ON the recent season of TVJ’s School’s Challenge Quiz, Excelsior and Charlemont High Schools found themselves being unable to identify songs from the catalogue of the iconic, Jamaican, reggae king Bob Marley. This was repeated in a subsequent match between Gaynstead High and Clarendon College — during their face-off both failed to identify Bob Marley songs.

The following day, the social network Facebook lit up with comments from disappointed music lovers as they couldn’t believe the schools could have missed the chance to identify the late singer’s songs.

New York Media marketing consultant Dave Rodney believes the problem lies in schools not placing more emphasis on our own culture as a part of the curriculum.

“What has gone wrong, are we asking too much of our high school students?” Rodney questions.

But Sharon Gordon, chair and co-founder of the Coalition to Preserve Reggae Music, (CPR) rubbished this as she posted her comment, “For those who are saying this is a new generation … excuse me … didn’t we learn about Bach, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Mozart, et al … in school .. my literature classes were full of learning about folks who lived eons ago…so tell me…am I missing something here…why do we continue to give this generation a pass and wonder what is happening to our island and even more our world? I do worry!”

In a follow-up interview on the topic Rodney said that more needs to be done to incorporate Jamaican culture in the curriculum of schools. “We appear to be at a point now where information that is not required for examinations is deleted in a hurry and that is sad. And Schools Challenge Quiz can do a lot more to promote Jamaican culture by replacing much of the Hollywood questions with chunks from the fascinating repository of Jamaican heritage, folklore, theatre and cinema. In a bizarre observation, I find that my relatives attending high school in Japan know a lot more about Jamaican culture that relatives at school in Jamaica,” Rodney pointed out.

Sharon Gordon believes the situation is no laughing matter and stressed that it should be seen as a “desperate situation”.

“We have fed these children junk and that is what they regurgitate,” pointed out Gordon.

Jamaica Observer columnist Clyde McKenzie stressed that there is need for some courses on Jamaican culture in school.

“Part of our problem is that we don’t tend to put sufficient emphasis on the formal side.”

McKenzie also shared that in watching Schools Challenge Quiz he noted that a photograph of jazz great Ernie Ranglin was shown for the students to identify — “none of the schools could answer!” McKenzie exclaimed.

“This is a serious indictment on our education system. No way children at that level could not identify that great Jamaican, something is seriously wrong with us,” he stressed adding that the powers that be need to look at how we celebrate some of the greats among us.

“We need a course such as ‘On whose shoulders we stand’ — a course on Jamaican culture where we learn about the contribution of some of these individuals,” McKenzie said.

He also shared that there was a need for a book on some of the most pioneering, “not necessarily the popular, but those who have done important and pioneering things. A lot of greats works have not been properly recorded,” were his comments.

Marketer and media consultant in New York Anthony Turner cited this blunder as a definite cause for concern and signs of a “deeper problem”.

“The fact is that Jamaicans at home probably know less about our music and its history than others outside our community who have taken the time to study and educate themselves about the music.”

Turner shared in the concensus that music history, particularly reggae music history, must be taught in all our high schools and institutions of higher learning.

“Our youngster-must be taught in a structured school curriculum about the genesis of our great reggae music. They need to be taught about the contributions of pioneers like Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Freddie McGregor and Gregory Issacs and the role that Cedric Brooks, Coxone Dodd, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Andy, Marcia Griffiths, Millie Small, Sonia Pottinger, Burning Spear, Sly and Robbie or even a tour manager like Copeland Forbes played to help export our music beyond the shores of Jamaica. This is the only way that the industry will thrive and be able to attract professionals lawyers, accountants, marketers, artiste managers and others that are needed to help the industry reach new heights.

Another Observer columnist Charles Campbell believes the situation has arisen because “Like the hero Marcus Garvey, the Jamaican power structure who controls both the media and education system, has been very ambivalent about the redemptive qualities and features of Bob Marley’s legacy.”

“In Bob’s case, this is complicated by a strong prejudice against all things (and people) associated with Rastafari. In their minds, to teach or promote his music, exposes too much about the hypocrisy of our society, and would be implicit of an acknowledgement of Rastafarians’ social and cultural contribution to our progress as a people, and our tremendous international identity.”

“They only use his image to exploit his international appeal. The daily musical selection, of public radio and the sound systems that provide music for events, are so restricted, that one rarely hears a reggae song that’s older than 10 years. That’s why, for instance, many people wish that Bob Marley is never formally elevated into a national hero, fearing that this would be used to further suppress his most definitive works, which speak out loudly against oppression and discrimination in our societies,” Campbell concluded.