A child is our most important gift. It arrives with no owners manual, service agreement, warranty or helpline to call.Yet humans survived the Ice Age without pampers or aspirin.

By this we know birthing, raising a child, furnishing him with survival skills and the values and attitudes (V&A) of society – parenting – is not beyond us. Why then are our kids unloved, exploited, retarded and murdered? Are we more inept than Stone Age parents? We have priests, churches, teachers, rights groups and social workers by the crateful, yet we have more ignorance, anti-social behaviour, violence and less love and caring than ever. What’s wrong? More important, what can we do to correct it?

The recent ruling of a British court that a 24-year-old mother was too “stupid” to bring up her child has lessons for us. She has appealed to the EU court to avoid cumpulsory adoption of her child. But it seems that a “stupid” or bad parent is worse than having no parent. Here in paradise we have child abuse, incest, trafficking and torture, aided by parents. Our kids are beggars and car washers – they are kidnapped, raped and murdered. Our esteemed PJ Patterson put V&A on the nation’s agenda years ago but our supine thought leaders have not fleshed out the values we wish to live by, be known for or codified them for use in home, school and community. We tend to use vague, sentimental, anecdotal words of questionable provenance. Our kids need to be habilitated, but what are our core values? Ask our GG, your teacher and the PM to list our values and each list would be different. We confuse kids. We can no longer live like this! Let’s codify our values propositions!

Action

A preamble to UK primary school syllabus on nature values says this: by age seven, pupils should have learnt that “humans have a responsibility to ensure the well-being of animals, including mini-beasts (ants, bees, worms); rules for behaviour in areas where they live and not to stamp on insects” – UKQCA. Now, please answer the following:

(1) What are our core values? Non sequiturs as “one love, do unto others, honesty, one hand can’t clap” are colourful, meaningless metaphors. They mean nothing to a child or young person and several things to an adult. We need a compendium of our core values.

(2) Who are role models for our values as regards people, the environment, work, etc? The police? Men who dynamite fish? Dancehall minstrels? Academics, politicians, footballers? Who are the poster people for our values?

(3) What is the base of our values or ethics? We use parables and aphorisms, ex-cathedra incantations of politicians, preachers and even our granny. We assert values related to self, environment, work ethic, etc, as it suits us from the Bible, Bill Gates, Gandhi, Al Gore, etc. We are a nation in an ethics crisis using bumper-sticker wisdom to guide us. Where are our philosophers, thinkers and ethicists? Let us erect a solid foundation of values and live by them. Here is how we might do this:

First, let’s discuss, define, codify and exemplify the V&A we hold dear. No more vague, opportunistic, highfalutin sound bytes; let’s adopt values with meaning and depth.

. Appoint a national V&A colloquium to prepare a report and roll-out plan in six months. The panel should include theologians, ethics and philosophy academics, the PSOJ and be served by analysts and researchers. Let’s stop using T-shirt philosophy!

. Let’s invite written submissions from the public, the diaspora and all sources.

. The remit of the panel is to elaborate and justify a few timeless elements to be the core of our nation’s V&A schema – our ethical GPS.

Second, use a multi-discipline team to elaborate the V&A report into syllabi and taught regimes – core content, instructional kits, teaching aids, competitions, etc.

. Their output would be V&A material for use in basic school and upward (taught as ethics at university). The material should include home, media and new media kits with age-group games, quizzes, stories, activities, posters, etc.

. Cabinet must mandate at least one period per week of V&A instruction in all schools.

Third, appoint a project manager and a technical team; invest $200m over three years to produce the V&A kits, etc, give technical assistance to modernise and expand youth groups and clubs – cubs, scouts, guides, 4H, boys and girls brigade, cadets, junior environment rangers – in all parishes, to service basic and primary schools and use this project to embed the values we need to live loving and prosper.

Fourth, once we know and live our values then we must reward V&A excellence in schools, factories, offices and communities. Everyone can be a star! This project will not guarantee just productive and caring behaviour by all, but by 2013, we will know the standards by which we are judged and what we expect of citizens! The cash we will not need to spend on the JDF and JCF; the lives and property saved will be worth it. We are not rich but we can live loving and leave our kids a good legacy. Stay conscious!

Postscript – Latibeaudiere

My article last Friday in defence of fair play and the rule of law was welcomed by Commonwealth central bankers from the Caribbean to India and I accept their encomia on behalf of all Jamaicans. Sorry, chaps, I will not be at CHOGM in T&T later this month. Our silent majority seem to support the Gov, and his job prospects overseas are excellent! However, he should remain and build with us. To those who sent me filth: I will use it as manure to increase my production – thanks anyway!

Dr Franklin Johnston is an international project manager with Teape-Johnston Consultants, currently on assignment in the UK.

franklinjohnston@hotmail.com