Dear Editor,

Why are Jamaicans reacting to the concept of a guard ring as if it is an anomaly? And please note that I am not advocating for the use of the ring, but the prevailing brouhaha requires an interrogative approach.

Now, first of all, it is not new for cultures across the world to have some form of talisman tradition. And this has nothing to do with whether they have devotion, use the Bible, say prayers, etc in schools. In fact, the psychology of religious faith is not far removed from that of the psychology of talisman jewellery and fortune symbols.

Practices around various stones, rituals, amulets, totems, and so on are psychological tools which help the devotee to keep focus on some dearly held hope or belief. Many of those ridiculing and demeaning the guard ring practice are only too happy to enjoy a fortune cookie and hang a luck catcher on their porch. While some do not even know what that fancy-looking hanging decoration or wind chime might represent.

Across cultural traditions, religious and otherwise, people have often found useful certain aids to faith, which are imbued with potency in accordance with the world view espoused by the believing adherent.

Why exactly is there a singling out of the guard ring phenomena? Is this object the problem? Children have fought and killed over coins. Fights have ocurred over erasers, pencils, and pocket Bibles. Were these objects problematic?

It is a reasonable expectation that those who employ any practice also ensure that this never brings harm to anyone. That should be the standard of assessment regarding any of these observances.

Jamaica has a violence problem. There is also a pervasive sense of fear, dread, hopelessness, and doubt in a context of poverty, landlessness, joblessness, unplanned family life, and corruption in high places.

It feels good to offer prescriptions of devotion, prayer, and preaching in schools. However, we are missing the fact that much of what obtains for school devotions have not necessarily yielded the desired behaviour change. One of the most wasted time in Jamaica is that time in school assembly when some speaker is belting out a favourite doctrine or telling the school why they should all be following a particular church group or religion.

Jamaican schools should invest more of the assembly time in deliberately sensitising awareness around human rights, justice issues, character-building, emotional intelligence, and empathy.

School personnel know only too well that it is common for a stabbing or other incidence of violence to enter the stage within a minute of devotions, where lots of singing and preaching had just taken place.

Church, home, and school can work together. Our modus operandi, however, needs an overhaul, big time.

Sean Major Campbell

seanmajorcampbell@yahoo.com