Dear Editor,

The non-stop epidemic of violence which is mainly plaguing secondary schools in Jamaica should be seen as a major social problem which needs urgent attention.

Indeed, it goes without saying that schools are educational institutions of learning and change agents of positive and appropriate behavioural modification channels. In many ways, it is the home away from home for many children, as teachers become their parents, counsellors and, many times, their providers as well.

However, when the mainly negative norms, values, and mores of dysfunctional families, the dancehall culture, and inner-city communities become an infestation in our secondary schools through students, the host carriers of this dysfunction, social cohesiveness will definitely fall apart, leading to the seemingly uptick in violence now being experienced by some of our secondary schools.

It is a well-established fact in the science of social psychology that violence is a learnt behaviour. Many of our children are bombarded each day in their communities, on social media, on the minibuses, and in other spaces with various acts of violence, be it physical confrontations among their peers and other individuals, video violence, or through the dancehall culture. They learn early in life to fight instead of talking things out.

In fact, men are socialised in Western culture that displays of aggression is a masculine trait. These social stereotypes are, therefore, encouraged by both parents and other social institutions in our society. Boys playing a game of football are expected to aggressively tackle their opponents. Olympian Usain Bolt could often be seen beating his chest as he crossed the finish line, apparently to show that he is the ‘man’ in charge of the race. The Pentecostal preacher on a Sunday, for example, will shout aggressively at his flock in his church to appear as a ‘macho’ representative of God. The dancehall artiste sings violent, sexual, and ‘bling’ lyrics to satisfy his or her audience. The police officer, in enforcing the law, will display wanton aggression to prove that he is in charge and that he is also a man. Similarly, the male partner in a relationship must show unnecessary authority as a man by being aggressive to his female partner. Even women bosses are expected, in most organisations, to behave like a “man” in order to be respected at the executive level of leadership in the cooperate boardroom.

These and other socially created notions of how a man should behave in our society are subtle and subliminal ways our children, especially boys, learn how to become aggressive creatures as they grow older.

The frequency of violence in our schools is, therefore, a function of how our children have been socialised. As such, the schools should not be blamed. All schools in Jamaica have rules and sanctions to deal with students’ behavioural problems, and these are usually enforced. Nevertheless, when children are overexposed to serious and negative dysfunctional behaviour in their communities, schools will suffer the challenges they are presently experiencing.

Ironically, schools, where young minds are expected to develop, grow, and bloom into future promises and possibilities, are fast becoming centres of violence. Many teachers are expressing fear and apprehension as they grapple with the ongoing epidemic.

Lest we forget, children are our future. So, as our nation strives to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa and work towards social and economic sustainability, it is hoped that the various stakeholders will no longer sacrifice meaningful values and attitudes policies to positively improve the psycho-social behaviour of children for an investment in the offshore drilling of oil or the satisfying of various geopolitical paradigms of their powerful northern neighbour.

Are we waiting for a Columbine-style atrocity? We must act now, before it’s too late.

Norman “Teacher” Collins

St Andrew

normandellacollins@yahoo.com