PHILIPSBURG:--- Too often we half-forget the wisdoms of our grandparents and great-grandparents. This of course is lamentable and tragic. It is time that we remember and endorse the other part of our grandmother and grandfather's wisdom notes to achieve wholeness as individuals and as a society.
Most of us are familiar with the saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." We use this colourful expression routinely to state that from our dwelling place, from our little Caribbean island, from where we are standing, what takes place educationally in the overdeveloped countries in Western Europe and the USA and Canada or even the emerging economic powers in Asia, and what people in those countries have materially and we don't because we lack their educational system, is simply extraordinary. We consider ourselves deprived and long to be there; we dream of having those mountains of things and those degrees that they have. We mightn't be so impressed when we finally get the opportunity to travel to these places and study in order to obtain what they have, as well as we might be. What we experience there might exceed our expectations. When this is the case we declare to those who stayed at home that the grass not only seemed greener, but is indeed brighter in these faraway places.
Since some of us indeed encounter greener grass in the rich people's world, while others do not and most even experience those pastures as drier than what they were used to on St. Martin (Sint Maarten & Saint Martin), the truth will always depend on whose story you find more appealing. Aware of this, our elders in the Caribbean improvised on the saying, thus, "the grass might be greener on the other side of the fence, but the mangoes in your own backyard are the sweetest".
This improvisation, that I first heard coming out of the mouth of my grandmother, remains an act of sheer genius. It recognizes that there are indeed far more opportunities for an individual to excel in the Western world. If the metaphor of "grass" represents dominant global conceptions of what it means to enjoy what is considered a good education, and therewith be able to live what is considered a good life—all westernized standards I might add—then of course what you can find in the West is the best. Some individuals from St Martin who make quite a life for themselves in the Netherlands, France, the USA or Canada, perform the truthfulness of this social fact. They are persons graced with the right amount of perseverance, skill, discipline, sacrifice, and luck. Their success gives reality effect to the saying. Where the Caribbean improvisation of the saying gets truly interesting is the acknowledgment that one ought not to compare one's grass to that of elsewhere. Instead one needs to look at one's mango trees. Cultivate these trees, which in this case should be considered a metaphor for one's educational institutions, so that these will allow you the good life on the island—based on St. Martin standards open to global understandings. It is in this spirit that you the reader are being offered a report of the fruits that the mango tree called the University of St. Martin (USM) bore in 2014, and some cues on what to expect in 2015.
The President and vice-President of the Board of USM, Mrs. Valerie Giterson-Pantophlet and Mr. Wycliffe Smith, took the lead in promoting a USM firmly grounded and committed to serving the people of St. Martin. This was necessary after what can only be aptly termed, borrowing graciously from Pope Francis, the slumbering spiritual Alzheimer that the institution had succumbed to due management strategies lacking the right connection to current realities. An awakening was necessary.
This animation took the form of seeking both internal and international recognition of USM. The latter led to the publication of 3 articles in 2014 in internationally peer reviewed academic journals by USM staff. The last essay, entitled "Reparaties als een hedendaagse uiting van de permanente revolutie. een standpunt" (Reparations as an expression of a permanent revolution), was published in the Bijdragen en Mededelingen betreffende de Geschiedenis der Nederlanden (BMGN)/Low Countries Historical Review (LCHR). The BMGN/LCHR is the journal of the "Koninklijk Nederlands Historisch Genootschap/Royal Dutch Historical Society", the largest and most influential organization of professional historians in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
This move to publish took second seat to the more important matter of working internally and practically. A step in between was the publication of "Notes on the Making of a Nation within the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Conceptual Clarity on Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Culture as it relates to Sint Maarten." The Department of Interior and Kingdom Relations (BAK) and that of General Affairs took care of this publication with the then Prime Minister, and now MP, Mrs. Sarah Wescott-Williams, providing the foreword for the essay. Through the efforts of Mr. Tom Woods, Mrs. Andrea Ortega-Oudhoff, Mr. Joeri Arion, and Mrs. Okama Epke-Brook, it became the handbook for the National Development Plan workers on the island.
Getting to the heart of the matter of grounding USM took the form of an initial appraisal of the wants and needs of businesses, government, NGOs, and those of the everyday people who also have the capacity to either make or break St. Martin. This information enriched the vision plan for the future of USM penned by the new management that was put in place by the board of the institution. There was an acknowledgement that St. Martin's spectacular economic growth was not accompanied by sufficient investment in making all sectors of the population educationally and socially resourceful. This resulted in a civil corps where many civil servants lack proper degrees (notwithstanding the competencies they acquired through work experience). Coownership became a slogan, and more importantly, a strategy. The USM had to be considered part of the island's commons – like for instance the beaches and the mango trees in the wild are our public goods – something owned by all St. Martiners for all St. Martiners (Sint Maarteners & Saint Martinoise).
Strategic partnerships needed to be established from the conception, implementation, and evaluation of the educational offerings of USM. This was done with much success thanks to the invaluable cooperation of individuals and institutions that deserve acknowledgment. With Mrs. Miralva Keli-Cicilia of the department of Personnel & Organization of the government of Sint Maarten the project "Towards a General Liberal Arts degree: Specialized Certificate program for Sint Maarten Civil Servants" was launched. The concept is a simple one. The department of Personnel & Organization would coordinate the process enabling those civil servants who lack a university diploma, or who needed training to follow tailor-made courses at USM. This is done in the form of certificates, some of which are rewarded with university credits. Once the civil servants obtain the 67 credits, they receive an Associate's Degree of USM. Funds were secured for this project through Ms. Angela Dekker the director of USONA Sint Maarten and Mrs. Wideke Vijverberg and Mrs. Jasmijn de Jong of the department of Interior & Kingdom Relations. The director of that department, Mr. Marc Arnold lent his invaluable support. Mention also needs to be made of Mrs. Oldine Bryson-Pantophlet and Mr. Gerard Richardson of the Social Economic Council (SER) and Mr. Cylred Richardson, Head of the Ambulance Department of St. Maarten. 175 civil servants have already gotten the opportunity to follow courses and training at USM—ranging from courses in French, English, Spanish, Policy Writing, Planning Organization & Time Management, and Disaster Management—through this program. In 2015 we continue at the end of February with 3 courses—Introduction to Business, Interpersonal Communication & Public Relations, and Introduction to Caribbean Studies with a focus on Social Work. 25 persons handpicked by Mrs. Aida Boirard of the Department of Community Development, Family & Humanitarian Affairs will be able to do the course. This time around the participants will consist of NGO workers who work closely with government and civil servants. The funding comes from the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labor, thanks to the efforts of the now sitting MP, Mr. Cornelius de Weever.
For the business sector a similar program as the one mentioned above was devised. It is entitled "Towards an Associate Degree in Business Management for St. Martin Professionals". Thanks to the cooperation of Mr. Derek Downes and Mrs. Sherry-Anne Casey-MacNamara of the Windward Island Bank, this program was initiated with 24 employees of that bank. These persons have taken USM courses in business for 12 credits, and those who passed are well on their way to achieving the 67 credits necessary to gain their USM degree. In 2015 we hope to continue with the WIB and extend this with collaborations with the SHTA and other businesses.
And this is just a first step in building the educational capacity of St. Martiners, as USM has teamed up with Monroe College in New York to produce a joint brochure and an articulation agreement allowing persons with an Associate Degree of our institution to continue and gain an internationally recognized bachelor. 2 years St. Martin and a direct option for two years in cosmopolitan New York. And who knows even a master's degree, as the sky is the limit. Instead of brain drain, here is a case of brain circulation enriching the island. This USM strategy builds on an older agreement with Johnson & Wales University and other institutions with which the institution has articulation agreements. Johnson & Wales and Monroe College are by the way the preferred providers of the Department of Study Financing, and by aligning ourselves with these institutions, USM facilitates not only the working population but also St. Martin youths coming out of high school. Parents can opt to have their children mature on the island and then head out to the wider world with the necessary discipline and commitment to return and work for the island.
Beginning in February of this year, USM will hold ceremonies to hand out the certificates obtained by those individuals who passed the courses in both the certificate programs with government and with the WIB. One of the highlights during the ceremonies will be the presentation of the CD and video clip done with the children of the "I Can Foundation" and the "Talking Drums Foundation" on enhancing tourist awareness. The well-known artists, Mighty Dow and Sunshine & Blossom, also feature on the CD. This project was done by collaborating with the Rotary Club of Sint Maarten under the presidency of Mrs. Maria Buncamper-Molanus.
The same club currently led by Mr. Danny Ramchandani, and assisted by Mr. Aadu Abel, have donated monies to USM in the form of a scholarship for the pre-USM program. This adds to the support of Mr. Vasco Daal and Ms. Wanuki Hodge of Windward Island Bank, and Mr. Perry Wilson of the First Caribbean International Bank in the form of soft loans for parents who might not have all the means to pay for their son or daughter to do the program. The pre-USM program was launched in August 2014. It is the brainchild of USM working together with business and government. Specifically the honourable Minister Claret Connor and the honourable MP, Ms. Tamara Leonard, who both at the time led the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce & Industry and are USM lecturers, were instrumental in getting the program off the ground. On the side of government, Mr. Antonio Aventurin and Mr. Calvin Mardembrough of the Department of Study Financing gave the necessary input and support. Now as far as the program is concerned, the pre-USM caters to the brightest minds of PSVE, Sundial, Milton Peters College, and St. Dominic who have left high school with a TKL or PKL degree or equivalent CXC certification (10th grade) but have the potential, given a second chance, to qualify for university. Within a year individuals enrolled in the pre-USM program gain a GED degree and do 8 pre-academic courses in subjects such as Mathematics, Multilingual Appreciation, and Life Sciences. They also do job training at local business mediated through the coordinator of the Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Ms. Tytania Archangel. Once a pre-USM student graduates with a 490 score for their GED, and pass all the pre-academic courses, they are eligible to apply for study financing and can enroll in one of the USM's academic programs. This too is about closing the gap between economic development and the educational resources of the population; human capital in short.
The last fruit that the mango tree called the USM bore in 2014 was a Computer and Social Media course for senior citizens sponsored by Mr. Danny Ramchandani and Prime Distributors. This was collaboration between USM and Mr. Raymond Jessurun representing the senior citizens and pensioners of Sint Maarten. Mr. Julian Lake, the It specialist of the government of St. Martin, volunteered to give the course. The former Minister of Education, Culture, Youth & Sports, Mrs. Patricia Lourens-Philip (and her staff, Ms. Maria Cijntje-van Enckvort and Ms. Claudette Forsythe Labega, who have been assisting USM in professionalizing its Teacher Education Program), fully endorsed the project as she understood that it is about equipping our elders to whom we owe much with the resources to pass on their knowledge in this digital age.
This brings the matter full circle for the sweet mangoes of the USM belong to all St. Martiners, young and old, wealthy and poor, newcomers and oldcomers....This year the entire USM staff from the cleaners to those who work in management, supervised by the board, will continue doing our best to serve you with you, making the saying "the grass might be greener on the other side of the fence, but the mangoes in your own backyard are the sweetest" a truth you will remember.
USM Press Release
