In this week’s episode of school violence, we saw a lack of respect for school authorities writ large. The accustomed respect for the office of the Principal was missing. The core incivility of life in our society has been demonstrated for all to witness. The National Parent-Teacher Association President opined: …
Read More »Dear Editor: Stop stigmatising single-parent families and consider deeper causes of school violence
“[…] Is it that two pandemic years at home have left some of our school children confused and unable to distinguish between video games and real life? Is it that the violence-filled ‘entertainment’, often the only type of entertainment they are exposed to in our cinemas and elsewhere, has dulled …
Read More »Noble: The pipeline from school to prison; the drivers of school violence—and the cure
In the recent uproar about the viral videos of school fights, the November 2018 prophecy by then Police Commissioner Gary Griffith is forgotten. “It is really important for us… to look at secondary school crime prevention… If we do not deal with this situation now, in years to come, we …
Read More »Dear Editor: Small correction, Minister Garcia, school fights are not no big thing
“Minister [Anthony] Garcia, are the ‘shattered bones [in the] right elbow’ of Shareefa Ali and Chris Khan’s 9-year-old son–injuries sustained, as reported in the 3 February, 2017 Trinidad Guardian, as a result of a fight initiated by a bully and which required surgery—a ‘part of growing up’? “Is being ‘hit …
Read More »STREET VIBES: Backward Garcia must go if we are to go forward
The old adage “If yuh cyah beat them, join them” can be heard loud and clear behind the latest statement by that dinosaur OJT who has somehow found himself at the helm of education in Trinidad and Tobago. Instead of seeking to find creative ways of treating with the Ministry …
Read More »Day in the life of a school teacher: Some students work after school packing groceries…
“Any incidents of violence in schools, society is always quick to say that the teacher is never there. Teachers have their plates full. Society doesn’t understand that we have no support [and] limited resources. Half the schools in Trinidad and Tobago are dilapidated, hot, do not have fans, water is an issue …
Read More »STREET VIBES: Violence and videos; why MoE continues to struggle with unruly students
Recently, a series of videos have been making the rounds showing young people in school uniforms, many of them young ladies, engaged in fights. One fight is hardly out of our minds before another imprints itself on it, complementing—if that is the appropriate word—the repugnant images of girls kicking, punching, …
Read More »Is the Ministry of Education waiting for our own Columbine?
“We are still grappling with—and even clueless about—how to curb the high crime situation in the wider society. Any wonder the violent behaviour is mirrored in our schools? “And let us not stick our head in the sand because these pupils live in the communities and maybe even repeatedly interface …
Read More »Arima North Secondary holds anti-bullying 5K
The Arima North Secondary school dedicated its annual 5K walkathon to violence and bullying. Principal Karena Ramdeen-Steele said that there were 167 participants to the event, which was held on Friday 12 February 2016 under the banner of: “Stamp out School Violence and Bullying.” Ramdeen-Steele claimed too that her school’s …
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