Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.
by John Goddard
At the end of the article entitled “factors contributing to negative behaviour among young Barbadian males”, I promised to offer some suggestions on how we may rescue our young men from a life of deviancy and crime.
We need to start with our school age population in an attempt to significantly reduce the potential recruits to the gang culture as well as to help the youngsters eschew violence as a solution to conflict.
Just before COVID struck, the Anglican Commission on Justice, Human Rights and Social Responsibility, under my chairmanship, devised a comprehensive programme, entitled “Empowering our Youth for Positive Living”.
It involved the church working with parents, schools, police, relevant government social agencies, NGO’s, entertainers and the media to reach at-risk young people and encourage them to engage in positive activities. Such a programme is badly needed and should be implemented as soon as possible.
The home must be at the forefront of any attempt to save our young people. I have noticed, of late, an increasing number of fathers spending time with their children. This is to be encouraged, but what is even more important is the kind of home environment provided by parents for their offspring. Simple things can have a major impact on children’s behaviour. For example, a valuable lesson in honesty can be taught by insisting that children not bring home things that do not belong to them and by teaching them not to take money or other items they see at home without asking.
PAREDOS is doing a good job in teaching parenting skills, but their effort needs to be supported by the church and the school. Parenting should be part of the programme in Sunday school, Confirmation class and church youth groups.
Churches may also invite, occasionally, to discuss parenting with congregations during Sunday worship.
Age appropriate parenting skills must be included in the Home and Family Life Education course at both primary and secondary schools.
The Ministry of Health should include parent educators in the team which counsels mothers at pre and post- natal clinics. Their role would be to teach parenting skills to mothers, and fathers, if they are available.
Given the number of Barbadians below the poverty line, Government, with the assistance of the social partners, should move with dispatch to do whatever is possible to ensure that no home in Barbados is left without at least one employed member. Such an initiative would be aimed at reducing the number of young people, especially males, whose condition of privation makes them easy targets for criminals who might lure them into crime with the promise of money and other material goods.
It is obvious that poor education is a major contributory factor to the level of delinquent behaviour we are witnessing. Notwithstanding the love affair many Barbadians have with the Common Entrance Examination, its role in producing feelings of failure and disillusionment among a significant number of students cannot be gainsaid.
It needs to be abolished in favour of a system of transfer which builds rather than destroys the confidence and self-esteem of ALL our children.
I would suggest making about three of our secondary schools sixth form colleges and zone the others to which students would be transferred according to where they live. This would mean that children of varying abilities would be educated in the same school, although not necessarily the same forms. Each of the schools must, of course, be given the necessary teaching and material resources for it to cater to the needs of its student population.
At least one Technical/Vocational Institute is needed for students who, after third form, show the desire and aptitude for such courses of study. In addition to the areas of specialisation, students should be required to study English, Maths, Information Technology and Civics.
Two aims can be achieved as a result of these changes. The notion of good school and bad school which presently exists will be, eventually, erased, and, secondly, primary schools will be freed from having to concentrate on a single exam in English and Mathematics and allowed to spend time trying to satisfy the individual needs of children.
Diagnostic testing and remediation should become essential parts of the school programme, and the curriculum broadened to include Art, Drama, Dance, Civics, Oral Spanish, wise use of technology, Agriculture and Health Science. Assessment at 10 or 11 would be for the purpose of determining if pupils are ready for transfer to secondary level rather than which school they are going to attend. My view is that primary education can and must be made relevant and interesting. Under the present system, many students, by age 11, are burnt out, turned off from formal education or both.
I advocate for social workers to be attached to primary and secondary schools to identify and address negative behaviours early.
Compulsory youth service should be a requirement for young school leavers who are not employed or enrolled in tertiary institutions. We cannot afford to have strong young adults daily wasting time on the blocks and roaming the streets with nothing constructive to do.
Our entertainment artistes and the media must promote wholesome music which frowns on lewd behaviour and violence. We need to encourage singers and speech artistes to produce positive and empowering lyrics.
Even as we try to prevent school children from embracing negativity, we still need to respond to the violence perpetrated by those who have already become criminals.
Police need to be better remunerated and resourced. Meeting the needs and improving the conditions of policing should make the Police Service more attractive to those interested in a rewarding career. Shortage of manpower makes it difficult for the Service to expand the strategies necessary for effective policing.
Finally, it is clear that placing scanners at the Bridgetown Port is not enough to curtail the entry of guns. New and innovative methods must be found to reduce the number of illegal guns on the streets of Barbados.
One method which right thinking citizens should support is permission for random stops and searches by the police. A little inconvenience is to be preferred to shootings and stabbings by those who have no value for life.
Barbadians cannot sit idly by and watch our young males destroy their lives. Government, the private sector, the church, the school, parents and civil society must work together to rescue the youth.
John Goddard, retired but always an educator.
