WHAT ABOUT THE PARENTS?

Feb 20, 2010 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Violence in schools is a topical issue. And while there is violence, in one form or the other, in all schools, it is not a major problem in every school.
Only a handful of schools in the country have reached the stage where violence is a serious problem. And while there must be attempts to highlight and discuss this plague, the problem should not be generalised as one afflicting the entire educational system in Guyana.
It is a problem limited to a small number of schools and it can be dealt with without massive anti- violence programmes being initiated by the educational authorities.
The educational system should not be blamed for this problem. And since much of the problematic violence that takes place has its roots outside of the school system, parents should bear a greater responsibility in seeking solutions to the problems rather than simply leaving the question of violence in schools as one for the educational authorities to address.
The students that engage in violent criminal acts, such as stabbing and assaulting other students need help. They are products of their environment and in many cases this includes their home. Many of them have an attitude, one that shows little respect for authority and in this case the authority of their teachers.
This disrespect for teachers is a much more pervasive problem and is not limited only to those who are prone to violence. Teachers suffer a great deal of indignity in their workplace, not least of which is a certain disrespect which comes from the fact that they can no longer command the sort of respect they had in the past because their poor incomes often see them being poorer than the very children they have to teach.
But when it comes to violence, the real disrespect stems not from considerations of class but rather from the home training that many of the violent kids receive, or rather the lack of such training.
Too many parents are not taking a keen interest in the wellbeing of their kids. They are leaving too much of the upbringing of these kids to social institutions such as schools. And whenever there is a problem such as what reared its head recently, the public wants to blame the educational system and expect the educational system to take remedial action when in fact the parents should be the ones who should be leading the way in bringing about improvements.
This is not to dismiss the positive role that can be played by teachers. The public school system does not provide sufficient opportunities for parents to interact on a one-on-one basis. General parent-teacher meetings are not the best way to proceed. These meetings are about general issues in the school but when it comes to assessing individual students what is required is for twice every term for meetings to be held between teachers and parents so that teachers can discuss with parents the problems that their child may be having in school.
A great many parents do not know what is going on with their children. Often when they know about a problem it is far gone. Parents also have to share the blame because often the virus of deviant behaviour is spread from what the children are seeing in their home environment. Thus a child who is exposed to abusive behaviour and rambunctious behaviour at home is likely to display similar trends while at school.
Many parents are also not adequately supervising their children when they are home. They simply are allowing them to do as they please. A few weeks ago this newspaper ran an editorial critical of excessive supervised playtime, suggesting that kids also need their” space” when playing.
Well, the playing is their “space”. All playing needs to be supervised because while it may not have disastrous consequences when children are unsupervised at home, unmanaged play outside of the home involve huge risks.
There is growing tendency in this country for parents to leave their children to do as they please during playtime. And what happens invariably is that these children hook up with other children and begin to roam around in groups. This is where the trouble starts because often when children move around purposelessly on the streets in groups, it is an invitation for mischief making.
The younger ones are easily led astray and what begins as innocent playtime turns out the wrong way and the children can find themselves in bad company.
It is good to see that the Ministry of Education is taking steps to deal with schools in which there are concerns about truancy. It is good to note that counselors will be placed in those schools to deal with “problem” children. But these children are products of their environment and therefore the Ministry of Education should not shoulder the sole responsibility for reforming these children.
The parents should be held responsible and should also be forced to undergo counseling since very often it is parental neglect that has created the truant.

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