Janine Mendes-Franco · September, 2014

Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from September, 2014

Will Trinidad & Tobago's Government “Listen, Learn & Lead”?

  30 September 2014

Blogger and public relations professional Dennise Demming is disillusioned with Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who claims to “listen, learn and lead”, but then takes action to the contrary. Demming first cited the example of the country's recent Constitutional Amendment Bill, with which, “despite popular objection, the Government...

Art & Education in Suriname

  29 September 2014

Referring to English art critic Sir Herbert Read‘s book Education Through Art, Carmen Dragman, via Srananart's Blog, looks at the value of art in education, suggesting that the current Caribbean model is shortchanging students by not recognising the power of art as a creative outlet and learning tool: Teachers and...

Why One Trinidadian Father Will Never Hit His Kids

  16 September 2014

Corporal punishment has, for a long time, been ingrained into the fabric of Caribbean societies, with some making the connection between the region's harsh colonial history and its modern day bent towards violence. In many cases, the recipients of such beatings are the most defenseless members of society – children....

Trinidadians Concerned Over “Largest Ever Budget”

  16 September 2014

As the Trinidad and Tobago government, in anticipation of national elections next year, serves up a massive budget, two political bloggers take the country's leaders to task. Afra Raymond, whose blog keeps a close eye on politics, corruption and transparency, provided some disturbing financial context: The Minister of Finance has...

Trinidad & Tobago Needs to Pass the Public Procurement Bill

  10 September 2014

Trinidad and Tobago's Finance Minister yesterday delivered what many are calling a “welfare budget”, but prior to its unveiling in Parliament, blogger Afra Raymond had hoped that “a more restrained approach might be taken.” In examining the country's national budgets since 2005, Raymond found it telling that “many of the...

The Politics of “Pretty” in Jamaica

  10 September 2014

As Laurie-Ann Chin is crowned this year's Miss Jamaica World – apparently despite the live audience's disapproval – Carolyn Joy Cooper, who blogs at Jamaica Woman Tongue, takes on the ugly underbelly of the country's beauty contests. “If you follow these beauty contests, it’s easy to predict the outcome,” she...

The National Gallery of Jamaica Celebrates 40 Years of Home-Grown Art

  4 September 2014

The National Gallery of Jamaica is in the midst of celebrating its 40th anniversary and the gallery's blog has been sharing information about its history and accomplishments: When the National Gallery of Jamaica (NGJ) opened its doors on November 14, 1974 it was the English-speaking Caribbean’s first national gallery, and...

Fashion Trends in Trinidad's Capital

  3 September 2014

The way people dress offers a glimpse into the culture of a place; Maya Cozier manages to capture the urban vibe of Trinidad's capital city in a short video which interviews several fashion forward young people who live and work in and around Port of Spain. Blogger Ceola Belix is...

Is the Caribbean Education System Dumbing Down Kids?

  3 September 2014

As the new school year begins in many Caribbean territories today, blogger Guyana-Gyal, who writes in local parlance, questions the new direction education is taking throughout the region. From the practice of making children tote heavy backpacks instead of simply asking them to bring to class only the books they...