Children are deadly imitators

THE EDITOR:A culture of violence breeds a culture of violence. In our chop, chop, shoot, shoot society, who do you think the children are imitating. The ones who make the news.

There had been a plethora of role models recently. People planassing each other left and right, choppings, throat slashings, particularly of wives and girlfriends after quarrels, gang shootings, police shootings, and even the physical abuse of infants by adult caregivers. The sensationalising of crime plays its part. Some children may no longer be able to differentiate between truth and fiction. Truth as reported in the news, and fictionalised news accounts offered as entertainment become blurred as faction. Mrs Hazel Manning is right about this, though. Teacher absenteeism plays a major role in school violence. When the role models are not there the children behave very differently. It’s a recipe for organised chaos. Before shouts of denial try to drown out this comment, I want each adult reader to ask yourself if you behaved the same way when in your parent’s presence, as when you were away from home.

Do you behave the same way when your boss is absent as when s(he) is present? Well then, remember this: Children are deadly imitators. They follow in the footsteps of the adults in society. They will continue to do so until and unless drastic steps are taken to say; Stop! Enough! This you will not do. Schools are state property. Children cannot, should not, be allowed to get away with what is going on. The police need to continue to clamp down on them, and the legal system needs to hold their parents responsible for their behaviour. No return of corporal punishment by teachers would solve this, but if a father came to school and whipped his child’s behind for acting the fool, when word gets out it would send a message to other students of what parents can do, with school support. As the parent of Summer Alston-Smith said in the media recently, it’s a three-way partnership between parent, teacher and student. Teachers need to be present in school to teach their classes, parents need to respond positively when called to the schools to deal with their students’ behaviour. They need to stop in to visit classes, they need to welcomed in school. They need to come in peace.

LINDA EDWARDS
Port-of-Spain