Most families spoke poor English and bad patois for generations; now the few who master English still speak bad patois. Poor Miss Lou was discredited by latter-day campus experts which means the masses don’t even speak proper patois. Wikipedia says we are English-speaking and a Christian nation — both risible statements; the noun is proved by the many churches; the adjective is not a valid descriptor of our conduct. If we found oil now we would still behave unChristianlike — coarse, criminal, fearful, and not speak English.

English takes us places. It is also important to the many who go nowhere much as those who sustain the less sexy parts of our society — sanitation, household, farm, janitorial, construction workers — as the chemicals they use may hurt production and poison us all if they don’t know English.

In our felicitous progression to educated society status, how do we channel univerdsity degree demand into competencies in skills and English we need? Good primary or secondary schooling and mastery of English is the bedrock of the nation. Our social gap is not colour or class; mastery of English is the up escalator. And you can’t prove me wrong as you don’t speak English.

A recent visit to two British primary schools rated in the top five per cent left my head spinning as I expected “lily white” campuses. One had students of 30 nations who spoke 40 languages. As we went around, the principal asked kids to say the language they spoke at home and excited little hands shot up — Hindi, Twi, Bangladeshi, Polish, English, French, Jamaican patois, Spanish, Romanian. The kids are taught English in English by regular teachers. Several kids of refugees spoke no English, but in a term they coped and were proficient in a year. A teacher of “English as an Additional Language” (EAL) assists some after school. The fastest learners were African and Indian kids who already spoke several native languages. Somalis were slow, as they tend to stay in their language group and don’t practise. When kids who spoke six or more languages were in the same class, work group or football team the default was English — all learn. Their teachers teach English or indirectly in the subject to every class — uncompromising immersion. It works for our patois kids in London. Can is work here? Or do we spend billions teaching it “as a foreign language” as we teach Mandarin?

Business, church and political leaders must stand for English. I see well-brought-up young people trying to be roots with patois. Why go down to voters, lift them? Stop it and lead! If your teacher was trained over 25 years ago, she will speak, read, write English and know grammar; after that time God only knows!

Most of us speak English to “elders and betters” and patois to small people — disrespect! English is the mark of progress and all can learn from the radio or TV. Recall Rex Nettleford’s extraordinary grasp of patois and English? His skills were not gifts but work.

My grandkids love to visit Duchess Blossom of Red Hills whose menagerie of rescued dogs, cat phone and birds are a joy. If Othello her multi-hued parrot can speak English then every child should master English after five to nine years with supposed English speaking teachers. She speaks, her Macaw cocks his head, listens, repeats and learns English. Rocket science? Do we need parrots in schools?

English calms people and may reduce crime. Jimmy Moss-Solomon’s thesis that it is not possible to quarrel in English is compelling. People I know with impeccable English resort to patois when angry. The discipline, vocabulary and nuance to cuss in English are beyond most, and both sides have to understand to have the effect. Patois is for cussing; it overwhelms those who speak none, impales those who do, and is cathartic to the speaker. The English use four-letter words in boring repetition; they lack our variety and greige of cloths — but sadly we cannot cuss to prosperity.

Cussing is underrated. A good Jamaican cuss-out is theatre — often tragedy. English can change this. English needs a champion in arts and academia too; the drama of pulpit and political platforms must show that bilingual is best. It is unfair for my vote to be set off against a slew of illiterates who cannot argue issues. Listen to your MP or councillor and reject those who speak patois to you; they do not respect you or mean you well as all understand English. Let’s use English in 2015 — if we build it they will come.

Mr Broadcasting Commission, English needs a fillip. Can you make mandate it to 2010? Cabinet spends $81 billion so we learn English yet State agencies spend millions on advertising, patois renditions that undermine it — makes no sense! Some say patois is our reality, but so is murder, rape, farm thievery, but do we put these on billboards? Six people on a BA flight asked staff to write up their forms-what a shame in 2015? Patois, voice of my soul; English, argot of success. Let us work at it, listen, repeat, get it right. Stay conscious, my friend!

Dr Franklin Johnston is a strategist, project manager and advises the minister of education. franklinjohnstontoo@gmail.com