By Cathy Richards
One of the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) latest initiatives to curb indiscipline in schools was launched in Linden on Tuesday with several parents volunteering to become mentors of students.
The Wisburg Secondary School was chosen as the pilot for the mentoring programme while the school’s head teacher, Carolyn Canterbury, pointed out that already there had been a significant reduction of indiscipline among the student population.
The programme was introduced at the school’s Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) meeting on Tuesday at which National PTA Coordinator Carol Benn was present.
Benn explained to parents the importance of the mentoring programme which she said is pivotal to the improvement of the students’ academic performance.
She noted that volunteers including members of the school’s PTA, current and former students, members of the disciplined services and eligible members of the community would be specially trained to become mentors.
“We at the level of the Ministry of Education realize that there is a need for students to have role models to help them build their self- esteem, improve their academic performance and drastically help them inculcate behavioural patterns that would ultimately guide them away from indisciplined behaviours,” Benn stated.
Meanwhile, the head teacher of Wisburg Secondary while commending the MOE for choosing her school as the pilot for Linden and acknowledging the importance of the programme, said that there had been a significant reduction of indiscipline and violent behaviours among students at the school.
She said that while there is still much work to be done, in the past students exhibited behaviours which were rated from slight to severe.
Gambling tops
“At Wisburg Secondary we have had various cases of from slight to severe and gambling topped the list followed by violence and for the entire staff here one case of violence is cause for concern.”
She added that in the past the situation at the school was considered a crisis but recently there has been a noticeable reduction of these incidents.
“We would not give up until indiscipline is something of the past. Gone are the days of easy-to-handle cases, today students are strapped with weapons and considered armed and dangerous.”
Canterbury expressed her dissatisfaction at the turnout of parents for the launching of the programme. In her estimation the number of parents at the meeting would account for only three classrooms of students among a population of 732 students.
Meanwhile, there were loud roars of disapproval among parents when Canterbury suggested that a system of sanctions should be put in place for parents who refuse to attend PTA meetings. This suggestion was tabled after it was recognized that parents of the most indisciplined children seldom or never attended PTA meetings or made periodic visits to the school.
National PTA Coordinator Carol Benn in responding to the suggestion said that it was recommended at another recent meeting that a slot be included on students’ report booklets to reflect the attendance of parents at meetings. “I bet parents would be ashamed to see their involvement be rated on that booklet so they would eventually come out to PTA meetings, resulting in them showing more interest in their children’s school life.”
The head teacher expressed the view that teachers were losing control of their classrooms and it was felt that this came through their inability to use the whip or the rod. She advised teachers, however, that the rod was not the way to go and they should make use of the internet to learn of new ways and strategies of dealing with indiscipline among school children.
The minimal participation of the male parents was alluded to by Regional Education Officer Claude Johnson. He said, “Men are like endangered species especially when it comes to dealing with PTA and children’s issues.”
However, he acknowledged that there is a noticeable increase in parental involvement in schools which is most welcome. He observed that a child’s first classroom is the home and their first teacher is the parent/s.
Role models
Among the other regional officers present was President of the Region 10 PTA Pastor Selwyn Sill who emphasized the importance of parents inculcating positive practices at home as role models for their children.
Sills said that he had the opportunity to interact with a grade one student who was found with a joint of high grade marijuana while at school. He said the child said that his father uses the illegal drug at home and would give him from time to time to take a pull. “That grade one child said he does smoke it and it does make he feel nice.”
Stabroek News subsequently learnt that the incident occurred at a popular primary school at Mackenzie. A few days earlier a grade six student of the same school was caught with a bottle of Banko wine and some Cherry Brandy wine which was intended to be used during a recent school tour.
While the matter of the illegal drugs is being handled by the school’s welfare, the probation department and the police, the other matter was dealt with between the parent and senior teachers of the school. It is because of these and other issues that the mentoring programme is considered necessary and according to Sills the regional PTA body is committed to working in partnership with the programme.
In addition to the mentoring programme, the education ministry is working on placing guidance and counselling officers at a number of schools in Linden and other parts of the country.
They are also in the process of revising the Health and Family Life Education programme (HFLE) which will be incorporated into the time- table at schools.
In addition, they are encouraging the establishment of student councils in schools to give students a medium through which they can voice their concerns on issues affecting them and make recommendation for possible solutions.
The mentoring programme was launched at four schools in Georgetown with a total of sixty-eight parents volunteering their services.
At Wisburg Secondary in Linden more than ten parents volunteered their service and would be supported by role models in the community.
Wisburg Secondary School was the brainchild of the Guyana Education Access Programme (GEAP) which would have allowed the school to address the needs of slow learners. However shortly after its construction in Wisroc, Wismar, the school was incorporated into the regular school system.
However, professors at a recent conference conducted by the Linden Fund advised that there is still a dire need for programmes to address children with special needs.
