Systematic appraisal of schools must be conducted

A systematic appraisal must be carried out in schools across Barbados to determine the various reasons why children who engage in deviant behaviour may be acting out in that fashion.

This is coming from Chairman of the Board of Management of Christ Church Foundation School, Orlando “Gabby” Scott, who recently spoke at the school’s Speech Day and Prize-Giving Ceremony.

Noting that the Barbadian society must not rest in the fact that violence amongst the youth in this country is not high, he stated that they should place their focus on trying to combat those incidents that do occur, by getting to the root causes of why some of these young people tend to go down this path.

In addition, people must look at the various factors that could lead to this negative behaviour whether it be local, such as the minibus culture; or foreign, such as those traits that young people may pick up on via their television screens and social media.

“Barbados can take no comfort in allowing periodic outbreaks of violence by our school children. Our suggestion therefore is that we need to carry out a systematic appraisal of our schools and assess the factors that are influencing the behaviours of our children, for example, the effects of the oft-spoken ‘minibus culture’. The vital question that we pose is this: Given the gravity of the societal challenges, must we not take action given the growth of our schools; the apparent dysfunction in the family settings; the spread of the dreaded drug culture which, doubtlessly, has discoloured the fabric of our society; and the sordid influences of the mass media, in particular the unbridled social media?”

Greater attention must also be placed on the social relationships that young people may be exposed to in their home and community settings and then stakeholders must seek to address these issues, stated the Chairman.

“We must also pay stricter scrutiny to issues such as social relationships and cultural settings which may affect the mental health of our children. We, who are in the school system, cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that human beings are conditioned by their environment. We therefore must seek professional help from those who can offer that help for children, who are raised in troubled homes and communities where there are pockets of violence. It is for that reason that we are recommending that we must begin to build greater links with the Ministry of Health, through the Psychiatric Hospital, so that we may better be able to assist our troubled youth with the appropriate help. It is time for us to eradicate the stigma associated with mental illness and get the best care for our children.”