by Blaire Santos | 15th September, 2023 | Class Blog Entry 1
“Students who show up at Jonathan Grant High School tomorrow carrying backpacks with the word ‘Dunce’ printed on them will be barred from classes, a defiant Principal Dr O’Neil Ankle has warned.”
Several Jamaican educators have decided to prevent children donning “Dunce” branded items, particularly backpacks, from entering school premises.
Police claim that “As far back as 2018, … the term was used by people who openly declared they would use violence to deal with various issues because they did not have the ability to use reason to resolve their problems in other ways and were not interested in doing so.”
However, while donning the term “dunce” may reflect a nihilistic outlook on Jamaicans and their futures (given the dunce culture’s supposed acceptance of illiteracy and violent action), adopting the term is a protest against the traditional education system, which has failed them. Furthermore, the singer, Jamal, who has branded the word, is capitalising on his experiences and finding support amongst those who feel that formal society is unrelatable to their daily struggles.
Jamal asserts, “Fully dunce is a slang that represents a movement and to some extent a paradigm shift. When you look at a ‘dunce’ five to 10 years from now, with a protagonist like me, they will not feel nor lack opportunity because of their educational status.”
He is also trying to make a living with his small business, which inadvertently supports the local economy more so than any Jansport, Puma, or Nike backpack could.
“Me grateful how me see the dunce brand lift up in Jamaica…”
Ultimately, these backpacks are creating a community for those who feel rejected by academia, that colonial space which has fostered education inequality for centuries by barring access to learning from those who need it most.
3 responses to “Barring Students from Education Is a ‘Dunce’ Move”
Antoneisha
This is an interesting take on the issue, Blaire. I particularly appreciated the link you made between colonialism and today’s educational system. And as a preservice teacher, I can’t say I disagree with that comparison.
I want to take the opportunity, however, to remind you to use backlinks in your future posts.
Quite thorough.
Good representation of how the dunce culture is being portrayed now, as well as looking at the heart of how the term “dunce” was intriduced to our (Jamaican) culture.
Sylvia Wynter's Dream 
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