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The era of social media and the smart phone have apparently made many things seem “new” to many. I cannot even begin to count the number of full-scale wars seen between and among students in uniform, both boys and girls, in school and on the road.
Interestingly, most of these events have been captured on camera amid wild cheers from onlookers. There is no real desire to intervene or diffuse the conflict. Only a need to incite and encourage. It makes for better quality entertainment it seems.
The issue of bullying has been around for as long as I can remember, though very few bullies existed in schools. The bullies who were known, usually ended up defeated by collective efforts or after a sound beating by an underrated opponent, or after a visit to school by their much feared father. In my time bullies eventually abandoned that path. I can’t remember a bully who managed to remain so from the start of school until the end.
Before going on, let me put into perspective the difference between bullying and hazing (and I am not referring to extreme hazing methods that costs lives). The former is meant as a power play to demean, using threats and violence with an end result being exclusion from groups or normal existence in a space.
However, hazing, unlike bullying is meant to force compliance from those who wish to gain inclusion into a group, club, institution. It carries a desire to make one “earn a place within” by servitude, ridicule or shame. In many circles, reasonably done at no risk of life and limb, it isn’t truly a bad thing. Ask any serving or past member of the military or armed forces, known for supreme discipline and order, if, within limits, it has been deemed detrimental. No.
Bullying is usually carried out with the assistance of several others, as bullies don’t usually tend to work or walk alone. They rely heavily on the “security” of others to help carry out their acts and cover up whatever deeds are done. Most times, bullies are cowards acting out like the big bad wolf in the few places they can play the role. In some instances, they are mistreated, abused or following negative examples of how they think power should be wielded.
Every school, and especially those of prominence like Jamaica College, should be at the forefront of empowering students early through the gates, while adopting a zero tolerance approach to bullying. Back in the day it was harder to find bullies based on how ready made for toughness or willing to defend themselves most other boys decided to be, bigger or smaller. There was also a greater willingness for others to step in and diffuse or defeat bullies while protecting the victims.
But over the decades what we have seen is the watering down of schools, rules, discipline, actions and consequences. Why? We decided it was better to take on an ‘up north’ philosophy which weakened authority and made students run schools and themselves.
Every excuse is now made for every violent or unlawful action taken by a student, especially while on school grounds. The words “expulsion” and “suspension” are now like curse words in a church or a loud sermon in a strip club. The very presence of a cadet corps is now seen as oppressive. Detentions are demeaning. The seizing of phones challenges “rights” while the wearing of incorrect uniforms is condoned.
We continue to create and curate weak students, while claiming to be creating “tomorrow’s leaders in society”. We insist on weakening school leadership, while forcing them to accept any and every instance of unacceptable and unlawful behaviour. As time passes and we see an ever growing number of unacceptable incidents, we try to powder puff and honey coat students, especially those who repeatedly show the methods DO NO WORK.
The more we make excuses and seek to justify and blame shift, the bigger the problem becomes. Yet, we the supposedly sensible keep applying the same useless methods, expecting a different result. Do we know why some schools have continued to yield positive results, while managing challenges? They refuse to be influenced by some nonsensical and impractical powder puff methods of impacting and preparing students for future positive lives.
I sometimes wonder if those who went through certain eras of discipline and order in schools found them to carry long-term damage or lifetime benefit. We are now in an era where we want to be friends with children, letting them lead us up and down every hill and valley, by their rules, whims and fancies, eliminating actions with consequences.
No matter what many of you believe, the main contributing factor to the relative ruin of today’s youths is YOU. US. WE. There has been a deliberate dose of overseas influence poured upon us and many have drunk from the fountain of folly to the detriment of today’s youths. We continue to reap, not we have never seen before, but the acceptance of its expanded rot.
The lost sheep can hardly find a shepherd. Our desire to throw out everything of the past and institute “new ways” has done us very little, if any, good. But as the song says “if you keep on doing what you doing Sammy, you’re gonna find that you’re ruined Sammy”.
by Rodney Campbell
