By Claudine Housen, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
WENTWORTH GABBIDON, president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), has recommended the implementation of a mentorship programme in schools as a way of addressing some of the issues that affect today's youth.
Mr. Gabiddon made the call while celebrating 'Boys Day' at Flankers Primary and Junior High School in St. James recently.
"I have noticed the trend to have specific days as they relate to boys and girls," he said. "I think it is very important that we find the time to speak to both genders on matters as it relates to them specifically, and to motivate and guide them into working towards becoming successful citizens in the society."
Mr. Gabiddon's vision, however, does not stop there, as he spoke of the need to not only maintain yearly 'Boys Day' and 'Girls Days' in schools but to take the underlying idea to the next level by creating mentoring programmes to further boost the morale of students, specifically those from single parent homes.
"What I would love to see coming out of the boys and girls day activities is the whole matter of mentorship," Mr. Gabiddon said. "To get some people in the community, and even outside the community, to mentor these children who really need the father figure (or) the mother figure to help to guide them because it's a concern in our society where in many of our households you find the mother is there but the male many times is absent."
In agreement with Mr. Gabiddon, principal for Flankers Primary and Junior High, Hugh B. Miller, spoke of his concern about the state of the young males in the school system and hailed the 'Boys Day' activities as one way to positively affect change.
"We are very concerned about the state of our boys. The boys are not achieving as we would like them to," he said. "It is not only from school, it is also in the home. A number of parents are single parents and the boys need to be shown that they too are loved."
The 655 boys at the Flankers Primary and Junior High were treated to motivational talks from Mr. Gabiddon in his capacity as JTA president, Clyde Evans, Ministry of Education officer with special responsibility to the school, and a host of other male achievers, including lawyer and councillor Charles Sinclair.
