Dear Editor,
‘Children fight’ or words to that effect – in the face of a reported violent incident between students in one school, but which by no means is singular. Indeed, some would argue that this was only an explicit example of the type of aggression now pervading the school environment-affecting students, teachers and parents, to the extent of some cases requiring resort to the police.
Whatever the altercation, the fact is that it is the teacher who is embroiled, whether as arbiter/conciliator, or even sometimes as aggressor or victim.
So that ‘children fight’ is at best an inane explication of what is a substantive psycho-sociological range of misbehaviours now disrupting both public and private classrooms. But there is really no privacy, as both sets of classrooms are invaded by the rampantly familiar technology of the cell phone gratuitously placed by parents in their children’s school-bags.
The above have implications for misbehaviours which even more experienced teachers are not formally trained to address. And while it is understood that some guidelines are provided for dealing with anticipated eruptions, it now needs to be clarified how these guidelines protect the authority of the teacher in a serious intervention, allowing for the fact that they are not necessarily publicised for all to understand and appreciate.
It is time therefore for developing more proactive policies and procedures: to monitor, control and redress the rampaging environment in our school system. As a matter of urgency the following actors need to see past the superficiality of a handshake, and collaborate in formulating a comprehensive strategy for managing the containment of this contaminating situation:
– Ministry of Education
– Guyana Teachers’ Union
– Representatives of Parents-Teachers’ Association
– Ministry of Social Protection (Child Welfare Division)
The brainstorming might even benefit from relevant legal advice, for it is necessary that all ages be alerted to the consequences of current indiscipline for the next generations’ future.
One positive feature of their recommendations must be the scheduled release of tensions from the classroom into carefully constructed programmes of sports where students in playing as teams learn more about one another, and more critically about themselves. (Here again parents must be involved).
Only then would they learn, as losers – to congratulate the winners by shaking hands.
Yours faithfully,
E. B. John
