EDITORIAL: Build up our youth

AN official once said that “with limited natural resources, the prosperity of Barbados depends on the development of its people”. This statement not only speaks volumes, but it is merely a summation of what right-thinking members of our society have been saying for some time.

Over the years, along with the free education that youth in Barbados are for the most part benefiting from, progressive governments have been instrumental in opening up avenues for youth in general through easy access to technological advancements and skills training.

Any observer from outside this country would say, and correctly so, that we are blessed to have such opportunities available to us, even with the economic climate as it is at the moment. What is lacking, however, is the full co-operation and encouragement of the general public.

We have such a wealth of talent in Barbados that we have not begun to scratch the surface. However, there is a disturbing mentality where some of us build up a person who has the potential to do well with one side of our mouths, but we attempt to pull them down with the other. Some also argue that this method is necessary to keep that person “grounded”.

What eventually happens, though, is that where the stronger-willed individual can shake off the undercurrent of negativity and move from strength to strength, the weaker one for the most part is discouraged and we run a serious risk of not benefiting from what he/she could have offered.

Lack of positive reinforcement

Some of the more high-profile cases include Obadele Thompson, Shontelle and Rihanna. We publicly lauded their achievements on one hand, but some of us did not hesitate to ridicule them when they demonstrated that they were not superhuman.

Everyone is prone to not doing their best when the conditions are not right.

What is needed when those events arise is encouragement to do better next time and constructive criticism at the right time.

Too many young people are falling through the cracks because of the lack of positive reinforcement from those adults who can do so and it would not cost them one cent. There is also a growing trend where we “throw things” at the youth and they become chronic receivers as time goes by. This dismissive behaviour on both parts does not bode well for the future that many of us envision, if we want to progress at the rate of other first world countries.

Daily we see in the media youth being presented with new equipment for several vocations, but we hardly hear or see the follow-up where they are being taught to use these resources for further education or better yet, innovation. This seeming lack of guidance then breaks down the potential that should be worked on from start to finish.

We must recognise that we do not exist in a bubble. As human beings, there are times when we need others to build us up, so that we can become the best that we can be. Let us be that support system that causes our youth to thrive and continue the cycle of positive development in Barbados.