Indiscipline in Schools,Who is to blame?
Some parents over protect their children, see nothing wrong in whatever they do and threaten teachers with “child rights act”. They give their children too much space to operate and most surprisingly, the children dictate the direction of what should be done in the family. To add salt to injury, these children become Pompeii, untouchable and have no iota of respect for constituted authority. Such parents sing like a broken record, “I don’t want my children suffer they way I did”. Some of them would not mind to manipulate offices for their children and act as if there’s no tomorrow. Unfortunately, tomorrow is here today and thank God that no proprietress or teacher has a direct link to the tragedies that have of late befallen our beloved children. We sow what we reap and if we don’t train them when they are tender, then we should be ready for the tsunami that await us. 21st century parents, wake up from your slumber and act decisively before it’s too late. Times and tides wait for no man
2) Leaners
Some of them have grown so much wings that they cannot be controlled. They have everything at their beck and call and live under the shadows of their parents whose political and social clout is evidenced in the wealth they display. Some are very intelligent but are misdirected to channel their energies to antisocial activities while those who are nothing to talk about find succor in their recalcitrant behavior. They have gangs who unleash mayhem at anytime and they easily cover their tracks. Any form of punitive measures are faced with great opposition from their affluent parents because they attend schools where they manipulate the system to their advantage. They are allowed to have their way at all times. So, they are not familiar with the word “control”. The world is always at their feet. Some determine the schools they should attend, the food they eat, clothes to wear and the type of vehicles to use. In short, such learners are not conversant with the terms actions/inactions and consequences. They have permeated into the very fabric of the educational system to the extent that they have the world at their feet and with their parents, nothing is impossible.
May their tomorrow not catch up with them today. We engage teachers to handle physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics but no one to teach them morals and godly tenets. This is a clarion call for all and sundry to emancipate the coming generation from the dracula which we are breeding.
Educators
They are becoming endangered and may be extinct very soon. Most work in schools where their salaries are encouraging and with high unemployment rate in the country, they turn a blind eye to most of the atrocities that they are privy to. They sometimes become victims when the chips are down so they play safe and would not like to be pawns on a chessboard. Some educators do not want to be embroiled in controversial issues so they allow the children have their way just to retain their jobs in order to keep body and soul together. The “Punishment Book” exists only in name and one should not be surprised to learn that they have gathered dust in schools for a very, very long time. No wonder that some prefects are elected/chosen as a result of their academic prowess and ability to express themselves in diction and elocution and not by conduct and behavior. I pause to ask, “what is the usefulness of the anecdotal book?”
Gone were those days when discipline, was discipline whether old school or not. It has gradually faded into oblivion because of the influx of foreign culture. The hunter has become a prey. Most often, teachers bear the blunt because there should be a scape goat . Sadly, in some schools, the withdrawal of a learner from school is tantamount to the sacking of a teacher. There are teachers who do not report most misdemeanors to the school authorities to avoid been blamed for negligence. The signs seem ominous but hope is alive. Sadly, students murder student, students rape student and student kills teacher. In Ghana, students were alleged to have burnt down a hostel because they didn’t have their way during exams. If I may ask, is this the type of generation that we intend to bequeath our wealth to? We are all crying but someone must bell the cat.
School Owners
Some owners of schools are culpable in the gross indiscipline exhibited by children of the high and mighty. Their fees are not only in hundreds of thousands/millions of naira while some even pay in hard currency. Their swap song is “customer is always right”. So they turn a blind eye to so many misdemeanors in order to smile to the bank as often as possible. Such owners of schools are patronized by clients in the political and social arenas. They threaten the schools with withdrawal of their children and easily have their way. However, there are exceptions, those who have the clout stand eyeball to eyeball with the parents and dare their threats. Strangely enough, students in government schools are not left out of this malady.Their schools have no direct owners so some act as if they are from another planet. A school is expected to render social services while it’s also a business enterprise but school owners should be able to draw the line to ensure that while the latter is key, the former cannot be ignored with a wave of the hand. Some of these atrocities happen at day schools as well but are neatly swept under the carpet because some parents do not want their names besmirched in the mud.
And that saves the school from opprobrium.
The Society:
Most of us have withdrawn into our cocoon and the communal life of the black race have been thrown to the dogs. Parents, teachers and the school cannot exculpate themselves from the evils that we have been confronted with. There was a time when students were expelled for bad behavior if found not malleable. And it wasn’t easy to change schools but the reverse is the case these days. With barbed wires, high fences and wild dogs in our homes we hardly know our neighbors. No parent has the moral right to discipline another child so we are gradually getting to the precipice. When some countries are closing prisons we might be compelled to build more. Guidance and Counseling teachers need the support of all to do their job and their submissions and observations should be taken seriously. Schools should also take a second look at the report cards with great emphasis on behavioral tendencies.
Conclusion
I am optimistic that there’s a glint of light at the end of the tunnel which will result in producing great leaders in the years to come but we need to gird our loins and act fast. It has become imperative to nurse and nurture them now before they become full grown plants that would not be malleable. My sympathies go to people who have suffered avoidable pains all these years as a result of our inability to nip them in the bud long before now. May God help us but the truth must be told no matter whose ox is gored .
S.M.Manford
Enthusiast
MickMay Consult.
08037173934
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