KRISSAN Spaulding, the head girl of Meadowbrook High School in St Andrew, was only scheduled to read a Bible verse at a special service Sunday at Meadowbrook United Church. But a burning reminder of the frequent and violent stand-offs among her peers prompted her to present a short speech in which she identified an “evil wave”, and appealed to parents to get involved.

The service on Sunday was dedicated to teachers and principals in the public education system, who are on the frontline everyday in schools and who have to deal with the turmoil among students.

The theme of the church service was ‘Recognise and Celebrate’.

“We have all seen the videos on social media of students brawling, fighting and assaulting each other and there has even been a death. My school has not been immune. The extent to which this is occurring islandwide suggests an evil wave is in our midst, and so we welcome the call for divine intervention in the education system by offering up prayers for us all. Let us pray for the homes children come from. We are appealing and making a special call for mentors for our students. Parents, get involved in your children’s lives. We need you,“ the young girl said.

”We hope that a change in the attitude of students and the population on a whole is on its way with the help of God Almighty,” Spaulding added, before quoting 1 Peter 4:7- 11 from the Bible.

Meanwhile, Reverend Lembe Sivile, pastor of the church, delivered a powerful message to attentive parents and teachers.

In an appeal to teachers, Sivile said that God knew why He made them become educators in such a difficult time, and encouraged them to stick it out although it may be tempting to rush for greener pastures. He then shifted his focus to a particular set of parents, whom he lambasted for leaving their children up to the negative influences of the world.

“The classroom is not the same. We know what has been going on. It is becoming risky because you don’t know what students are carrying and you don’t know what they are planning to do. We don’t really want to blame the students, but there are some things we can do to make the work of educators manageable. Jamaica without educators would be gone long time. Sometimes the educators deal with students who have been given up by their own parents. They give up on them and then send them to the educators to transform and form them. The educators are also parents. What is to be done by the parents, the educator now has to do it, but the educators have families too,“ he said.

“The educators are wrestling with their families at home. Then they come to school and have to be teacher and parent. At the same time they can’t discipline the children. How can that work? We need to realise at the end of the day, that as we continue to recognise the effort, these are some of the things we need to engage as a country. There is nowhere in the world where you can do anything significant without addressing the challenges in the home. Even this crime and violence we talk about, we can buy the most expensive equipment, [but] if we don’t address the family structure and systems of this country, we are hitting on a hard ground,” Sivile said.

He admonished leaders and parents to fix things now, or prepare for a bleak future.

“We need to go back and assess the homes where the students come from. We believe some of these students are not behaving how they ought to, but some of them are bringing themselves up. Sometimes parents think that as long as they send money, they are parents. You can buy the best Clarks shoes for your child and give them the most expensive phones, as long as you decide to be absent, when you retire you will be coming back to sort out a problem that will be with you for the rest of your life. Fix it now or face it in the future. We cannot be absent in the name of advancement. Family is an important facet for life and living”.

Just last week, Opposition spokesperson on education Senator Damion Crawford expressed concerns at the rising levels of violence among Jamaican children and criticised the Government, claiming it was not doing enough to get a handle of the situation.

Crawford raised concerns following the stabbing death of 15-year-old Ranniel Plummer of Irwin High School on April 18. His 14-year-old schoolmate was charged with the murder.

Prior to that incident, several students from prominent Corporate Area high schools participated in violent clashes, which forced their principals to put out statements denouncing violence.