Statement from Dr Cox..

[FACTS ONLY]

STATEMENT BY Dr. Cox:

I have heard many different versions of the stories relating to my involvement and role in shaping the urban renewal initiative and the completion of my tenure with urban renewal in November 2007. And up to this point I have said nothing. A still tongue makes a wise head. But there is a time to speak and a time to watch. And this is the time to speak. To set the record straight.

FIRST. I was not fired. I had a three year contract as consultant to the urban renewal commission. It was decided that the research which myself and my research team would have the opportunity to evolve in such a way as to inform public policy if it were connected to the College of the Bahamas - soon to be University of The Bahamas. Negotiations began to set this up. An agreement was made between COB, myself and the government (around Feb/March 2007). The papers for a position of Senior Research Scholar was agreed upon. The new government was not minded to fullful on this agreement. Nothing further was spoken about this contract and I was unable to get any word on the position regarding the post. My contract, as consultant to Urban renewal was thus extended until November 2007. I did not see the kind of committment, funding, political will, organizational structure, necessary for such an initiative to be successful. When my contract came to an end, I wrote a note thanking the government for the opportunity to serve my country in the capacity of consultant to the urban renewal initiative, and I moved on.

This is not being fired. Governments have the right to choose what they give there energy to and who they chose to employ to assist them in putting their policies into action.

Now. Here’s the thing. This is a critical time for The Bahamas, and indeed for many Caribbean countries. The past thirty-five years past independence have been spent in short-term initiatives and policies. One government comes in, kills the projects of its predecessors, and over time this has a negative effect on development human development.

Much of what I did during my time with urban renewal was about finding and documenting the facts (not facts about the success of urban renewal, urban renewal was merely a vehicle for social and cultural transformation on a national scale, with particular attention to people in tough neighborhoods) and speaking a new vision into being. The visionary part is the most important. Everything begins with a dream, an idea of a new possibility. And when people in tougher neighborhoods have the freedom to dream and, most of all, get that they really can make their dreams come true, then transformation happens. Transformation at the soul level. But this requires work. And the idea of homework/afterschool clubs/classes - outside of school - based in communities, and bands, and music, and all the other clubs that went on these areas, create the context for the community participating in cultural and social process of the country. Its not just about kids getting their homework done. Its about communities remembering to help each other in positive ways, about creative ways of creating the context of public participation in ways that allow for long term engagement.

There’s a lot more I could say about that. But not now.

SECOND

Change has a cycle in The Bahamas, and the caribbean. The first thing people in this country do to a new/novel idea is pour scorn onto it. Usually without fully understanding what they are pouring scorn onto or, most of all, the negative impact of their words. Then, after they have killed the thing, or almost killed the idea, and see that there was some merit, they try and rescue some fragments of it, or slap up an half-baked version of it, rename it and reintroduce it. We would do well to take a more mature approach of observing and reshaping novel concepts, keeping what works for us, and reshaping the parts that are not working as well as we’d like them to.

FINALLY. Urban renewal was not personal. Neither was it political for me. It was what was and still is needed for the country, it was an opportunity to contribute to the country. And that is that.

If my contributions are not needed then so beit. My position on these things: say what you have to say in this life and move on. Those who get it, get it. Those who don’t don’t. Its all good (or as a good of mine puts it, its all God).

But at a national level, at some point, people will start to miss the water, hopefully, they’ll do act before the well runs dry.

one love

Dr Desiree Cox

[sapadilly]

Exactly!!!!!!!!!!

[cowbeller]

so if dis is truly dr cox's statement den dat mean we gat dumb visionless uncaring ppl leadin us an a bunch a fools followin, das y i dont follow no political party

[YardManPickney]

so if dis is truly dr cox's statement den dat mean we gat dumb visionless uncaring ppl leadin us an a bunch a fools followin, das y i dont follow no political party

bey if you look and see where we are as a country it is obvious that there is no plan, or if there is one, there is a lack of attempt to introduce it. When there is no plan, the country has no direction, with no direction one cant even guess where we are going. We end up with ssheit on a stick, and it seems many people are content on consuming sheitz-kabob. Due to no preparation and vision we jest keep digging and digging ourselves 6 feet deep, da only vision i see the leaders want us to go in is PLAN "WE ALL GA DEAD"

[YorickBrown]

The cure to this society's ills: Boarding schools.

[cowbeller]

The cure to this society's ills: Boarding schools.

well if u read her statement,she say dey was doin an analisis on findin a cure fa da country's ills but da govment dem didnt want it, it seems 2 me dat dey wanna keep us dumb an poor, its an easy election win

[YorickBrown]

If my contributions are not needed then so beit. My position on these things: say what you have to say in this life and move on. Those who get it, get it. Those who don’t don’t.

Common sense, but still powerful advice right there.

[generalcrazy]

da cure is simple, uphold da laws.

[Elcott]

At the national level, the extent to which a country progresses and develops is a function of the degree to which its people are socially developed. In the Bahamas, less than 50% of our children complete the first 12 years of schooling. Many of them simply do not see the value in education. This condition is so disappointing because the most reliable vehicle out of poverty and its associated problems is the vehicle of education. This condition is not an education issue, this is a social developmental issue. The foundation of nation building is social development because a nation is its people.

[Lurker]

At the national level, the extent to which a country progresses and develops is a function of the degree to which its people are socially developed. In the Bahamas, less than 50% of our children complete the first 12 years of schooling. Many of them simply do not see the value in education. This condition is so disappointing because the most reliable vehicle out of poverty and its associated problems is the vehicle of education. This condition is not an education issue, this is a social developmental issue. The foundation of nation building is social development because a nation is its people.

Just to add to this theme (which is correct by the way), is an interesting article in last Sunday's (not this past Sunday, but the one before), on education in post-Katrina classrooms in New Orleans.

Louisianna has the poorest record in the US for education. So they had to do something. They went the route of charter schools. Each school principal has autonomy to do whatever works. Those schools who find success are rewarded with more money and resources. Those schools that fail are closed.

What they found was that you can improve education but you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Merely improving the education system did not help. If a kid lived in poverty in the projects, and did not eat breakfast, then no amount of education system improvement was going to help.

If a kid came from a family with poorly socialised parents (as is the case in the Bahamas), then the cards were stacked against that kid at school.

My dear friend Sapadilly stated that as an economist, I look at structure, instead of the social sciences side. I think in this case we need the social sciences side to improve the structure. But there cannot be any improvement in education, without improving the structure of our societal fabric. We must find ways to curb teenage pregnancy, and enact strict laws requiring child support from absentee fathers for a start. In the US, you can go to jail for child support deliquency, and it is high time that we made it law here.

I was reminded of the poor social fabric when I was outside a grocery store, and I heard in mother remonstrating her child in an uneducated, non-grammatical patois that could have bordered on verbal child abuse. It became obvious that unless there were 'heroic' circumstances, that little boy child was doomed to a life of mediocrity. The mother was teaching him poor language skills, and poor interpersonal relationship skills.

We have a lot of fixing to do, and it starts at the top. We need to uphold the laws, root out slackness, and put some order into our society.

[Brown Suga]

Just to add to this theme (which is correct by the way), is an interesting article in last Sunday's (not this past Sunday, but the one before), on education in post-Katrina classrooms in New Orleans.
Louisianna has the poorest record in the US for education. So they had to do something. They went the route of charter schools. Each school principal has autonomy to do whatever works. Those schools who find success are rewarded with more money and resources. Those schools that fail are closed.
What they found was that you can improve education but you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Merely improving the education system did not help. If a kid lived in poverty in the projects, and did not eat breakfast, then no amount of education system improvement was going to help.
If a kid came from a family with poorly socialised parents (as is the case in the Bahamas), then the cards were stacked against that kid at school.
My dear friend Sapadilly stated that as an economist, I look at structure, instead of the social sciences side. I think in this case we need the social sciences side to improve the structure. But there cannot be any improvement in education, without improving the structure of our societal fabric. We must find ways to curb teenage pregnancy, and enact strict laws requiring child support from absentee fathers for a start. In the US, you can go to jail for child support deliquency, and it is high time that we made it law here.
I was reminded of the poor social fabric when I was outside a grocery store, and I heard in mother remonstrating her child in an uneducated, non-grammatical patois that could have bordered on verbal child abuse. It became obvious that unless there were 'heroic' circumstances, that little boy child was doomed to a life of mediocrity. The mother was teaching him poor language skills, and poor interpersonal relationship skills.
We have a lot of fixing to do, and it starts at the top. We need to uphold the laws, root out slackness, and put some order into our society.

Last Sunday what....I'd like to read it!

[FACTS ONLY]

Just to add to this theme (which is correct by the way), is an interesting article in last Sunday's (not this past Sunday, but the one before), on education in post-Katrina classrooms in New Orleans.
Louisianna has the poorest record in the US for education. So they had to do something. They went the route of charter schools. Each school principal has autonomy to do whatever works. Those schools who find success are rewarded with more money and resources. Those schools that fail are closed.
What they found was that you can improve education but you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Merely improving the education system did not help. If a kid lived in poverty in the projects, and did not eat breakfast, then no amount of education system improvement was going to help.
If a kid came from a family with poorly socialised parents (as is the case in the Bahamas), then the cards were stacked against that kid at school.
My dear friend Sapadilly stated that as an economist, I look at structure, instead of the social sciences side. I think in this case we need the social sciences side to improve the structure. But there cannot be any improvement in education, without improving the structure of our societal fabric. We must find ways to curb teenage pregnancy, and enact strict laws requiring child support from absentee fathers for a start. In the US, you can go to jail for child support deliquency, and it is high time that we made it law here.
I was reminded of the poor social fabric when I was outside a grocery store, and I heard in mother remonstrating her child in an uneducated, non-grammatical patois that could have bordered on verbal child abuse. It became obvious that unless there were 'heroic' circumstances, that little boy child was doomed to a life of mediocrity. The mother was teaching him poor language skills, and poor interpersonal relationship skills.
We have a lot of fixing to do, and it starts at the top. We need to uphold the laws, root out slackness, and put some order into our society.

PREACH!!

[FACTS ONLY]

Forgive me, I forgot to mention that I copied this gem (first post) from bahamas press.






Dr. Desiree Cox sets the record straight on her departure from Urban Renewal Programme. In fairness to Dr. Cox we post her replay today in its entirety and as responsible journalist, Bahamas Press apologies to both Dr. Desiree Cox and Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham for our headline on August 31St.

Yall doon laff too hard na...

[Brown Suga]

Forgive me, I forgot to mention that I copied this gem (first post) from bahamas press.
Dr. Desiree Cox sets the record straight on her departure from Urban Renewal Programme. In fairness to Dr. Cox we post her replay today in its entirety and as responsible journalist, Bahamas Press apologies to both Dr. Desiree Cox and Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham for our headline on August 31St.
Yall doon laff too hard na...

Why you stirring the s-h-i-t so early thsi morning!

[Lincoln]

Just to add to this theme (which is correct by the way), is an interesting article in last Sunday's (not this past Sunday, but the one before), on education in post-Katrina classrooms in New Orleans.
Louisianna has the poorest record in the US for education. So they had to do something. They went the route of charter schools. Each school principal has autonomy to do whatever works. Those schools who find success are rewarded with more money and resources. Those schools that fail are closed.
What they found was that you can improve education but you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Merely improving the education system did not help. If a kid lived in poverty in the projects, and did not eat breakfast, then no amount of education system improvement was going to help.
If a kid came from a family with poorly socialised parents (as is the case in the Bahamas), then the cards were stacked against that kid at school.
My dear friend Sapadilly stated that as an economist, I look at structure, instead of the social sciences side. I think in this case we need the social sciences side to improve the structure. But there cannot be any improvement in education, without improving the structure of our societal fabric. We must find ways to curb teenage pregnancy, and enact strict laws requiring child support from absentee fathers for a start. In the US, you can go to jail for child support deliquency, and it is high time that we made it law here.
I was reminded of the poor social fabric when I was outside a grocery store, and I heard in mother remonstrating her child in an uneducated, non-grammatical patois that could have bordered on verbal child abuse. It became obvious that unless there were 'heroic' circumstances, that little boy child was doomed to a life of mediocrity. The mother was teaching him poor language skills, and poor interpersonal relationship skills.
We have a lot of fixing to do, and it starts at the top. We need to uphold the laws, root out slackness, and put some order into our society.

A-flickin-men!!!