RIGHTFULLY

‘Rightfully’ – by Fiona Daniels and Kimberly Henry

In Jamaican culture and especially through reggae music, the country is known for the struggle to protect peoples’ rights. Jamaica has always been a pioneer for freedom, having fought to rid South Africa of apartheid. The term Civics is said to have derived from the Latin word ‘civics’ which means ‘relating to a citizen’. In the Jamaican space, it’s perceived as unwritten moral guidelines which teach persons how to navigate the social space. Civics focuses on imparting knowledge about rights – human and fundamental – personal responsibility, acceptable behaviour and mores, national awareness, the duties of the citizen and the functioning of the democratic nation. Though the subject was formulated decades ago, there is a premise that there is a drastic degeneration in society because civics is no longer taught in schools or taught to the younger population.