The question of the origin of criminal behavior needs to be studied, because if you do not know where it starts then it will be difficult to put a lid on it. In speaking with a young school lad, I was curious as to why he carried such a big load of books to and from school on a daily basis.
I asked could he not only carry the books for his daily subjects and he laughed and said: “Only if I was mad, or didn’t understand the system…’
“Firstly,” he said, “the teachers insist that you carry all your books to school daily…” So, I asked if there were lockers and he smiled and asked me if I had any in my day, so I said “No, but that was fifty years ago.” Well, as I learned from this experience, things have remained the same and in addition to carrying it all to school, you need to watch your own books daily, and at all times, to ensure that it is within your eyesight all the time, because of thieves. For sure, once you turn your back someone is likely to be stealing your goods, books, or personal belongings, even your food.
So, I said “Wow!” and then it dawned on me that the school does not take security seriously, and even with the technology of the day, there is no surveillance, be it in the class room, dining area, or elsewhere. As far as the system is concerned, security at school meant having a watchman at the entrance gates, and they care not about the protection of students, or staff. Then I thought, if a student steals from another, doesn’t he or she not bring the stolen item/s at home? And how do their parents react? Do they question the source and demand that the stolen item be returned to its rightful owner? Or, do they condone their children’s wrong action, or just don’t know, or don’t care?
I wondered if there were parents that collaborated with their children, because stealing is being treated like it’s no big thing and it matters not. I also thought that children learned from what they see adults do and they know that to beat The System, anything you steal has a price on the market and at the right price you can get sale, and sale means having money. Now, persons are even stealing from schools and churches, not caring about the loss to the student, teachers, or school, it’s all about stealing for self-gratification because “things hard” and “one has to survive by any means.”
So, the Ministry of Education does not seem to care, parents care less and Joe Public can’t wait to buy stolen goods regardless of where they come from, because the price is right.
After overlooking all these factors, we complain about the growing scourge of crime.
I keep saying that we are the cause of the problem, as the Patois saying goes “Si la pa ni soutiwez, pani voleur!’– in other words, if we do not buy stolen goods, then the thieves will not have a sale for their stolen goods.
We face a problem of not nipping things at the bud, not taking the appropriate action, and we keep on making excuses for our children’s action, and behavior and sadly enough, when they grow old we blame The System for their behaviour, but never ourselves. On the other hand the school system has remained rigid, not flexible, non-committal, and very old fashioned, they refuse to move with the times and care not about relevant changes, or the protection of their students, or their teachers, not even their watchmen, far less the institution. They forget all the mass shootings going on in schools abroad, like if that could never happen here, they see that as a Big Country affair, forgetting that anybody can get a gun these days…
We pass the buck at all times, continue to look for witches to burn and let things remain as is, and hope somebody-else deals with it or solves the problem. What a way to go. Why do we read and see on TV and know what goes on elsewhere and pretend that this is not our business?
I am amazed how things remain the same, yet we always hear about changes going on in the School System. What changes? I wonder…