Dear Editor,
Our newspapers kindly published my recent letter which contained rhetorical questions about the depressing “negativity” in our society with particular reference to the development of children whose share of Guyana’s population is increasing while the development of their potential appears to be decreasing. When I was in primary school we had to say prayers four times daily, ie at the beginning and end of each morning and afternoon session. At high school we prayed at the beginning of each day and at least once per week there was some devotional/motivational talk/discussion led by a teacher or societal role model.
To what extent are these activities in vogue these days? My casual inquiries reveal practices that vary from indifference or infrequency to some or optional initiatives. Is there a case for standardization or mandating minimal character-building programmes?
A reliable contact in a UK jurisdiction responded to me this week as follows:
“I have spoken to colleagues in primary and secondary education; I am informed, that there is an assembly each morning at which time, hymns are sung, The Lord’s Prayer is chanted and this is accompanied by a topical presentation, delivered by a member of staff or a designated student. “As part of the curriculum, educational visits to a mandir, mosque, gurudwara and Christian churches are promoted. Multi-faith practitioners are invited as part of the assembly’s programme, to input about his or her religion.”
Also,I think the following extract from a recent inspiring article by our own popular and respected Dr Joyce Jonas is also instructive:
“If we want our children to be decent citizens, why are we tolerating the presence of teachers who are verbally and physically abusive and why are we not up in arms about the environment of bullying, stealing, cheating, cursing and disrespect for authority that our children have to contend with when we send them to school each day?
“We allow our children to spend their formative years in shabby buildings with unpainted, damaged furniture, filthy toilets, litter-filled yards—hoping that from these beginnings they will become civic minded, taking care of the environment. We allow our children to buy their SBA’s and photocopy ad lib and still hope that they will turn out to be honest adults! What are we thinking?”
Initiatives being implemented in Canada of which I am aware include:
• A particular character-building topic is designated for each month within which to ‘frame’ active discussion, events and initiatives among students, eg, September = Respect; October = Responsibility; November = Empathy; December = Kindness; January = Teamwork; February = Fairness; March = Honesty; April = Cooperation, etc, etc.
• They also conduct slogan competitions whereby students are encouraged to submit crisp, motivational character-building slogans. Winners are selected each term.
Locally, I can also recall that in my early days as the first ‘principal/teacher’ of Hindu College, Cove & John, we initiated a nationally competitive Inter-High School Essay Competition for the best essay on the topic: ‘Knowledge is better than silver & gold, but good character is better than both knowledge and silver & gold.’ I can still recall a Ms Maureen Birkett of Bishops’ High School winning the competition which was given nation-wide publicity just as is given to top-performing CXC students these days.
I humbly suggest that while it is necessary that we focus on passing examinations and publicizing the academic excellence of a few, it is equally important that we celebrate those whose ABC (Attitude, Behaviour, Character) are exemplary and critical foundational elements of effective human resource development.
Yours faithfully,
Nowrang Persaud
