Citing a Whitney Houston hit to make a point

Apr 19, 2016 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The lyrics to a well-known song by Michael Messner & Linda Creed and performed by the late Whitney Houston goes thus: “I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.” If any part of this song holds true then currently in Guyana it is either the belief that does not hold true, or that the children are not being taught well. Yes, Guyana has found itself plunged into a sub culture where the children are the oppressors, and school compounds and playgrounds are being converted into battlefields with real life and death battles being played out. Point in question is the recent chopping attack on Auburn Campbell by another classmate.
Both the victim and the perpetrator were high school students; the attack with a deadly weapon took place on school premises.  During Education Month 2015, Minister of Education Rupert Roopnarine along with the Chief Education Officer Olato Sam outlined activities aimed at curbing the escalating school violence, and implored parents to play a more active role in the lives of their children. Such a plea has actually not found root in the maternal soil of the perpetrator, based on both her behavior and her utterances,” wha he gun get he look for”. On a humane note of advice she should be looking help for her precocious offspring with a proclivity for violence. But then again children learn what they see. Last year, two teenage students, one from Queenstown Secondary and the other from St George’s High School – were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital nursing injuries following a scuffle.
One teenager broke a bottle and dealt the other a blow, causing injury to his shoulder.The truth served in pill form may be somewhat difficult to swallow, or at best coated in incomprehensibility. Nevertheless, the truth must be told if we are to see and be set free.
The real issue that needs addressing is not violence control so much as it is character control. Instead of focusing on the aftermath we should instead confront the causes. The real debate should be what do we put into the minds of the young? Instead of putting security guards in the of special relativity and in its place created their own brand and kind of moral relativism. Somehow or other relativity became confused with relativism.  In basic language relativism is the belief that there no absolutes in law, government, morality or values. Einstein believed there was a god, and it was he who created  absolute law and order.
In the Good Book, the book of Isiah is considered an end- time book, but it is so applicable today.  Isiah records many crucial prophecies, even showing that our time is to be a violent time.  Note that Isiah specifically shows that our children would cause a portion of the violence affecting our nation. Isaiah 3:12King James Version. “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths”.
Get it straight, but as I have afore said in previous articles education is much much more than reading, writing, math and science. It must also focus heavily on morals, values and virtues. Education has a duty to show young people how to live. The cold stark reality is that we are not teaching our children right from wrong, and they are not learning by example either as adults are behaving as if they themselves are morally adrift. The solution for this rising school violence is to teach right from wrong God’s way. Recognition must also be given to the fact that effective moral teaching starts in the home.
As displayed in the case of the perpetrator’s mother, she like many others lack the will and the understanding to train and discipline what they have brought into the world.  Parents who fail to train and properly discipline their offspring should be in danger of being legally prosecuted for doing so. Today due to divers reasons, among them economic, many parents are unable and in some cases not willing to expend the time necessary to raise a law abiding citizen.  Moral training when executed properly will last a lifetime.
A secondary contributory factor to the problem is the existence of our broken families. The majority of teens are from single- parent families, consequently it is no wonder why moral values and absolutes are not being taught.  In conclusion it can clearly be seen that in order to combat our rising school violence, society as a whole, individual parents and our youth must do some serious self-examination. Plainly stated and painstakingly calculated,  our school violence is a result of our adult failings. Let us unashamedly return to absolutes. Let us teach and in addition by example show the young what is right from what is wrong. When we do these things we will solve our school violence problem. The sooner the better!
Yvonne Sam

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