“Towards Democracy and Diversity:
Increasing the Content Knowledge
and
Pedagogical Skills of Caribbean
Social Studies Educators
A Blog Presentation by Alicia M. Phidd, Esq.

I was an invited guest of the University of South Florida
(USF) to a reception dinner entitled “Towards
Democracy and Diversity”. Although I was aware that
it involved welcoming teachers from the Caribbean
among other things, the title, my words or the photos
could not capture the energy dispersed tonight.
A Blog Presentation by Alicia M. Phidd, Esq.

Everyone is well aware of my Caribbean roots and
that I practice both business law and immigration
law. If you know me well, you are further aware that
I practice immigration law because I have been
blessed with the gift of knowledge and I felt
compelled, albeit self imposed to give back directly
to the immigrant community. I truly believe innately
most attorneys (I did not say all) care about people
and it draws them to the profession. Over the years,
I knew my life meant more than the practice of law.
I genuinely care about others and I care about
Caribbeans and how they fit into the American way
of life.
A Blog Presentation by Alicia M. Phidd, Esq.

For years in college and in the community from coast to
coast of the U.S., I noticed the difference in assimilating
here between English speaking Caribbeans and Non-
English speaking Caribbeans. As a native of Jamaica which
is an English speaking country, other than certain culture
shock as a child, it was rather easy to blend in and become
American. I can disguise my accent if I choose to and I can
claim New York as my birth home which is where I landed
and was educated. This information is not new to any
English speaking immigrant regardless of country of origin.
A Blog Presentation by Alicia M. Phidd, Esq.

What was astounding tonight was the gratitude espoused by
the recipients of this scholastic journey. The United States
Department of State sponsored this initiative by USF. The
Patel Center for Global Solutions, College of Education and
the English Language Institute have this magnificent 6
weeks seminar and field trips laid out for 17 Haitian
teachers and 20 Dominican Republic teachers who were
fortunate to be accepted to this project.
A Blog Presentation by Alicia M. Phidd, Esq.

However, my reason for this blog was not about the
program and the excellent pedagogical skills that will
be shared with these Caribbean teachers. It is
because as each teacher introduced him or herself,
history, socio­political issues, gratitude, diversity,
democracy, empathy, spirituality, legacy, learning,
teaching, culture, intellectual discourse, immigration,
immigrants, introspection, humanity, professionalism,
community, globalization, identity, race, economics,
education, a need for acceptance, gender gap, love for
the U.S. and charity was what I saw and heard in one
room, one mission, one university, one community
through one country, the United States of America.
A Blog Presentation by Alicia M. Phidd, Esq.

One Haitian teacher said he read somewhere that you should
love, learn and leave this earth with a legacy. Do you know
how profound this statement is? I’ve championed for weeks
now my WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? imploring you to give
back by creating or joining a cause to give back. Tonight, I
saw individuals in an academic setting that were human
sponges, ready to learn our way to add depth to their way of
teaching and learning, in an attempt to enhance their education
system. They were giving back with their life everyday in
their profession. I observed a socio-political moment where
although the two countries are on the same landmass, a citizen
of one country had never seen a citizen of another country and
had preconceived ideas that English was not of interest to this
citizen.
A Blog Presentation by Alicia M. Phidd, Esq.

Even with the aforementioned observations, they all
and we all were grateful to the diversity and democracy
literally in the room tonight and the academic product
to be delivered over 6 weeks. Trying to reach out to
the Tampa Bay community everyday is a joy to me.
The community leadership that was there tonight cares
about education of the masses and USF’s endeavors
and it was felt. I congratulate all the educators and the
U.S. government that help to develop this program. I
do hope the community leaders here in Tampa, sung
and unsung will continue to do their part not only to
educate our young but to share with them how much
we should appreciate what the United States academia
has to offer as we strive to produce an even better
educational system. A Blog Presentation by Alicia M. Phidd, Esq.

­ Alicia M. Phidd, Esq received her B.Sc. in Chemistry and
Masters in Environmental Studies from S.U.N.Y. at Stony
Brook in New York and Juris Doctor from St. Thomas
University School of Law in Florida. She currently practices
Business Law and Immigration Law in Tampa, Florida. In
addition, she has taught law at Barry University, graduate
school; University of Phoenix, undergraduate business school
and Broward Community College. She can be reached through
website www.aliciaphidd.com Follow her at
www.twitter.com/phidd View
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jJVsm57Awk
All copyrights reserved. © 2009 Tuesday, June 30, 2009
A Blog Presentation by Alicia M. Phidd, Esq.