THE GRAYDONIAN
SENTINEL Vol. #11
It All Counts!
SOUND ADVICE! This piece was making the rounds on
The true reality is that principals and teachers have to grapple with children who have very little regard or appreciation for the education they are
WhatsApp in the aftermath of the two stabbing
getting, while battling bad behaviour and lack of
incidences that occurred in Barbados over the past two
support from homes.
weeks involving school-aged children. Take a read. For those of us who are parents, take heed. For those
So before you condemn and criticize principals and
among us who are not, be mindful that you also have a
teachers remember that you child's earliest educational
role to play. Children were not put here already
experiences were in your care and your home, and it is
knowing everything that there is to know about life, that
difficult to "unteach" bad teaching.”
is why they have parents. As teachers, we provide a
Essentially, as a society we must return to the
supporting role to the parents of these young humans.
teachings that helped to shape and guide our
However, who they eventually become is in part a result
development into the people that we have become. We
of what we as parents and society have collectively
need to recognise that children are just that, children,
trained them to become.
and must be treated accordingly. They are not our
Have a read and take stock. “I would like to say to all parents and guardians of school age children that no child was born or brought up
friends, even though we can be friendly. They MUST take their place and addressing them as ‘big man’ and ‘big woman’ does not help. If the events of the past two weeks have not
in a school. They visit schools for the purpose of getting an education but they bring their dirty habits, nasty
caused us to put on the brakes to our callous way of
attitudes and disrespectful behaviours with them.
‘bringing up’ our young people, then I am very afraid for the future of this little rock in the sea.
The rude and disrespectful behaviours which you as parents thought were cute in their pre-school years, principals and teachers have to deal with and address because those same behaviours have now become the children's reality. Many of your children do not even know when they are being disrespectful or rude because that is what they know, how they were trained and socialised.
We CAN do better. In fact, we MUST do better.