Young and stuck in mud

The avalanche of mud, slush and debris and the consequent clean-up operation are timely physical reminders and reflections of the state of our tiny nation. We are submerged in an unhappy state of crime and ineffective, arrogant government, where our cries fall on deaf ears.

The river of crime and the dirty slush of indifferent government bureaucracy continue to deny citizens the right to a basic decent standard of life in the midst of high-rise buildings and international conferences that cater for the ego of our tin god Prime Minister, who fancies himself as a world leader, private jet and all.

In the midst of all this panic and hysteria, one of the unnoticed and less-talked about pieces of social debris appeared: school violence. Shaquille Antoine, 14, Form Three student of Tranquillity Government Secondary School in Port-of-Spain, was robbed and beaten unconscious by six schoolmates last Thursday. He is begging the Ministry of Education to have him transferred to another school, because he fears for his life. Antoine was beaten and kicked about the head, chest and ribs, because he refused to hand over his cellphone, school allowance, and his $5 stud earring.

Traumatised and depressed, he said he was scared to return to the school, for fear of either being killed or badly beaten again. “I really don’t want to go back there, because it was not the first time I was attacked; it was the first time, though, that I was actually beaten. And now that I have survived that, I really don’t want to return to that school,” he declared.

Ironic respect

Antoine gave a chilling account of school life. He explained that many students were routinely robbed, attacked and bullied at the school by students who had formed gangs. The administration, it would appear, is barely surviving the onslaught itself, and seems content to sweep it all under the carpet, so hapless students remain stuck in the mud.

Student indiscipline and gang violence are motivated by the sense of ironic respect and admiration it brings from one’s peers. A rebellious and non-conformist student in our present school culture is transformed into a hero, because of the ineffective measures to combat indiscipline. Suspension is seen as a mere “holiday” from school, and this is the worst “punishment” that teachers and principals are empowered to administer.

The trauma of being bullied, slapped in front of your teenage girlfriend, beaten for your refusal to hand over your own lunch money, cellphone, stud earring, etc, lasts a lifetime. Every decent student feels a sense of hurt when the system that they trust and respect seems powerless and clueless as to how to deal with a student offender who has violated their rights and self-esteem.

Badjohn students command respect in schools. You are forced to pretend that you want to be their friend because you fear them. The irony is that these are the student “leaders” that our education system breeds and fosters.

Greater emphasis must be placed on the victims and the reaction of the larger student population to the treatment and punishment of indisciplined students. No one focuses on the good ones. That is why poor Shaquille is begging for a transfer while his attackers remain comfortably ensconced at the school that tolerates and covers up their illegal wrongdoing.

Forgotten victim

The focus is almost invariably on the rehabilitation of the offender and his gentle re-introduction into the school system. No thought is given to the victim, how the rest of students think, what they expect and how they would react to or interpret what is done. Why should Shaquille have to leave? They should be the ones to leave!

The way to deal with student indiscipline is to make sure that the offender is properly punished, so that an effective deterrent is introduced at an early stage. The solution to indiscipline in schools must cater for the expectations and reactions of the large body of innocent disciplined students.

This is the only way it will inspire and win the confidence of the good students. If the offender is not properly punished (in proportion to the offence), he is likely to continue his badjohn behaviour, because the rewards (popularity, respect, fear and friends galore) by far outweigh the punishment.

But this is only part of the problem. The more dangerous consequence is that the burning sense of disappointment and betrayal the rest of well-behaved students feel leads to an early loss of confidence in the education system that society has put together to nurture and protect them.

I firmly believe that greater emphasis should be placed on the large body of diligent, disciplined students that anticipate swift and effective punishment for indiscipline. By trying to be gentle on the bad ones, we may ironically be loosing all the good ones by sending the wrong signal to them.