In a speech highlighting the value of education and national identity, former prime minister PJ Patterson pushed for the inclusion of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education in the national curriculum.
At the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, he recently gave a speech at the book launch of Professor Dianne Austin-Broos’ biography of Wills O. Isaacs.
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The need for an all-encompassing educational strategy was emphasized by Patterson, who is currently a Statesman-in-Residence at the PJ Patterson Institute for Africa Caribbean Advocacy at UWI.
The former PM noted, “As a people, we need to know how we got to where we are and, with that knowledge, determine where we want to go.”
Patterson’s support of STEAM education—an interdisciplinary curriculum that integrates math, science, technology, engineering, and the arts—occurs at a critical juncture for Jamaica. In order to foster future innovators, he emphasized the significance of developing imagination and practical abilities at a young age.
Patterson made an argument for the arts’ equality with STEM disciplines based on the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission’s 2021 report’s recommendations.
Drawing a picture of an all-encompassing educational system, he emphasized, “The Arts must be as important and functional to our being and continue progress as a nation, as the Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.”
He made a further connection between education and national identity, saying that knowing “the real meaning of Emancipation Day and the intrinsic value of Independence Day” on a collective level requires a thorough comprehension of disciplines throughout the spectrum.
Patterson used the book launch as an opportunity to discuss the connections between history, education, and national growth.
The book Politics in an Island State: Wills O. Isaacs, Jamaica’s Struggle for Development by Austin-Broos was also commended by him as “a well-researched, lucid, and fascinating story of Jamaica’s struggle for development over decades, revealed through the biography of Wills Ogilvy Isaacs, a towering pioneer in the annals of our evolution as a sovereign democratic nation-state.”
“A literary testament to one who dedicated himself completely to improving the welfare of the Jamaican people,” Patterson said of the book.
The former prime minister urged Jamaicans to “work unstintingly, no matter what the cost, in building Jamaica—the verdant, resilient, pleasant, and blessed land we love” as he considered Isaacs’ legacy.
