Campbell's Commentary - GENERATION X. EDUCATION H. COVID19

By Aubrey Campbell

NEW YORK, NY. Tuesday, July 14, 2020 --After the storm there’s always a calm but that adage may not hold true in this instance.

We are still in the eye of the pandemic, evidenced by the news coming out of the Southeast and Midwest regions of the country. This virus will be around for quite a while, making life miserable for many.

It is causing grown and responsible folks to lose their sense and sensibilities.

Case in point.

POTUS Donald Trump says the virus will go away, disappear, and so, he does not need to wear facial covering in public, but this past weekend he changed or should I say, was forced to ‘change course’, and wear a mask. He is the same lying, cheating commander who told us that a few mouthfuls of bleach will get rid of the virus!

Poor thing!

So much for the Commander in Cheat!

The Caribbean as a region continues to do remarkably well in containing the spread of the virus, to the extent that some countries have been COVID 19-free for the past two months!

So, just imagine how furious Juliet Holness became, on learning that folks traveling to Jamaica, are ignoring the approved protocols to wear a mask and social distance, as the country remains resolute in its fight against the virus, the kind of fight that, as unpopular as it might be to some, has and continues to earn the country and the ruling JLP administration, much kudos from the international community.

What is interesting is who Juliet Holness is and what she said in defense of the government’s anti-covid19 regimen.

Mrs. Holness is not only the wife of the prime minister, she is also a member of parliament (MP), who can mix up the lingo to suit the occasion. Telling Jamaicans to ‘scorn dem’, was not a mistake and it may not have been a ‘dis’, either.

Mind you, she could have said it another way. She could have simply said, ‘avoid them’, those persons traveling to Jamaica to ‘show off’, to ‘palave’. That’s what’s wrong with some of us.

How can you not understand what it means to isolate yourself, self-quarantine for x number of days, coming from a COVID19 hot zone, and when you could very well be asymptomatic?

It is therefore unfortunate that she is taking some heat for the comment for being real, for saying it like it is!

Because, Jamaica, like so much of the region depend on the hospitality trade for economic survival, it is not far fetched to see its herculean effort evaporating in the tropical breeze, in a puff, as persons seek refuge from the corona virus, now that the borders are open again!

Are you with me?

The other matter on my chicken chest, has to do with the reopening of schools and the education of Generation X, a generation that we could lose easily, if we are not careful.

Imagine high school and college age youngsters gathering to see if they can catch the virus! Have you heard anything so stupid, recently, well except what’s coming out of the white House?

Parents have one more round coming and it could be another knock down and knock out, inside the mandated three minutes.

Here’s why.

What they are now calling hybrid learning, is nothing more than a revised shift system, something that Jamaica did away with, with a lot of malice. For whatever reason(s), it did not work.

It will have to work now, but don’t bet on it. Students will not be allowed on campus for more than 2 days, max, each week. The other days and hours will be spent in the virtual classroom.

Learning requires careful, in your face supervision, meaning that students with very limited attention span (ADD), will suffer. Access to the virtual classroom will continue to be a challenge for many.

And what about that/those parent(s) who must travel to work and cannot leave the child/children home?

Folks, just take a minute to think it thru’.

131K deaths is a real number, nothing fake about it. Neither is it a conspiracy. What is a conspiracy is the leadership on the Hill, the kind that have some governors, in the name and for the sake of partisan politics, putting the lives of millions at stake at the state and national level.

In yet another swipe on immigration, the Federal government is saying that if you can do all your courses online, you do not need a visa to travel. In other words, tan a yuh yaad!

It is my understanding that this ruling has already impacted scores of persons from the Caribbean and elsewhere who come to summer school and may take the odd job to make ends meet.

Out in the street….!

Ladies and gentlemen, a second wave of the virus could be just around the corner, if you are not careful…

I leave it here and now give you the floor!

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Editor’s note. Aubrey Campbell is producer/host of ‘TCB Wednesdays’, airing on Wednesdays at 12.00 pm – 2.00 pm, on WNYH, 740 AM, and streaming on the Wee Radio Network at; www.weeradioonline.com