Fearsome environments in rural communities and the education of the young

These couple of weeks we witnessed the fear and hysteria experienced by some children at Moruga Composite.  The education authorities have dismissed the incident but one of the teachers there cautioned that we require more explanation and understanding of the problem.  I am inclined to agree with him.

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Moruga_school_holds_emergency_service_-107376848.html?corder=reverse

The fear of the wild forest environment emanates from a belief in the activity of unknown spirits that can harm the unsuspecting.  The same type of stories was circulated in Cedros Composite a few years aback.

Cedros and Moruga have in common that they are deep rural communities.  The education facilities in these areas are few.  The general population is no less educated than the remainder of the country but the truth be told, many of the educated persons have migrated to the towns where there are jobs, cultural activities, libraries, and a regular supply of electricity, water, etc.

There are very few students who attended Cedros Composite or Moruga Composite or any other of the rural schools who have gained national scholarships.  The majority of the students attending these schools attained less than 80% at the entrance examinations.  The problem is worsened as while attending these schools they have lost valuable class time because of the lack of teachers, half days because of no water, and the disruptive activities of students whose learning disabilities are not being addressed. 

Now we have to add to the list of class time lost, the effects of food poisoning and the activities of malevolent spirits, or should we call this the power of suggestion in an atmosphere of fear?  In all of these instances we need to examine what exactly is the quality of education that these children are receiving.

Regarding the hysteria and fear, we have to include a proper environmental science programme to have these students appreciate the environment rather than fear and destroy it.

The school environment and things that go "Boom!"

Time was when children had respect for the environment.  They went to church and expected that God would see their hearts and they reverenced the place.  School was a place of learning and teachers were super-heroes (or close to that).  Those days are gone.  Half of the students at Gasparillo Secondary School go to school and lime in the corridors instead of going to classes, if we are to believe the Trinidad Guardian story that reported the statements of the Security Guard at the school.

http://guardian.co.tt/news/crime/2010/11/05/teachers-save-day-students-set-fire-school
The difference in the attitude of the teachers and the students present when the incident occurred is telling.  The article said that one teacher kicked off her shoes, raised up her Divali ethnic wear and sprinted for water to put out the fire.  She and other colleagues sustained burns and were later congratulated by the Minister of Education for saving the school from burning down.  They limited the damage to approximately $20,000.  A few students created the mischief and the others panicked. 

What would prompt children to set fire to school property, creating panic, while the others try to get out of the one exit? Does this sound familiar?  Here is a clue: remember the mad scramble from Port of Spain when we expected the visit from Tropical Storm Tomas.

But really, what kind of school environment would tolerate half the students liming in the hall instead of going to classes on any given day or, to be precise, on a day before a holiday?  Unsupervised children with dangerous toys, a product of the imported advanced technology, leads to the possibility of damage to school property, to themselves and to other children.

Several children have been maimed over the years.  The bombs shatter the quiet and can upset classes.  They are at least a nuisance and, as the article showed, a fire hazard.  Yet teachers taking a stand against the use of scratch bombs at schools are considered to be too extreme.  Some parents and students consider these scratch bombs as innocent noisemakers.  They say that these scratch bombs provide harmless fun, such as making people "jump".

I wonder, were the children at Gasparillo trying to capture attention and make us focus on the fact that half of them are liming on the corridors on any given day when we think we are spending our limited revenue to support their education?

Has enough been said about scratch bombs?  They are illegal and should not be brought unto the compound but the Minister asked "Can we search every school bag coming into the school compound?" 

If we teach the children to respect both the natural and man-made environment then there would be no need for the searching.

Natural Landscape helps to moderate the influence of the weather

Haiti, still suffering the effects of an earthquake and a cholera epedemic, is now faced with another major catastrophe, that of Hurricane Tomas.  It is common knowledge that most of Haiti's forest have been removed thereby offering little resistance to the effects of pounding rain and raging mountain rivers from storm water.  A major part of long term solutions to Haiti's problem lies in re-forestation. This should be aggressively pursued so as to help alleviate the disasterous effects which nature seems to be having on this country. There is a lesson for us here too in Trinidad and Tobago if we do not manage our forest reserves.

Important man-made environments must also be preserved

Mt. Pleasant Government Primary School, Claxton Bay, is having accommodation issues at present.


http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Protesters_demand_new_school_-106494338.html

http://www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,129714.html

Clearly the blame cannot be put on the students nor the parents or even the Teachers of the School. It is the job of those involved in maintenance and the construction of new school buildings to manage the situation so that those who make use of the facility are not at risk. Clearly they have failed and immediate action should be taken to remedy this situation.

I must commend the newspaper for bringing this situation to the fore. We must place each child high on our list of priorities so that in this land of plenty, they will not be at a disadvantage.