Jamaica

• **Introduction –JAMAICA**

Map of Jamaica 1 ** -Brief overview of selected country ** Jamaica is an island, south of Cuba, surrounded by the Caribbean Sea that was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1494. African slaves replaced Taino Indians that originally inhabited the Island. Once governed by England, the economy established by agriculture and the production of sugar, cocoa and coffee. 128 years after abolition of slavery, Jamaica became fully independent from Britain in 1962. Jamaica has a land area of 10,831 sq km. It has a population of approximately 2,847,000 people. It has a tropical, hot/humid climate.



Jamaican Flag 1 ** -How their general view of arts education is reflective of their culture ** The culture of Jamaica is impacted primarily by African, British and Spanish influences. Jamaican arts are reflective of these different influences. For example, graphic arts in Jamaica date back to the Taino people who practiced sculpture and pottery, for both art and for the production of everyday tools. Its West African roots incorporated basket and straw mat weaving, seashell art, bead making, embroidery, sewing, and wood carving into their culture. Jamaica’s performing arts also reflective of African heritage. Folk performances include festivals, religious and healing rituals. Traditional performances tend to be more improvisational plays and social commentary prompted by the occasion or social issues of the time. Drama is growing but it is the least developed performing art in Jamaica and music being the most developed. There is a long tradition of classical, folk and religious music but reggae is the most popular genre of music. Dance is also a big part of the culture Local dances are the "jonkonnu," a dance practiced by slaves at Christmas time, "bruckins," from the period after emancipation, and the newer "ska." European dances like the maypole and quadrille are performed, while African dances like the "gerreh," "dinki-mini," and "ettu" were turned into commentaries on plantation living. New dances are constantly emerging, but these older styles are the basis for new moves. Because of extreme amounts of poverty, most parents and families push their children toward higher education as the only way out of poverty. Education

• **Profile of an accomplished artist.** Robert Nesta “Bob” Marley  Bob Marley 1

** -Brief biography of individual ** Bob Marley was born 2/6/1945 to an 18 year old white girl and a 50 year old white quartermaster, in St. Ann Jamaica. He moved to Kingston, Jamaica at where he later quit school to pursue music. He teamed up with Neville “Bunny” Livingston to perfect vocal skills. He recorded his first record “judge not” in 1962, which received little attention. In 1963 he released his first album with a group The Wailers, which had undergone many previous names. Group broke up about ten years later and bringing Bob to pursue a solo career. Bob Marley died of cancer in May 11, 1981 at the age of 36.

** -Examples of his work. **  Hits include: No Woman, No Cry (released 1974), One Love (1977), and I Shot the Sheriff (1973)

**• Profile of a successful arts organization** Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts -**Give a brief history** This is the first visual and performing arts institution in Jamaica that provides professional and technical training in the Arts, offering qualification at the Bachelor, Diploma and Certificate levels. It consists of education in 5 different disciplines of art from music, dance, visual arts, drama and liberal studies. Its goal is to “excellence in arts and culture, by creating a physical and an academic environment which will engender the highest quality study, research, scholarship and the pursuit of academic excellence in the arts”. Once named Jamaica School of Art, it was transformed into a college in 1995 and named after well-known sculptor Edna Manley, who is considered "the mother of Jamaican art". - **Give specific examples of programs offered in schools and in the community** This school provides has four programs: School of Visual Arts, Drama, Dance, and Music, The Department of Education and Liberal Studies and Continuing Education. The Education and Liberal arts programs allows students to take courses in art or music education and management. The school of drama offers acting and directing courses. The school of dance offers a wide range of study from ballet and modern dance to dance history and kinesiology. The school of Visual Arts offers degrees in art education. The school of music offers degrees in music performance, jazz and popular music studies, and music education.

** • Description of teacher training programs and the inclusion of the arts in this training ** There is an insufficient amount of qualified teachers in Jamaica. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is teaming up with the Jamaican Teaching Council to enhance the Jamaican teaching programs by 2015. There are currently 6 teacher training colleges in Jamaica. These programs train educators to be able to teach in various settings, both formal and formal, as a means to reach many people in need of an education. Many primary and lower-level secondary teachers are required to have completed a three year teacher-training program. Most of those teaching secondary education receieve their BA from the University of the West Indies' School of Education

** • General practice or lack thereof of funding arts education programs ** Funding for both the arts and educations is very sparse and has been declining over the years. One organization that helps is a grant foundation called CHASE. However it is hard for foundations like this to help everyone needing funding. Chase gives 15% of their money to the arts and the rest is distributed among education, health and sports. Their primary focus is on projects that encourage development, not so much commercial projects that bring some type of economic gain.

• **Conclusion**

** -How does this compare to your own personal experiences with arts education? **  This is different from the my own personal experience with arts education because our school district began educating us about the arts, like music, art, and drama in elementary school, unlike Jamaica where these subjects usually don’t make it into the curriculum until secondary education. Even in kindergarten I remember singing songs and having drawing time.

-**What surprised you in learning about this country’s practices?** The most surprising thing about Jamaica’s practice is how a lot of its culture is rooted in, not just African culture but also British culture. Before this project I did not know just how much it's art, music and other traditions was influenced by Britain. It was also surprising to find that most schools in Jamaica don’t teach arts to the children until they are in secondary education.