Schools are institutions of learning, not repositories for ill-mannered children

Jul 03, 2014 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Whoever the child, whatever the circumstances, whatever the behaviour, schools and teachers are “mandated” to put up with it. That’s the concept of some parents and they go about it with enthusiasm and inspiration. This foolishness has ingrained in the psyche of some individuals that sooner or later it was bound to spill over into the public domain.
That is why a parent, (name withheld) could have penned a letter captioned “children have feelings too.” Reading that letter you get the expressed opinion of the parent of an errant teen who is determined to peddle the idea that tutors are “duty bound” to accommodate a child, irrespective of that student’s behaviour. It was meant to convey the erroneous thought that the feelings of the child should be of paramount importance.
Sure enough the feelings of the child should be considered whenever disciplinary matters are addressed, but are the child’s feelings, thoughts, opinions, excuses the only ones that matter?
Well, if that’s the only way to deal with these cases then heaven help us, certainly we are in real trouble.
And that’s my point, once you have a situation where the feelings of the transgressor are germane to the issue, or the only ones that count, we are into a USA-type problem mode. This is the way it is done in the USA, where there are a myriad of problems with no solutions in sight.
So, what about the feelings of the victim or the teacher…theirs do not count? Absolute trash! No wonder so often the USA witnesses mass killings at various institutions of learning. It is a direct result of this foolishness where the perpetrator’s feelings are paramount.
Errant, out of place students always have a point, they are brimful of excuses many times over. Their lies and innuendos are astounding to say the least; they are so innovative in their approach that if you are not on the alert you are caught flat-footed and totally off guard. As I hinted at a staff meeting here recently, if these students utilize those skills used at worming their way out of trouble into their schoolwork, then, we are definitely looking at the geniuses of tomorrow. But this is not to be.
What we find Guyana today is a small yet irritating group of students who believe that society must put up with their nonsense. Well, they are ever so wrong. Errant schoolchildren should be dealt with condignly so as to bring an end to this moral decline facing our schools and our nation as a whole.
The Linden situation where students could have mustered the courage to trounce a teacher is the watermark of indiscipline and this situation should never raise its ugly head again. No sensible excuse can be given for a student putting his/her hand on a teacher, period! That should never be tolerated in our schools. So, this nonsensical idea that a teacher is deserved of a flogging because he yelled at a student or called him out of his name is most outrageous.
Guyana has been doing tremendously well on the academic front. Some would attribute this solely to the skill and brilliance of the student, but I strongly disagree, I solemnly believe that all success hinges on discipline. It has everything to do with it – that is, a strong sense of discipline, one’s conduct and general attitude to work. Some would argue that discipline is not learning, seeing it only from the standpoint of a punitive measure. But I would retort with the question: how else can a student change the course of his downward spiral if some corrective measure is not put in place? And the answer comes back yes, correction is definitely needed. From the wearing of uniforms to one’s punctuality at school all fits into the aspect of good sound learning.
Schools are institutions of learning, and that only, they are not repositories for ill-mannered, out of place children. If we lose sight of this, then we are in for big trouble. We can ill-afford such indiscipline at this juncture of our development.
Neil Adams

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