November 2007

Jamaican Diaspora Southern United States

200 S. Biscayne Blvd., Suite 2750,

Miami, FL  33131

786-349-2584 (U.S.) ● 876-621-0102 (Jamaica)

Facsimile: 786-551-0785

Email:      info@marlonhill.com                                                                                              http://www.diaspora.org.jm

MICO Alumni Association of South Florida Elects New Administration

The MICO Alumni Association of South Florida at the annual general meeting on October 1, 2007 elected a new administrative team for the year 2007 -2008. Errol A. Evans, the current interim principal of South Broward High School in Hollywood, Florida was elected president.  Other members of the new executive are:

• Mr. Tony Brown – President Elect        
• Ms. Beryl Fenton – Secretary
• Mr. Alton Whittick – Assistant secretary
• Ms. Shirley Lindsay – Treasurer
• Mr. George Wellington – Assistant Treasurer

In his acceptance speech Mr. Evans lauded the members of the association for the significant contribution that they have made to the community over the past twenty years. The theme of this year will be “Celebrating Twenty Years and Beyond”. Mr. Evans pledged to keep the association a vibrant entity in the community with plans for mentoring students, sponsoring educational events, and community service to needed organizations. He challenged young Miconians to join the organization, take on leadership roles, and demonstrate to the community the things for which Miconians are known – leadership and quality service to community. The association prides itself in helping fellow Miconians to assimilate into the community. Majority of its members are professional educators who attended the world renowned Mico College in Kingston, Jamaica.

The historical significance of Mico College embodies a tradition of resilience, endurance and relevance especially in the 21^st Century. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the Western Hemisphere. Mico has given sterling service to education for over 170 years. Miconians have always been proud of the contribution of some of its famous and prominent alums. These include the former Governor General of Jamaica Sir Howard Cooke, and government ministers including Dudley Thompson and Delano Franklyn. In South Florida, one outstanding alumnus is George Peddler, Commissioner for the City of Miramar. There are thousands of Miconians all over the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world who are making significant strides in every professional field and business ventures.

The Mico Alumni Association of South Florida will embark on many fund raising ventures in the upcoming year. These will include a Christmas Party on December 8, 2007, an annual family picnic, and the annual dinner dance in April 2008. For further information on the happenings at Mico, please visiting this web site: http://www.micoalumnisf.org

Our prayers go out to the family and friend of Blondell. May her soul rest in peace.

There is no doulbt that Sir Howard Cooke is one of Mico’s most accomplished persona.  Came accross his information on Jamaicahomecoming.com and thought it would be a good idea to share the information with you all.

 Sir Howard Cooke

Date of Birth: 13 November 1915
City: Montego Bay
 
His Excellency the Most Honourable Sir Howard Felix Hanlan Cooke, ON, CD, GC, MG, Governor-General of Jamaica, was born in Goodwill, a small district in the parish of St James on November 13, 1915 to David and Mary Jane Cooke. He was educated at Mico College and at London University.

On his return to Jamaica, Sir Howard taught at Mico College and Practising School. In his twenty-three years of teaching, Sir Howard served as Headmaster at Belle Castle All-Age School, Port Antonio Upper School, and Montego Bay Boys’ School. He has also acted as President of the Jamaica Teacher’s Association.

Sir Howard’s sense of social responsibility led him to politics. In 1938 he became one of the founding members of the People’s National Party (PNP) and was, during his political career, a senator as well as a member of the House of Representatives. He held several portfolios during his political tenure. He was a minister of government, holding various positions including Minister of Pensions and Social Security, of Education, and Labour and the Public Service.

An extraordinary sportsman, Sir Howard captained several teams in cricket and football. He has also worked extensively with the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission and was responsible for establishing several community centres to encourage the development of community talent and self-reliance.

Sir Howard married Ivy Tai on July 22, 1939 and the union produced three children, Howard, Richard and Audrey.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth bestowed a knighthood on Sir Howard (GCMG) in 1991. He has also been honoured for his work by several organizations including the Government of Jamaica and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

THere are times when it is important to record old news. So often we find that our memory of relatively recent events become very elusive because we hear but do not take note.

I have very fond memories of Mr. Downie, having spent three years with him as my VP at Mico.  I got great advice from him when I made the decision to attend college here in the US back in 2000. 

I came accross  the article below on the Jamaica Teachers Association’s web site and thought it fitting for this post.

The Daily Gleaner
9 December 2004

Jamaica is poorer for the passing of stalwart educator and advocate Eric Downie.

As the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture bids him farewell, we reflect on his sterling contribution to nation building and give God thanks that he had allowed him the capacity to give service of distinction to his country.

Mr. Downie belonged to an exceptional cohort of hardworking and committed educators who foster excellence in the education system even at great personal sacrifice.

A Graduate of the Mico College, Mr. Downie has served at various levels of the system.

We remember him as an outstanding lecturer of History at the Mico College where he later served as vice principal for 13 years before he joined the Jamaica Teachers Association as the Secretary General.

Mr. Downie was instrumental in the development of the preliminary programme at the Mico College because he believed firmly in giving students a second chance at academics. Such was his support of the programme and the students that he was dubbed the ‘Godfather of Prelim.’

His selfless service was characterised by humility and passion.

As an advocate, he served as president of the Jamaica Teachers Association defending the interests of his colleagues, but more focused on promoting their professional development.

It was his concern for this area of the teaching profession that led to him giving impeccable service on several education related boards and commissions including the Teachers’ Services Commission, National Council on Education, Mico College Board of Directors and the Jamaica Association of Teacher Educators.

His love for God and love for humanity also led him to serve as moderator for the Lluidas Vale Baptist Church, Lay Preacher and Senior Deacon at the Boulevard Baptist where he was loved and respected as an astute and humble leader.

Certainly, his death is a poignant loss to the education sector.

We honour him for being an excellent role model; for devotion and professional integrity, for commitment to hard work. He was fair, just and unscrupulous in his exuberance for honesty and service to his country.

The Ministry of Education Youth and Culture extends sincere condolence to his wife Cordella; his sons Omar and Varick; their wives Ruth and Suzette and his grandchildren Abigail and Jhana.

KINGSTON, (JIS)
Monday, July 03, 2006

A resolution for the establishment of a scheme that will enable the Mico Teachers College to assume more autonomous functions and extend its scope of collaboration with degree granting institutions, was unanimously supported, when it was laid before the House of Representatives on June 28.

Education and Youth Minister, Maxine Henry Wilson, who piloted the Mico University College Scheme 2006, explained that the move was a step forward in the process of the college gaining university status.

The scheme, she said, would enable the institution to establish the constitution of a board of directors and empower it as the chief policy-making body of the institution; stipulate the powers and duties of the academic board; enable the college to exercise greater flexibility in granting degrees and diplomas and to determine general curricula offerings in keeping with national needs.

The Mico College, the Education Minister noted, has an existing relationship with the University of the West Indies (UWI), whereby the teacher training college has been able to grant degrees such as the bachelor of education degree in primary education and special education degrees. The University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) accredits the degree programmes that are offered.

“Therefore, the proposal for the establishment of the scheme is consistent with our education transformation proposal, whereby teachers will require a first degree to be registered and licensed,” Mrs. Henry Wilson said, outlining that the government’s overarching objective was to have 80 per cent of the nation’s teaching cohort possessing a baccalaureate or undergraduate degree by 2015.

She said that the enhancement in the status of the Mico College would not incur additional expenditure, noting that some $162 million was granted to the institution each year through the Education Ministry. A significant portion of funding to upgrade the institution will be derived from the coffers of the Mico Trust and the Mico Foundation.

Meanwhile, the Minister indicated that the college was undertaking an upgrading programme with most of their staff members now pursuing doctorates as a requirement for the institution gaining university status.

Offering his endorsement of the resolution, Opposition Spokesman on Education and Youth, Andrew Holness remarked that the college “will now be able to provide content and determine a curriculum, which is important to moving towards that status of being a university.”

He proposed that the government examine the creation of tertiary education institutions aimed specifically at exporting trained people to work in foreign countries. “We need to create these tertiary institutions to export trained people, to increase the Diaspora, which in turn increases our remittances, so we may need to look at education as an export industry. We have the capacity here to do it and we should follow the lead of countries like India, the Philippines and Ireland that have looked education as an export industry,” he recommended.

Responding to Mr. Holness’ suggestion, Minster Henry Wilson said the government was engaged in “managed migration programmes, which we are trying to enter into where people can go, spend two or three years somewhere and come back and retain their status here in a professional environment.”

The Education Minister asserted that, “the Caribbean Single Market is what caters to this movement as well, so it is in preparation for all of that, that we have to be making sure that our people are on the cutting edge of accreditation.”

If we stop for a moment and think about it, websites seem mystic only because of the technological method of publishing coupled with the ease and speed of accessing the message or data contained within. Quite contrary to the thinking of a large majority of our population, there is no difference (in principle) between publishing a magazine, book or periodical and a website. If you set about to publish a book, you would first think of your objective, then create an outline of chapters etc. The same holds true for the website. We need to decide on our intended purpose for having the site then decide on the outline and content that will fulfill our particular objective.

It is only after we have written our book within the framework of the outline and objective that we will even attempt to contact a publishing house. Sure, we will want to get the input of our publisher where cover design and methods of marketing and distribution are concerned but we need to have the book in hand first. The same is true of our websites.

Often, organizations and individuals will decide that they need a web site to market their product or message or just to establish a presence.  Instinctively they know that a website will help their cause but they usually omit the very important step of providing the material or data that is required to make the website functional. Imagine going to your publisher and saying “I want you to publish a book that explains how motivate people to work together”.  As would be expected, his first task would be to proof read the book, but if you did not provide this book where would it come from? Publishers have to be knowledgeable about ink, printers, paper, typesetting and channels by which you can get your book to market, but they don’t write the books or magazines or periodicals and the same is true for webmasters. In the case of web sites, the webmasters are concerned with Hypertext Markup Language (html), servers, web hosting accounts, and bandwidth and page organization.