This year’s summer programs will blend crafts, cooking, quadrille, Virgin Islands sports figures and other elements of cultural education into the curriculum, thanks to a partnership between the Education Department’s Cultural Division and the Department of Housing, Parks and Recreation.
“This pilot project is the result of the Cultural Education Division’s review of activities conducted by various summer programs across the territory and an agreement by HPR leadership that many of the programs lacked elements of Virgin Islands culture,” said Glenn “Kwabena” Davis, director of the Cultural Education Division in an Education Department release. “Since the revival of the Division, we have been inundated with requests for a wide array of cultural presentations. In an effort to address the needs of the community, we have identified tradition bearers who responded to our call for the culturally talented and regularly utilize their skills.”
This year’s efforts are a pilot program which students are helping to document in hopes of expanding and replicating the material for broader use.
"Summer students … are being trained to use video, audio and still camera devices to record the cultural activities for placement in the schools for classroom and other educational purposes," Davis said.
On St. Thomas, students at the Winston Raymo Center summer program are preparing and baking "dumb bread" using the coal pot and iron pot, making picture frames using plaster of Paris and local shells; dancing quadrille; storytelling and playing traditional games. Davis said.
On St. Croix, sports history is being folded into boys basketball at the St. Croix Educational Complex, baseball at Canegata Ballpark, girls basketball at John H. Woodson Junior High School and boxing at the Prophet Community Center.
Cultural Division personnel have done research and developed biographical sketches of Virgin Islands sports figures coupled with fun trivia details to give to the students. The sketches are aimed at giving budding athletes a little inspiration to try out for a sport. Coaches and leaders are encouraging students to do additional research, reading, writing and uploading audio of spoken expression to the Internet, helping them develop technical proficiency, Davis said.
After it is done, the staff will evaluate the program and how it can be improved.
“It is my hope that these activities can become a model for replication throughout the territory,” Davis said.
