Concerned for our schools

THE EDITOR, Sir:

TWO ARTICLES in
The Gleaner
of Tuesday, February 23, point to the state of confusion our school administrators must operate in when it comes to the issues of values and discipline. Calabar preempts mandatory exclusion from this year's prestigious Gibson Relays by voluntarily withdrawing after having entered an over-aged student in the event last year.

Laudable Calabar? Perhaps, but in making that judgment, we need the answer to an obvious follow up question: Can an individual Class Three 4 x100m representative of his school be totally unaware that he is overaged for such an event?

We would have some justification to enquire as to whether something about this issue needs to be known before we invite the school to take a bow.

A very slippery slope

The second event is even more distressing and was reported in a page A2 story. The context was, a 16-year-old-old student attacked teacher with a long knife and both were injured. Here is my paraphrasing of statements attributed to Vauxhall High School's principal, Angella Chaplain: "The boy attacked the teacher with a long knife ... He is a problem child who comes to school and smokes ganja." Here is the clincher that says it all and vividly illustrates the extent to which school administrators have been emasculated in relation to disciplining rouge students. "I think he (the student) will have to take leave and return to sit his external exams". Talk about a very slippery slope.

I am, etc.,

FOOT DRAGGING

Stony Hill