School Violence and The Role of Society

Feb 03, 2020 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

The recent tragedy in Linden involving the stabbing of a school child by another pupil brings much into focus; from matters pertaining to the education sector, mental health, and even the conditions of society. I commend those who have raised key considerations in these areas, both online and offline, as the nation tries to come to grip with this dire incident. Surely, this was not the first incident, and it probably would not be the last time we hear of this again, unless we do something about it. What is unfortunate, though, is that a large sector of society is focused on the school children’s behaviour rather than the symptoms of a society that has failed them.
Some have pointed fingers at parents and teachers for the ruthlessness committed. Few teachers have come out publicly denouncing accusations that they have anything to do with a child’s behaviour outside of school, and instead shift blame to the conditions of the home, for which parents have responsibility over. Of course, a good parent ensures a child’s basic physical and mental needs are met. But I am not confident that any single entity or person can be blamed for what occurred in Linden. What I hope to accomplish in this essay is to offer some sober reflections, in the midst of heated dialogues, regarding violence in schools and the education sector in general so that we can try to understand where we are as a nation, and where we should be going.
Guyanese society is undoubtedly faced with many challenges. Part of the challenge is addressing: ‘How should we organize society to better encapsulate the virtues we wish everyone to have, especially our children?’ This challenge has been largely ignored for decades. If one were to interview people on the streets about their feelings or thoughts about the rise of school violence in Guyana, a large base would express a feeling of despair, even hopelessness and fear. The despair is warranted, since there are many cases of gang fights, aggressive confrontation with teachers, matters of boyfriend/girlfriend issues resulting in violence, students being unruly, and so on.
Encouraging Good Behaviour
It is no secret that these occurrences give a negative outlook on certain schools, prompting many institutions to adopt stricter codes of conduct and ethical guidelines with the demand that students must align accordingly. But rules are one thing, understanding why the rules are there is another. This matter of ‘why’ is important for children at a tender age. As a child grows, much of her environment shapes her personality, social conduct, and moral outlook. This is especially important to grasp, since what a child sees in her environment is likely to be a significant contributor to that child’s personhood and morality. For example, if a child is taught that one should always hit back someone who first hits, then this is the moral code the child adopts. Of course, some of us may disagree that hitting back does any good and would encourage the child to desist from this brute principle of justice. A child’s curiosity is likely to ponder, “But if other children are following the former moral code, why should I not?” This is why explaining something deemed good (or bad) can be invaluable to a child, such as not hitting because it causes physical harm to another, which we may not like for ourselves.
The role of parenthood cannot be underestimated. It becomes a parent’s responsibility to teach a child about good values and principles that have been successful at taming or overruling our inner sometimes unwarranted emotions — and yes, children do have these. For instance, teaching a principle such as ‘The Golden Rule‘, which would have us treat others as we would expect treatment from others, is likely to be beneficial. The goal is to instill life-lessons that can have a lasting impact on a child’s moral compass and behaviour.
A Social Problem of Embracing Violence
Some have extended the discourse to criticizing the education system as the fault for school violence. I disagree, though I would say that the education system can aid with a remedy. A more suitable question is, ‘why are these matters prevalent?’ There must be some underlying factor, or factors, that are driving students’ anger, aggressiveness, expressions of hatred, and their acceptance that using violent methods can solve their problems. Here, I offer two key considerations: Violence as social normalcy and the prevailing social conditions, both of which are intricately connected.
Firstly, society teaches children that physical harm solves problems. We see it in the media, in our communities, and even in our homes that resort to domestic violence. Violence, be it physical or verbal, is the accepted norm in Guyanese society, so much so that it results in the methods we use to discipline a child. To illustrate, consider the matter of corporal punishment. In the average Guyanese household, children are being disciplined by means of hitting them, an act that, supposedly, is meant to teach them a lesson. But a lesson on what? Hitting used as a means to “teach a lesson” denies a vital opportunity for that child to learn about their wrongdoing.
Peculiarly, while hitting serves to prevent a child from repeating a mistake or misdeed, in mature societies no one is hit to be taught a lesson. So, a lesson of being hit only teaches a child what not to do (or say) without a reason or true lesson. Furthermore, such missed opportunities can take away genuine bonding time with parents, immensely crucial to a child’s development. Parents who do hit their child may find that it has not been working, and consequently stop. Interestingly, some of these parents would rationalize their hitting as an expression of their frustrations. But all the evidence on corporal punishment indicates that it does more harm than any good, to the point where it encourages aggression and hostile attitudes. At some point, we have to admit that violent methods of ‘correcting’ solves and teaches nothing.
The Education System, Society, and Raising Moral People
Secondly, social conditions inhibit society from evolving moral outlooks. This is undoubtedly connected to our acceptance of violence as a necessary means of instilling good values in children — for which there is no reason to support. To understand the social conditions that exist allows us to gain invaluable insights into how society is currently organized, how it reacts to its problems, and how it tries to resolve them. Because education, society and even morality are often discussed regarding school violence, it helps to appreciate what some thinkers have said regarding these. One such thinker especially relevant to this discourse, I believe, is the French Sociologist, Émile Durkheim.
Durkheim remarked that “Education is healthy when peoples themselves are in a healthy state; but it becomes corrupt with them, being unable to modify itself.” A society that fails to self-improve is symptomatic of a society that is ailing, perhaps for political or cultural reasons. Education, for Durkheim, is intricately connected to the state or condition of a society. The lesson here is that for society to produce ethical and violence-free generations to come, it must reform itself according to that maxim. For the quality of education relies on the state or conditions of a society. Failing to improve these conditions would consequently fail to improve education, and by extension fail the next generation.
The relationship between education and society gives us a way to understand the role of education in society and society’s role in education. If the mandate is to produce an intelligible populace, then society must value knowledge. But if a society is not nurtured to value knowledge, what, then, results if not a reluctance to be educated, a stubborn preference to squirm in ignorance? Similarly, if children are to value peace and harmony, then that society must inculcate and practice that value; and so, a society that is not nurtured according to such a value will result in its citizens reluctant to practice and uphold that value. Therefore, a change in societal attitude and cultural norms are requisites to effect, on a grand scale, a change in morality for better social conditions. This is why our education sector, which is responsible for teaching future generations how to be better adults than their predecessors, needs much attention and, perhaps more importantly, suitable reforms.
Moreover, according to Durkheim, “If the moral environment is affected, since the teachers themselves dwell in it they cannot avoid being influenced; how then should they impress on their pupils a different orientation from what they have received?” Durkheim believed society needs first to reform before we can talk about reforming education. Good education, it seems, results from a good society, and a good society in turn would produce better, more morally attuned people.
Conclusion
We gathered that the behaviour of children in schools is correlated with the conditions of society, including their relationship with parents. We take it that the moral aspect of expected proper behaviour for children largely depends on the moral fabric of society, even with rules or codes of conduct, as we have evidently seen time and again. We understand that seeking education reform is one necessary but not wholly conceivable resolve in addressing challenges within the education sector.
Although it may be easier to blame a child for their malevolent deeds, it does us no good in the long run, empty of solution and proper remedy. As Durkheim puts it, “Each new generation is reared by its predecessor; the latter must therefore improve in order to improve its successor. The movement is circular.” As adults, we must lead and guide children towards the light, even when they have found themselves stumbling in the dark, no matter the extremity of the situation.
Ferlin F. Pedro

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