The issue of school violence has been brought to the fore here in recent weeks with two incidents that have got national attention. There are many theories out there about why it appears that youth violence in general, and school violence in particular, seem to be increasing. And while there is no one reason for it, there is also no quick solution.
But as a people – whether in our homes, communities, churches, wherever – we must get more engaged, and must be committed to remaining engaged for a long time. The old African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child is very applicable in this instance.
And we all need to step up to the plate with all the troubling signs surrounding our community. The responsibility is all of ours. Suffice to say that it is crucially important that the tone is set and maintained in the home. In many instances, low parental involvement with their children, authoritarian childrearing attitudes, poor monitoring and supervision of children and poor parental examples, are recipes for troublesome behaviour in children. Every parent needs their neighbours’ support and the need for support does not end there. For many children the news of school violence may be very troubling to them; they may worry whether they could be the next victim. Their concerns must be dealt with truthfully and sympathetically. They cannot, and must not, be brushed off or ignored. We must encourage our children to speak about the incidents and to tell us how they feel.
There is a responsibility of the wider society – the broader responsibility of a community that increasingly marginalizes families, and forces some parents to be solely focused on mere survival. Sometimes the support systems of willing parents are not readily available, including such things as after school care in a disciplined environment.
Almost a decade ago, I established an after school care system in my constituency – something we believe has made a particular impression on the children and young adults in my area. It is something that we may want to consider having established in the many other areas crying out for these services. Too many of our children are left alone after school, as their parents are out fighting to make ends meet.
With parents getting younger, and even grandparents, a traditional bulwark in keeping community discipline, increasingly out in the marketplace, it is becoming more than ever necessary to cultivate an environment that provides support for parents lacking financial means or physical time to foster adequate child rearing. We have to build a society where parents must not be put in a position where they have to choose one option or the other – and to live feeling guilty of the one they did not choose.
From a governmental standpoint, there is an increasing need to pay more attention and put more resources into social services. We may want to consider a well-staffed and focused department which can attract professions in such fields as psychology, special life education, social work and children’s services, who can work closely with our at-risk youth on a full-time basis. That improved system will feed into the schools network, providing our teachers with the kind of support they increasingly need.
As I said in a social media post after the reports of acute bullying at one of our schools last week – we must look to boost permanent counselling services in our school system, so that children with behavioral challenges can quickly be identified and given the special attention they need and deserve. Furthermore, we must include the parents as part of this process and develop effective parenting programmes to benefit our children’s development.
Such activities at the community level, involving sports and culture, are also useful contributions to keeping our youth engaged and focused. Access to playing facilities; the development of a coaching structure – where these coaches will not only teach sporting skills but serve also as mentors – could also be areas that we could develop and research together. Another point of consideration is to help develop and institute community seminars that will teach particularly young parents parenting skills that they could use at home.
But the crux of it all – as it is with most things – is that many places have shown that those challenges of which we now speak could be greatly and effectively reduced in times of economic prosperity. This nation has to return to a new era of economic growth, if only for the fact that – as has been said elsewhere – a rising tide lifts all boats.
And heaven knows this next generation needs lifting up.
