Do not give up on our boys

Good morning, good day and good night to all a mi nice clean bunnununus readers across di werl! Some people think we only local, but a chuu dem nuh know di ting international an 'werlwide'! I hope all is well and unuh a gwaan hold di faith because the race is not fi di swift but who can endure to di end.

The new school year has started, and I want to take this opportunity to wish the best for all parents, teachers and students. Education is a partnership between the aforementioned parties, therefore, all hands must be on deck and everybody should play their role effectively for the best outcome. As a back-to-school morning, nuff people a post seh education a di key, but by Wednesday di key lost and it is back to the same old story. Dweet fi di love and not the likes! The same interest wah some people tek fi post pictures on social media, mi hope dem exhibit the same interest fi go a di child school to check on their performance and the actual work that goes on in the books that they buy. So unuh pickney gwaan in Jesus name go shine like a morning star and mek unuh parents, community, school, family and unuh self proud.

Dem seh cockroach nuh business inna fowl fight, but when the fight can adversely affect the lives of our future generation, unuh know mi haffi talk up di tings dem. The well-being and best interest of every child is of paramount importance. The focus is oftentimes heavily placed on girls, but our boys cannot be left behind.

SETTING STANDARDS

I support the fact that schools must have standards by which they are guided, so that students can aspire to be the best they can be. I understand, however, that because a student doesn't make the 60 per cent average doesn't mean that he should be expelled or removed from an educational institution. Nuff a who a back this proposal were themselves getting Z- in a school. Nuff a who deh pon high horse now are late bloomers in life, and if they were kicked out of school, then they would not have been able to self-actualise. It has been said in some quarters that it is illegal to expel students based on a 'low average', but more importantly, was due process given? Was natural justice done? Were parents and students given enough warning so they could 'pull up their socks'? Mass expulsion doesn't help the students, the society, education nor the school's reputation. Could it be possible to create a special repeat class or get some kind of intervention for the boys before they are expelled? At the end of the day, if students are doing so poorly, the school has to take some of the blame or responsibility, as the onus is on them to educate the students.

We have a 'falla fashin' culture where others may want to follow this pattern, but any decision to expel a student for low academic performance is the last resort. Check if the child has learning disabilities or adverse circumstances which may contribute to their low performance. Some tek it early while some tek it late, so we have to be careful how we write off or give up on children. Boys matter, too.