Gomez, F. (2006). The march of history: The Belize Guatemala question & the alternatives before us.  Belizean Studies, 28(2), 31-51.   Synopsis: This paper provides a general discussion on the Facilitation Process of the Belize-Guatemala territorial differendum, and examines the Facilitators’ proposals for a settlement, their implications, and the alternatives before us.
Abstract: The Belize-Guatemala question is a matter of such transcendental importance that it has always been Belize’s biggest foreign policy issue; however, it is one that has bedeviled our national psyche for generations.  Belizeans today, more than ever before, need to develop a Belizean position – if possible, a consensus – that goes beyond what it is we do not want.  We (Belizeans) know that “we noh waa no Guatemala,” but what is it exactly that we want (and how do we get there)?  Is it simply a well-defined border we desire?  What are we willing to cede?  Rather than taking such a proactive stance and develop a Belizean position of what we want, contrarily we have initiated reactionary measures to galvanize support (for our de facto position) around the Ramphal-Reichler proposals.  Do the Ramphal-Reichler proposals represent what we want, and how do we get there?   Today, Belizeans and Guatemalans find themselves with a historic opportunity – via the Ramphal-Reichler proposals resulting from the Facilitation Process – to put an end to this century and a half old drama that adversely affects both countries.  Will we march with history or will we allow history to march on by?  With this choice in mind, this paper provides a general discussion, especially for the general reader in Belize, on the Facilitation Process of the Belize-Guatemala territorial differendum, and examines the Facilitators’ proposals for a settlement, their implications (economic, financial, and political), and the alternatives before us.  This paper casts an eye to the future, by examining our options (four in particular) should the proposals be deemed unacceptable by either or both countries.  In the process, this paper addresses the implications of a ‘yes’yes' vote by Belize, as well as a ‘no’ vote for the proposals by either of the countries.   NB: An earlier version of this paper was presented at a joint UB–SJC-JC symposium under the theme “Perspectives on the Belize-Guatemala Settlement” on October 29, 2002, at the Princess Hotel & Casino’s State Room.
	Gomez, F. (2003). Educational Excellence: What does it mean to be an educator (in Belize)? Belizean Studies, 25(2), 18-34. Synopsis: This paper turns a critical eye on the landscape of the self that teaches and explicates what it means (or ought to mean) to be an educator in Belize.
Abstract: “In a completely rational society,” Lee Iacocca, former CEO of Chrysler, testifies, “the best of us would aspire to be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest…responsibility anyone could have.”  As Iacocca suggests, teachers have “the highest responsibility anyone could have,” but what does this means when spelled out in Belize?  On that account, this essay addresses not the question of “who is an educator?” but rather “what does it mean to be an educator in Belize?”  For the former would simply be answered by saying “one who teaches” whereas the latter presupposes that plus “what does that mean (or ought to mean) in Belize?”  In other words, this paper concerns itself with the practice involved (or which ought to be involved) in education vis-à-vis Belize.  In the process, this paper contends, our teacher education programs have too often been too narrowly conceived since such programs’ curricula tend to be methodology-oriented, if not driven, to the point that the practice of education has been reduced to the competent delivery of a curriculum’s content.  To supersede this, the paper examines the landscape of the self that teaches and explicates that educators are professionals who practice a four-fold profession, in an arena of uncertainty, comprising (a) professionalism, (b) leadership, (c) scholarship, and (d) reflective practice; these are fundamental to the delivery of the quality and relevant education demanded by Belizeans.   NB: An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Caribbean Studies Association Conference (under the theme “The Greater Caribbean: Roots & Routes”), hosted by the University of Belize at the Princess Hotel & Casino, on May 28, 2003.
	Gomez, F. (2002). Education as if people matter: A call for critical thinking & humanistic education.  Belizean Studies, 24(1), 20-37. Synopsis: This paper turns a critical eye on the educational situation in Belize, and cites critical thinking as central to the educational process and key to effective citizenship.
Abstract: Educators today (and perhaps this has always been the case) are expected to educate for understanding, not just well enough to get by, for a modern education requires the ability to think critically and independently, the promotion of moral judgment, and learning how to learn.  If these are the qualities one wishes formal education to develop (as this paper maintains), then schools – as they are presently organized, for the most part – are not well adapted to those purposes.  This paper thus contends that if we are after understanding and utilization of knowledge rather than learning formulae and facts, lecturing twenty-five or thirty students who are forced to be present is not the ideal way to proceed; educators thus need to reflect upon their own pedagogical practice.  Otherwise formal education would become – and has become to an extent– nothing more than mere training (specialization), or inculcation (indoctrination), or better yet an expensive indulgence, resulting in elitism and dehumanization rather than humanization and greater democratic solidarity.  Conversely, if schools are to be meaningful in the world, they need to foster critical thinking, and clarification of metaphysics, that is to say, of our fundamental convictions; integration of theory and practice is key.  For this reason, this paper asserts, the problems of education in Belize go beyond social ills; they are merely reflections of our deepest societal reality.  In short, this paper addresses itself to the question, “what is good education?”   NB: An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Belize Conference (under the theme “Beyond Walls: Multidisciplinary Perspectives”), organized by the UWI School of Continuing Studies, on November 24, 2001.   Available at: http://www.open.uwi.edu/sites/default/files/bnccde/belize/conference/papers/gomez.html
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