Dear Editor,
As an educator, one of our primary duties is to ensure that learners that are placed within our care are safe at all times. How then can parents assist educators to meet this objective effectively? Of course, there are several ways. But lets us zero in on the wearing of beads. Now one of the first questions one might ask is, what do beads have to do with the learning process? Well the reality is that they can kill. Then the next line of argument is, can’t the pen or pencil kill? The truth is that they can but they are first and foremost learning tools and are only introduced in education as learners get older. But let us be practical, how does the wearing of beads benefit the learner? I get the idea of creative expression and even entertained the thought of enhancing a child. Who wouldn’t support that? But let us analyse at what price.
This expression and enhancement are now at the cost of your child or another child. Well, I think that is way too expensive. Beads can cause strangulation in kids. Remember when a bead is detached from that beautiful hairstyle and another child accidentally swallows this beautiful sparkly object, or insert it in the ear or nose, this can result in serious harm. So, at this point you ask, what is the teacher doing? The teacher, in a class of ratio 10:1, could be assisting or monitoring another student, and let us remember, some class sizes are much larger. So, while we beat down on how archaic we consider educational systems are in not allowing beads as a part of the dress code, we must also think of the child we can save and still have our child creatively expressing themselves in another form. And always remember, that beads can turn on your own bundle of joy. The price is too high to pay.
Sincerely,
Kalehia Johnson
