Caribbean mentality and the struggle to compete

 Today we conclude our special feature on Tobago-born educator Dr Shaun McKay, president of Suffolk County Community College (SCCC), in New York, who is calling for an overhaul of this country’s education system.

After detailing his strong views on education—both in the United States and his homeland of Trinidad and Tobago—Dr Shaun McKay, president of Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) in New York, broadened the discussion. Earlier, he had identified integrity, transparency, loyalty and communication as the defining characteristics of his presidency at one of Long Island’s premier institutes of higher learning. “I pride myself in bringing everyone to the table—students, faculty, unions, trustees,” the 45-year-old father of three stated.  He ushered in three members of his staff—an administrator and two lecturers—all Caribbean. I was also given the opportunity to later speak with students.

Dr Joy Mahabir teaches global literature at SCCC. She was born in San Fernando, Trinidad, and is a graduate of UWI and Stony Brook University. Joining her was Dr Roslin Khan. She is Guyanese but quickly referred to herself as a “Caribbean person.” A graduate of the University of Guyana, she lectured at UWI, Mona Campus, and was clearly proud of her former position as chief examiner in Spanish at the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC). The third participant was Dr Evon Walters, a Jamaican graduate of the University of Amherst, Massachusetts, and chief academic officer at SCCC. The conversation quickly turned to the impact of culture on education—a reflection of the complexity and multifaceted approach needed to grasp the subject within the Caribbean context.

Mahabir believed that the Diaspora presented the best platform for homogeneity and progressive ideas on education. “At UWI, I didn’t have that Pan Caribbean exposure that exists here...Even within Trinidad there is that insularity that divides writers based on demographics,” she stated, although conceding “that things could have changed for the better,” as she went on to laud the accomplishments of the region since its colonial years. Yet, the conditions of the Diaspora, according to Mahabir, fostered a kind of enlightenment, in addition to being a veritable facilitator of a new kind of “West Indian Federation.” While Khan agreed with the unique bonding among Caribbean nationals abroad, she challenged the “insularity” remark.

“I have to disagree,” she said, citing her work with the Caribbean Examination Council as evidence that educators are innovative and constantly creating curricula that are relevant. “The examiners in Britain adopted some of our approaches...that’s a big deal.” She also identified a growing problem within the US education system “where students fit school around work, and not the other way around.” Interestingly, one of Mahabir’s students, Charles Stephenson, later referred to this flexibility of the US system as “something alien to his homeland” and a possible distraction. Schooled in Jamaica, the 23-year-old Stephenson remembered “the complications of O-Levels and his adjustment to a new environment.

“At times, I wish I hadn’t come,” he said, “because it may have initially robbed me of my educational goals.” Another of Mahabir’s students, 23-year-old Salina Graham, born in the US of Trinidad parentage, agreed with her fellow student about distracting and diverse indulgences that can grip one’s attention.

McKay looked on at the exchange of ideas, interjecting only when prompted to do so—ensuring that the theme of the discourse was upheld. At one point he reminded the group: “We are still not addressing the core problem, which is creating social and economic opportunities through education.” Interestingly, Walters preferred to examine education as an industry in constant flux and in competition with the sports and entertainment business.

It was a provocative insight that forces educators to redefine traditional methods of motivation.

“We have to reframe the message to our youth and somehow make school and teachers attractive in the same way that celebrities are,” he said. In reference to the NBA draft, he whimsically spoke of the day when schools start competing for teachers. “It is a long shot, but a fascinating thought,” he said wryly.

Walter, who returned to Jamaica on an exploratory tour with students in 1997, believed the Caribbean needs to reinvent its educational model and adopt a more diversified, holistic, and what he termed, a “seventh sense” approach. “There are multiple ways to shine, and the region has to get away from the concept of the teacher as custodian of all education,” he said.

Religion, culture and education

Unlike the US, where a strict demarcation of church and state has kept religion out of public schools, the Caribbean experience has been different. Religion, or what some of the professors called “spirituality,” was seen as an invaluable component, a unique part of Caribbean education that should not be undone. The professors agreed that in plural societies like Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Jamaica, studies in comparative religion should be included at all levels of education. It was viewed as the most viable means of promoting cultural understanding and accommodation. The benefits of such an undertaking, they called “immeasurable.” In a shift in focus, the educators debunked the notion that a “Carnival mentality” is a hindrance to growth and development. This, they saw as largely stereotypical, “with some modicum of truth,” according to Walters, who also experienced on his many trips to the region, “a laissez-faire approach to business.”

He said: “In the area of tourism, especially in Jamaica, you see that sense of competitiveness, but that drive does not translate to other areas.” Mahabir, on the other hand, was convinced that the spirited ingenuity of the Caribbean should be not underestimated. “Look, we can deliver the most creative mas band in just a few days,” she said, a point with which she found common ground with Khan. “That in itself is a form of education,” she added. Their views may have occasionally varied, but their love for country and heritage was enthusiastically unanimous. And—most importantly—they completely agreed on Mahabir’s point that “technology and globalisation have brought the Caribbean and Diaspora together.

“We must now look at fruitful opportunities to increase affiliation and assist each other, despite our geographic divide.” In the end, they all nodded in agreement as McKay held sway, repeating his enduring counsel that “the region must venture outside the safe zones” and use its energy and resources for more sustainable growth in other industries, such as software development, telecommunications, medicine, manufacturing, and agriculture. His leadership skills so clearly on display throughout our time at SCCC.