Violence still on classroom agenda for teachers

The prevalence of bullying and violence among school-aged children will again be on the minds of teachers as they prepare for next month’s physical return to classes, according to Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union president Mary Redman.

In a recent interview, she bemoaned the fact that nine months after the fatal stabbing of a student at the Frederick Smith Secondary School, 33 recommendations submitted to the Ministry of Education have remained largely unaddressed.

She was reacting to two recent acts of violence, allegedly perpetrated by minors that claimed the lives of a 10-year-old boy and 19-year-old girl. Also of concern to the longstanding union boss was a video circulating on social media that captured juveniles assaulting the elderly and homeless in Bridgetown.

“Violence among children has always been and continues to be a source of concern for teachers. Last year, we saw an act of violence that we hope never to see repeated in our country. This union wrote a letter to the ministry with 33 recommendations and I know there have been some attempts to address the situation, but a lot more still has to be done, and in many instances, what we are seeing is a reflection of the fact that there are broader societal problems that need attention on how they impact children in our society,” Redman told Barbados TODAY.

When asked if such fears would continue to exist when schools physically re-open in the COVID-19 environment, she replied: “If things have not been put in place to address the problem, it will continue. Once the conditions are there for them to persist, they will persist.”

And, as primary and secondary institutions prepare to re-open, she again stressed that schools should not be seen as the only socializing agent.

Pointing to a lack of supervision, direction and guidance in some local households, she again explained that in recent times, parents have opposed disciplinary measures when their children break the school’s rules.

“The family and the communities also have a role to play along with the church and the extent to which this is not happening is evident in what we are seeing as incidents among children in society today,” Redman contended.

“We are seeing the effects of that in relation to the disregard for law and order and for the standards and values that have taken us as a country to the level of development that we enjoy today. Many of those values and standards have been totally discarded and dismissed, and we are paying for it in the types of incidents that we are seeing occurring today among young people,” she complained.

On November 8 last year,16-year-old Temario Holder was fatally stabbed at the Frederick Smith Secondary School by a fellow student. (kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)