush Stewart slaps Motty Perkins with second libel...

Positive Reasoning: Bush Stewart slaps Motty Perkins with second libel...: "I am surprised at the fact that Motty Perkins has been slapped with a libel suit from Butch Stewart when it's common knowledge that the word..."

Bush Stewart slaps Motty Perkins with second libel suit.

I am surprised at the fact that Motty Perkins has been slapped with a libel suit from Butch Stewart when it's common knowledge that the words did not come from Perkins, in addition to the protection from the broadcasting corporation in Jamaica. Mr Perkins, as understood by many, is a talk show host and may also be looked upon as a journalist, was repeating the statements made by Andrew Gallimore and, in my opinion, should not be liable for any damages caused by these allegations. See information below........................................................................
........................................................................................................................................Rayal Johnson



Perkins, whose programme Perkins On Line is aired on Power 106FM, along with Independent Radio is being sued for damages arising from the reproduction of a speech, "and or part thereof" on his call-in show, and which was made in Gordon House by Member of Parliament Andrew Gallimore in June 28, 2005.
The suit has been brought by Stewart, political advisor and businessman Chris Zacca and the Air Jamaica Acquisition Group Limited, the entity used by Stewart to take control of the national airline in 1994.
The claimants are also seeking exemplary and aggravated damages, plus interest and an injunction barring any further publication of the "damaging" comments, as well as interest and costs, plus any other relief the court may deem fit.
Gallimore, now the state minister in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, was an Opposition Senator at the time he made the comment in relation to the claimants' management of Air Jamaica of which Stewart was chairman.
Gallimore escaped the lawsuit because he is covered by the defence of absolute privilege that shields parliamentarians from suits for statements made before the House (Upper or Lower) of which they are members.
But Perkins is being sued for broadcasting Gallimore's presentation without checking the accuracy of the allegations with the claimants.
Gallimore's presentation was laced with suggestions that Stewart used Air Jamaica to advance his other businesses, at the expense of the Jamaican taxpayer.
Stewart has maintained that throughout the 10-year period that he held Air Jamaica, he had transformed the airline into something all Jamaicans could be proud of, winning "Best Caribbean Airline" five years in a row from the prestigious London-based World Travel Awards.
"I take my reputation seriously. It is the thing I value most. Nobody is going to play fast and loose with that, without consequences," said Stewart in explaining the lawsuit.
In the suit filed in the Supreme Court on July 13, the claimants say that they have been disparaged by the publication and that the defendants acted maliciously and "out of improper motives" and a desire to cause embarrassment.
"The said words published by the defendants...were calculated to disparage Stewart and Zacca's well recognised, established and unblemished reputations in the field of business, as well as their reputations as outstanding Jamaicans," the suit said.
They are contending that their reputation and character have been "severely injured" as a result.
About the same time last year, Stewart sued Perkins and Independent Radio Company for what he said were defamatory statements made about him and his companies "over an extended period of time" between 2004 to 2008.
That suit which also named Zacca and AJAG as the other claimants, alleged that Power 106 and Perkins "published and caused to be published false accusations of unlawful, corrupt and wrongful conduct by the claimants in collaboration with the then Government in the operation of Air Jamaica by the Gordon Stewart-led AJAG, which was damaging to the airline and to Jamaica and its people".
The suit also alleged that Perkins and Power 106 "permitted and allowed callers to make allegations defamatory of the claimants".

Dudus' Capture

Should Pastor Al Miller be considered a man who does his civic duty? Analyzing what has transpired and relating the incidents to the expected code of conduct, one can only arrive at the conclusion that the pastor, head of the NTP and supposedly a man who should be obeying the law, is legally, morally and ethically guilty of criminal and immoral acts.

Understanding the meaning of qualifications and the difference between qualifications and experience.

There is a great misunderstanding that propagates through society when it comes to practical knowledge versus theoretical. There are many that continue to believe that if they have several years of experience, they are qualified for posts that require a certain level of qualification. While there is great value in experience, there are several job functions that cannot be done without advanced theoretical background. As one educator puts it, practical is blind without theory and if one should look at that statement with no bias, it sure is an obvious fact. This is infact showing the limitations involved when people learn through rote.
To be continued!!!1

Jamaica's Education System

Jamaica losing ground on education, study finds

Haitian Disaster

It's now common knowledge that the Haitians have suffered enormously, this week, at the hands of an earthquake weighing 7.0 on the richter scale. It's now up to us as people of a humane society to get involved and offer whatever support we can to help in alleviating the pain and suffering suddenly inflicted on our brothers and sisters. There are several volunteer services that are willing and able to help to setup centralized location where donations can be sent. Please be as generous as possible and try not to be a critic in this time of crisis.

I also think I should give a brief description of what the unit of measurement means in determining the size of the quake and do hope we will have a fair appreciation of the damage this can give.

magnitudes	Description	Earthquake effects	Frequency of occurrence
Less than 2.0	Micro	Microearthquakes, not felt.	About 8,000 per day
2.0-2.9	Minor	Generally not felt, but recorded.	About 1,000 per day
3.0-3.9		Often felt, but rarely causes damage.	49,000 per year (est.)
4.0-4.9	Light	Noticeable shaking of indoor items, rattling noises. Significant damage unlikely.	6,200 per year (est.)
5.0-5.9	Moderate	Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions. At most slight damage to well-designed buildings.	800 per year
6.0-6.9	Strong	Can be destructive in areas up to about 160 kilometres (100 mi) across in populated areas.	120 per year
7.0-7.9	Major	Can cause serious damage over larger areas.	18 per year
8.0-8.9	Great	Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred miles across.	1 per year
9.0-9.9		Devastating in areas several thousand miles across.	1 per 20 years
10.0+	Epic	Never recorded; see below for equivalent seismic energy yield.	Extremely rare (Unknown