Early Life Skills Training Could Help Young People Deal with Life’s Challenges – Civic Leader

Member of the Past Presidents Advisory Committee of the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce Joe Issa is advocating for children to be taught life skills at an early age, contending this could help them to cope with their challenges later in life.

“I think children should be taught the basics such as how to count and what change to expect when they go to the shop, write a proper letter, share what they have with others, cook food and wash the dishes, wash clothes, stitch and iron them, clean their room and make up the bed.

“They must also learn how to use basic tools like the hammer and put up pictures on the wall, change their bicycle tyres and brakes, and change the light bulb. Most importantly, they must learn life-saving skills like how to swim and have respect for the sea, treat a wound and perform CPR,” said Issa, in an interview.

In extolling the virtues of early life skill learning, Issa argues that “the school leavers who understand these will be better able to deal with their personal challenges later in life, especially at college or university when they will be required to balance varying demands, such as doing the house chores, dressing smartly, studying, and submitting assignments on time.”

Issa adds: “Similarly, the graduate who is armed with these life skills is better poised to take advantage of employment opportunities wherever they are, locally or internationally.”

In lamenting the lack of knowledge of life skills by many of the youth today, given the potential contribution these can make to their wholesome development, Issa said “people may not realize this, but it’s an awesome empowerment to be able to help yourself in so many ways and not embarrass yourself…It can boost your adaptive capacity and confidence and enable you to make the right choice of friends, university and career.”

Stating that there are many life skills which must be taught to both kids and parents, Issa cites first aid, of which, according to a survey, a quarter of parents in the US have no knowledge whatsoever, even as many children die in accidents in the home each year.

According to the UK Mirror, “a new study of 2,000 parents reveals millions of children’s lives are at risk because their mums and dads don’t have the appropriate life-saving skills.”

“Show them how to use tools safely, such as screwdrivers and hammers and teach them key facts about electricity and water supplies…Do car maintenance. Knowing how to change a wheel and check the oil levels will help keep them safe and save them time and money,” the paper advocates.

Wikipedia describes Life skills as “abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. They are a set of human skills acquired via teaching or direct experience that are used to handle problems and questions commonly encountered in daily human life.”

The Macmillan dictionary says the term “life skills”’ refers to a broad range of soft skills which often vary depending on individual situations. It said for kids, they could include numeric literacy and sharing with others, while for university students, “knowing how to manage different workloads and meet deadlines is essential.”

Former LSE Student Picks Stable, Low Inflation to Raise Output and Productivity

Joe Issa, a former Student of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he founded his first charity to assist underprivileged Jamaican children, has said in an interview, that stable, low inflation best suit small island states like Jamaica with less resilience to economic shocks, stating it is the preferred choice for raising output and productivity.

Joey Issa

“You don’t want to go back to the period in our history when inflation was very high and consumers were getting much less for their money, year over year, especially in the absence of a rigid prices and incomes policy that fully maintains purchasing power as inflation rises,” says Issa who, while studying at LSE, famously established the “Educate the Children Fund”, which raised £3,000 to buy books for underprivileged Jamaican children.

Noting that the high 26-per cent inflation recorded by Jamaica in 2008, may be considered to be moderate, especially for countries coming from three-digit inflation figures, Issa says “double digit inflation it too high for us.”

“The ideal for us is low inflation; and when bench marked with the wider world it translates to single digit inflation, which we have been posting in recent times. I am pleased it has been hitting lower lows more recently,” says Issa in the interview.

He was commenting on a Jamaica Observer article which reported that inflation had reached a low of 1.7 per cent at the end of December last year, and that it was the lowest in more than 45 years.

It also said that “the inflation rate in Jamaica has averaged 9.79 per cent from 2002 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 26.49 per cent in August 2008 and a record low of 1.60 per cent in November 2016.”

In commending the progress of the government in keeping inflation on a downward trajectory, Issa says more Jamaicans will fare better, particularly since most of the weighting in the consumer price index is given to food and drinks on which low income earners tend to spend most of their income.

Acknowledging that different levels of inflations have different effects, Issa cites three scenarios for any country; Jamaica included.

“At very high levels, inflation is bad for us as the majority of the population come under pressure to buy the goods and services they were once able to acquire; at the same time, businesses cut output and send workers home.

“However, at low and stable levels of inflation the opposite occurs. Producers tend to increase their workforce so that they can increase production, which could lead to better wages for workers,” Issa says.

He adds, “Inflation rate below zero, or deflation as it is called, is also not good for any economy as it keeps prices low, which can reduce job opportunities and put more load on consumers.

“But, with low and stable inflation, as we have now, we can expect production and productivity to rise and create job opportunities.”

Back to School- Joe Issa

New school year begins: let’s not just send the lunch money, show our children we care, take an interest in their work!

 I am no expert in parenting, nor am I a past school teacher but I know that this week, many of us will be happy or sad when the kids go to school; happy for them for their growth, after the long holidays, and sad because we will miss them, after being so much a part of our daily activities during the long summer months.

 

I’m conscious of the importance of my role as a father and how important it is to them. So, I make sure I find time for them, to go through their interests with them and find out what problems they are having in life.

Three Hills All Age being twinned with Florida school

The Three Hills All Age School in St. Mary is being twinned with the Broward Elementary School in Tampa, Florida, USA, in continuation of an education thrust by the SuperClubs resort group.

The latest exercise is being spearheaded by SuperClubs Couples Hotel in St. Mary, through the instrumentality of the hotel’s general manager Mr. Joey Issa.

In a statement, Mr. Issa has hailed the project as a “major development, which will see an exciting, rewarding exchange of cultural ideas and thoughts between students and teachers at both institutions.”

The project is named “Global 2000”, and it was launched recently at Couples. The launching was attended by executives of both schools, a Couples Hotel management team, Jamaican Ministry of Education officials, and Jamaican and Tampa private sector persons involved in education and recreation.

Mrs. Beverley Demott, principal of the Broward Elementary School, has participated in a reciprocal programme with the Sheffield All Age School in Westmoreland, along with Mr. Issa. She told the launching meeting that she was seeking to do the same at Three Hills.

Mrs. Demott pointed out that she had forged “this valuable link” with Mr. Issa when he was general manager at another SuperClubs property, the Grand Lido, in Negril. “Since then, teachers from my school have visited Sheffield, bringing with them various teaching aids and books,” Mrs. Demott disclosed.

She went on: “My aim is to establish firm links between the children of my school and those of Three Hills All Age, so that subject areas like culture, social studies, and geography can be improved. I also want to set up a computer facility at Three Hills All Age.

“This idea has been submitted to the Florida State Board of Education and has been awarded a prize for being the ‘Most Promising Intercultural Programme’. I am currently involved in shipping to Jamaica a number of school books.”

The chief education officer in the Jamaican Ministry of Education, Mr. Wesley Barrett, acknowledged “the tremendous work that Mr. Joey Issa, the Couples team, and SuperClubs have been doing for education, throughout the years.” He pledged that the ministry would undertake to clear charity books and supplies duty free. He urged service clubs and Jamaican groups in Florida to assist with the shipping of supplies.

The deputy director of the Recreation Department for the City of Tampa, Mr. Wayne Papy, promised to work with Tampa and Jamaica service clubs, in getting the goods to Jamaica. Mr. Papy has already touched base, “at a meeting on March 2, with Ocho Rios Chamber of Commerce manager, Mrs. Val Brown; Mr. Don Creary, from the St. Mary Kiwanis Club, regarding this.

Three Hills All Age’s Principal, Mrs. Claire Hoilett, thanked Couples and Mrs. Demott for selecting her school for assistance. She said he was “a great opportunity” for her school to enhance cultural links outside of Jamaica.

Jamaica Teachers Association president, Mr. Ray Howell, also hailed the project as another milestone in his organization’s long association in the involvement of “twinning” local and foreign schools. He also spoke of dire necessity for teachers to be taught computer skills.

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