Opening Pages, Foreword, Preface and Introduction

Brain Vitamin, The Mind-Stimulator, Bahamian Grade 7 – 9 Students

Reading Comprehension Textbook Vol. 1

by

Kevin E. Cartwright

Foreword

When I had the pleasure of meeting Kevin Cartwright some years ago, I was immediately aware that I was in the presence of a gifted and unique individual who is using his disability as an avenue to showcase a distinctive ability. At the time, I was employed at the urban renewal commission as Director of the adult literacy program. This gave me the opportunity to meet a wide cross-section of individuals, but with English language interconnecting our goals. Being in the process of editing his first book, we met when he could do so for a consultation. This is far from unusual, except for one phenomenon, he was blind. Yet, he was eager to proceed with the task at hand, and this enthusiasm never waned. When it was time for his book signing event I was so engrossed in the process that I assisted to get chairs and to make required preparations.

Having lost his own sight at eight years old and parenting a seven-years-old son with only 50% vision at the time, I tried hard to comprehend Kevin’s confidence and perseverance. I was impressed by how seamlessly he transitioned from one task to the next and at the end of this project I marveled at how efficaciously the project was done. He, of course, received countless orders which I assisted in ensuring were filled.

To describe the confidence and tenacity of this young man the most appropriate word is miraculous. Structured in his approach to both teaching and parenting, I was convinced that there was more for him to do; and I was correct. During one of our conversations, not long after, he announced that he had been awarded a Lyford Cay Foundation scholarship to pursue his masters degree in education, concentrating on the teaching and learning disciplines in the field. He beat me to the draw! I was just about to tell him that I had been accepted to pursue further studies in family life and mental health, two areas that I had found myself leaning towards around the start of the Covid pandemic. This would solidify my growing interest in community work.

Kevin’s voice did not show any hesitancy when he made his major announcement. He knew that even with his incomparable computer skills there would be challenges with his especially fitted machine. His incredible work ethic had him eager to begin and culminated in graduation at an optimal level. He then shared with me his wish to use English language to inculcate the highest dream by way of combining it with culture.

His vision is a detailed text where various topics are dealt with specifically targeting critical thinking and relevant aspects of the language. His nationalistic approach has been very successful.

In summary, this is a rewarding text which will undoubtedly be a treasure for seven through nine graders who will benefit from Kevin’s unique grasp of Bahamian culture and people. The in-depth perspective will prove to be invaluable. Kevin, I wish you well as you climb the success ladder.

Mrs. Troy Nelson-Oliver HFLE, MSc, Dip Ed

Publication and Copyright Information

Copyright © Kevin E. Cartwright. All Rights Reserved. This online edition is provided for reading in the browser only. Downloading, copying, printing, redistributing, reproducing, or reselling any part of this work requires written permission from the author.

Dedication:

This book is dedicated to The Late William E. Lightbourne, my lifelong mentor, former colleague, and father figure. Because of your exemplary teachings, influence and leadership, my life’s journey has taken me to where I am today. Thank you for helping to prepare me to occupy my hard-earned space in society.

Preface

Long in the making this reading comprehension textbook is a dream come true for me. A university-educated teacher teaching in English language arts schools, I realize that mastering reading, writing and comprehension is an interdependent process. No doubt, it is these cornerstones of language that 7th to 9th graders must master with confidence if to progress successfully to become more advanced readers. Reading and writing instruction based in innovative pedagogy and culturally nourishing language arts activities are the spoons that stir the soup of comprehension. Bahamian culture is the driving force to this reading comprehension text. It is a celebration of learning and learning rooted in our social context. And in this our Bahamian culture is the motivational ticket for engaging, inspiring and developing the English language comprehension and literacies skills because the stories that are told in this text are our stories.

I have discovered throughout my studies of English language that many of the textbooks used in our schools lack Bahamian content. Therefore, too often, Bahamian students are asked to develop comprehension skills with literature that does not represent who they are and their lived experiences. My local and international teaching experiences with Grade 7 to 9 students have instilled in me the belief that reading comprehension is supported by access to Indigenous content. A Bahamian educator, I understand the importance for Bahamian students to be immersed in an accessible and broad collection of text that they can identify with. Connecting with one’s culture sparks curiosity, engagement and expands ways to think critically but rooted in one’s lived curriculum. This lived curriculum of which I speak refers to my real-life experiences with people, places and events that have powerfully shaped my perceptions and beliefs, while influencing my attitude towards myself as well as others throughout my life’s journey, resulting in the human being I am now.

Knowing and living who you are is imperative to cultivating sound comprehension skills. I strive to provide this opportunity for Bahamian Grade 7-9 students in this book. This book as I mentioned has been a dream that has been a long time coming. Comprehension is an inner and outer ongoing process of transformative meaning-making. And it is an honor for me to be able to have the chance to offer my perspective on this to my students and my culture. This textbook is a my reflection of the Bahamian narrative. Throughout the text will introduce you to Bahamian pride and preservation of Bahamian heritage. Its design is based on those every-day aspects of Bahamian life that are an essential part of who we are. More importantly, it serves as a reminder of our past and reawakens us to a present filled with optimism and hope for future generations of Bahamians. To this end, I am convinced that identity-connecting text, relevant material selection and making sense of what you read by those every-day perceptions of your own culture can make a recognizable difference in how you evaluate, analyze, process and compartmentalize mentally very critical pieces of information that become an essential part of your world. Even so, being Bahamian is loving yourself, loving who you are, and loving being you.

Table of Contents:

Part 1: Developing a Thinking Mindset

Critical Thinking (Brain Stimulants and Mental Push Ups)

Chapter 1

The Race of a Lifetime

2. Five Fingers

3. The Bahamian Beggar

4. Spare Change

5. Footprints in the Snow

6. High school Dropouts

7. Burning Bridges

8. Uneaten Breakfast

9. Bruised and Battered

10. Missing Keys

11. Breaking the Rules

12. The Battle Ground

Part 2: Breaking Down and Explaining Text

II. Finding The Main Idea (Evidence, Tracks and Trails)

Chapter 2

13. Bread Crumbs

14. The Dilly Fight

15. Jeff the Clever Chef

16. The Journey

17. Bowe the Bahamian Book Worm

18. Pulling Teeth

19. No! Not You This Time!

20. Jail Break

21. Disgruntled Danny

22. The Lazy School Teacher

23. Bahamians Wear Your Seat Belts

24. Connected by Fate

25. Panhandling Pete

26. Softhearted Sue

III. Using Context Clues (Native Fruits, Plants and Animals)

Chapter 3

27. Coconuts

28. The Guava Tree

29. Picking Plums

30. Bush Medicine

31. The Flamingo

32. The Blue Marlin

33. The Bahama Parrot

34. The Northern Bahamian Rock Iguana

35. Catching Crabs

36. Catching Fish

IV. Writing Summaries (Native Cultures and Local Pastimes)

Chapter 4

37. Junkanoo

38. Bahamian Music

39. Fish Fry

40. Bamboo Shack

41. Divine Café

42. Potter’s Cay

43. The Straw Market

44. Island Luck

Part 3: Making Deeper Meaning

V. Making Inferences (Native Beverages and Cuisines)

Chapter 5

45. Kalik

46. Vita Malt

47. Tuna and Grits

48. Fire Engine

49. Crab and Dough

50. Boiled Fish

51. Stewed Fish

52. Cracked Conch

53. Conch Salad

54. Conch Fritters

55. Scorched Conch

56. Bahamian Seafood

57. Bahamian Macaroni and Cheese

58. Tasty Tarts

59. Cups and Baggies

60. Gully Wash

VI. Drawing Conclusions (Briefs and Shorts for Your Thoughts)

Chapter 6

61. The Lemonade Stand

62. Bahamian Life

63. Liquid Sunshine

64. Hurricanes

65. Island Hopping

66. Mother’s Warning

67. The Intruder

68. The Robber

69. Island Ghosts

70. Bahamian People

71. Bey! Where You Come From?

72. Eating for Comfort

VII. Problem Solving (Utilities, Service Providers and World-Class Resorts)

Chapter 7

73. Bahamas Power and Light BPL

74. Bahamas Telecommunication Company BTC

75. ALIV

76. Cable Bahamas

77. The Atlantis Resort

78. Cable Beach

79. Baha Mar

Part 4: Comprehension Skills for Transformation

VIII. Empowering Yourself with Knowledge (History and Politics)

Chapter 8

80. 1973 Independence

81. Parliament Square

82. Civil Service

83. From College of The Bahamas COB to University of The Bahamas UB

84. Talk Show Fever

85. Value Added Tax VAT

86. The Political Triumvirate

87. National Insurance Board NIB

88. Super Value

IX. Preparing Yourself to Become an Advocate (Awareness and Advocacy)

Chapter 9

89. The White Cane: A Mobility Device of Dignity

90. The Service Animal

91. The Repeat Offender

92. Inaccessible Transportation: a Roadblock to Functional Independence

93. Make Provisions to Preserve Your Vision

94. Equality and Equity: the Difference

95. Resilient: Anthem for Disability Rights

96. A Warrior’s Anthem: A Tribute to the Late William E. Lightbourne, B. E. M.

Part 5: Being You Chapter 10

X. Using Your Imagination (Laughter and Poetry)

Chapter 10

97. Silly Lily

98. Irie Nuts

99. Bahamian Jack

100. That’s It! I’m Tired!

101. Buddy the Bahamian

102. Farting Franny

103. Frank the Frog

104. Floppy! You’re so Sloppy!

105. Nosy Nancy

106. Autumn: Sometimes Naughty, Sometimes Nice

107. Right Church! Wrong Pew!

108. Catching Gap Seed

109. Making Sense out of Nonsense

110. Thank You Ma’am for the Pepper in My Jam

111. The Mouse in My Souse

112. Butting Heads with the Bully

113. No Food in My Cupboard

114. Principal Pancakes

115. Tongue Twisters for Madams and Misters

116. References

117. Concluding Remarks

118. About the Author

Acknowledgements:

I am eternally grateful to all of the following individuals, agencies and companies who have provided their ongoing support and encouragement to help make the completion of this textbook possible:

(Please note: this section will be completed once all of the revising and editing are done).

Introduction

Every aspect of this textbook has been carefully and thoughtfully devised for your reading comprehension. It is divided into 10 chapters focusing on day-to-day experiences, cultural encounters, local cuisines, plants and animals, national treasures, age-old traditions, historical events, childhood memories, human rights issues, laughter and poetry along with familiar sights and sounds that are intricately interwoven into the tapestry of our Bahamian landscape. Heavy emphasis is also placed on vocabulary and word definitions to help Bahamian Grade 7 - 9 students to understand their shared sociocultural connections to Bahamian life. Additionally, students’ extensive use of vocabulary throughout the readings will allow them to understand the relevance of words as they relate to their culture while expanding their vocabulary word banks. Each chapter in this book offers thought provoking material and reading-comprehension activities that challenge you to think creatively, critically, and to be innovative. Importantly, the concepts and ideas presented in this book are focused on all things Bahamian. As you read and re-read the text of this book you will be challenged to absorb the wealth of Bahamian material and use it to express your developing comprehension abilities and overall literacy skills within our sociocultural context.

I have arranged the chapters of this book to provide students the opportunity to first build on their critical-thinking skills prior to advancing into the other essential components of reading comprehension. Doing this provides a solid foundation for teachers to scaffold comprehension instruction by progressively working towards students’ independence. The ordering of the chapters is designed to help facilitate student mastery of comprehension at this level: making deeper meaning of text content, maximizing students’ capacity to read between the lines, and to read with focus, reflections and the ability to reimagine while discovering new things about themselves and their Bahamian culture.

Undoubtedly, being Bahamian is simply more than being born in The Bahamas, it is knowing who you are, what you are and why you are who you are. Being you requires taking the time to study and to absorb as much as you can about your way of life, and through reflection and critical thinking make practical use of it in a way that positively influences society. With that being said, I firmly believe that if you can maximize your full range of this skill, your ability to think critically and use your imagination, while learning how to solve complex problems can become as easy to perfect as your aptitude to brush grains of sands from your feet after a long day’s outing at the hot and sunny beaches here in The Bahamas. What’s more important, this reading comprehension textbook is designed to nourish your Bahamian culture and roots, to help you speak from your Bahamian heart, and to come into the world from your Bahamian home. As you read the passages, you will feel the strong heartbeat of Bahamian pride, the genuine spirit of your Bahamian identity and your love for Bahamian people to make you appreciate even more, the importance of being you.

Part 1: Developing a Thinking Mindset

I. Critical Thinking (Brain Stimulants and Mental Push Ups)

As you delve into this chapter, be prepared for your brain stimulants to be activated and be ready to do your mental push-ups! At its core, this chapter will help you to develop your critical-thinking skills to stimulate your thought processes and gauge your focus on the 12 passages carefully designed to challenge your mind through creative and imaginative story telling. Furthermore, the content presented in this chapter will help you to expand your ability to explore Bahamian text through sociocultural lenses. Doing so will help you to address and assess the very essence of your Bahamian heritage. The stories and conversation in this chapter are designed to enhance your intellectual capacity to evaluate the shared cultural connections deeply ingrained in the foundation of your Bahamian roots. More importantly, as you progress throughout this chapter, you will discover that every piece of writing will serve as a building block to maximize and strengthen your capacity to achieve the competence to think and to function critically while you read its content.