Desmond Allen ON THE front page of its March 28 edition, the Observer carried a rather smug and self-serving story titled "Whiteman angry at press". I didn't think the story was funny because the Education Minister's plea to the media for support and understanding carries far greater significance than the paper appeared to comprehend.
For one, the lead sentence of the story read "Education Minister, Burchell Whiteman, yesterday took umbrage with the press, particularly the Observer for what he characterised as unfair reporting on problems in the island's schools." Collier's Dictionary advises that one takes 'umbrage at' and not 'umbrage with'. And there were quite a few other errors of a grammatical nature in that edition. The point is: education is everybody's business. It's not a laughing matter.
I'm inclined to have a soft spot for the education ministers. And Mr. Whiteman comes closest to the ideal minister of education. It's going to be hard to find one more tolerant, caring and committed. That is why I understand his cry of pain. It is not about himself or his performance in the job. It is about the need to take a long hard look at the problems in education and to dig hard to find solutions rather than seeking sensation. God help us if Mr. Whiteman fails!
TVJ's loss, Air Jamaica's gain
Sandrea Falconer has soared out of the newsroom of TVJ onto the wings of Air Jamaica, taking over as head of communication. I guess I should congratulate her. Air Jamaica is a really dynamic place to be at this time. But I have to admit that I don't like to see newsroom stalwarts leave. Still, I expect great things of her. Good luck, girl.
Spike readers' comments
Dear Mr. Allen, I must say you are old and miserable as you suggest "Against His (David Heron's) Will", Spike March 27), because it is this same attitude towards sexual education for our young children why so many myths and mis-information still exist in the area. As a man of information (reporter), I would have thought that you would have encouraged more parents to expose their children to these and other issues.
I have seen the play (Against His Will) and thought that our children must be educated as to what the issues are and what are the appropriate behaviours for such an environment. I am in no way purporting that we expose our children to explicit material, however, for far too long, we have allowed our children to grow up believing children came from storks or arrive in the night. In Jamaica today, it is a fact that children as young as age 10 are diagnosed with HIV and they were not born with it. This suggests that they are having sex and we need to educate them. Even before age seven. The days of hiding things from children are long gone. The advent of today's new technology makes it so.
Maybe "Against His Will" was not the most appropriate educational tool but it's a start. Who are you to say that those parents have no values? Isn't that using your value system to judge what values they have? I forgot the term for that. What a boring place the world would be if we all had the same values.
Sincer.com.
Hi Spike, I have been wondering what became of the Sunday Herald's Winston Wilson, Jr., until I saw The Sunday Gleaner of March 25. The Showbiz article on UTECH's World Music was written in what I knew to be his inimitable style, so I made a few checks and lo and behold! I found out that he had jumped ship from the Sunday Herald to The Gleaner. Well, the Herald's loss is The Gleaner's gain. I look forward to reading more of Winston Wilson in The Gleaner.
John Farraday farrjohn68@hotmail.com
Seen and Heard
Junior Dowie just doesn't stop. Did you see his photo of Courtney Walsh hugging his mom at the airport, after arriving to celebrate his 500-wicket feat, in The Gleaner, March 23, page one. It was very touching and a great human interest shot. And Joseph Wellington's shot of Prime Minister P.J. Patterson warmly embracing new JLP Member of Parliament, Shahine Robinson, Observer front page, March 21. Two big Spike bouquets for these two fantastic shots. Pity somebody had to go and spoil that issue of the Observer by running this headline "Sub-captain takes blame for fishing boat sinking", page 15. Would you believe they are talking about the captain of a boat and not an assistant captain or some such rank?
"It premiered four years ago and, says Mr. Heron, has unquestionably been the most successful (of his player) commercially." From The Sunday Gleaner, 'Against His Will now steamier', March 18, page 11E. 'Of his player?' Oh, maybe they meant 'of his plays'. I have just received the January issue of Mona News out of the UWI. I'm thankful for small mercies but I'm getting literary indigestion from reading so much stale news, some dating back to August last year! There are worthy things to read in there, but it's not a publication about history, good people.
Pure Class in the Sunday Herald is usually well proof-read. But someone slipped in the article "Tao - answer for frustrated women", March 11-17, page 3, and insisted on spelling the verb 'practise' as 'practice', which is the noun.
Here's a rare find in the Business Observer, "Digicel late, but will reach 80 per cent at start", March 28, Page 4B: "Digicel will not meet its March 31 deadline, for start up, but once up and running, 80 per cent of the Jamaican population will be covered, the company chief operating officer, Seamus Lynch, said last week." People, they meant 'the company's chief operating officer".
Send spikeables to spike@jol.com.jm;desal@cwjamaica.com or fax to 926-0295.
