Urban Vine Media

Jamaica Needs Creatives, Not Just Grades

Emancipation Day just passed, and in a few days, Jamaica will celebrate its 63rd Independence Day. That’s absolutely amazing. But after we take down all the black, green, and gold balloons and sweep away the scattered confetti, we’ll still need to face ourselves in the mirror and ask: Are we truly emancipendent?

Jamaica is a unique country. A diamond in the rough and one in a million. There’s no place like us. Yet our systems still mimic the world instead of reflecting our own reality.

I’ve already spoken about Minister Damion Crawford’s proposal to extend the school day by two hours, but it bears repeating. Why force students to spend extra hours memorizing test answers when we should be giving them time to develop their real talents?

We’ve failed too many of our brightest minds. We produce exceptional scholars, then offer them few quality jobs worthy of their education. The hard truth? We might not even have the infrastructure to keep our best and brightest at home. But let’s be real. Our straight-A students didn’t put Jamaica on the map. Even many of our geniuses who elevated our global reputation did so after leaving.

What truly moves us forward? Tourism. Art. Music. Sports.

Now, don’t misunderstand. Brilliance is still required in these fields, and yes, math and English matter. But too often, we tell our youth that music, sports, and art “won’t pay the bills,” so they neglect these gifts. Meanwhile, we should be nurturing creativity just as fiercely as we drill algebra. Because in the end, the math whizzes, the literary minds, and the business-savvy will be the ones managing and elevating our artists and athletes.

Jamaica thrives globally because of who we are—our rhythm, our flair, our unbeatable creativity. Yet we’re stuck teaching equations with no real-world application, as if exam results alone will secure our future. But let’s do the math: if we actually invested in our creative talents—the artists, producers, and entrepreneurs who can grow “Buy Jamaica”—we could transform our GDP in just a few years.

We must stop treating schools like glorified creeches and start developing them into training grounds for nation-builders—spaces where we cultivate the minds that will elevate Brand Jamaica.

This is how we claim true emancipendence.

We need to pull our heads from the anus of this colonial education system and build one that’s uniquely ours—one that leverages who we are to create real wealth for generations to come.

By Kerece Williams | Urban Vine Media