THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE NEW curriculum in primary schools seems to be the toast bread that the system has waited many years for and surely both students and teachers alike seem to be enjoying it like a well prepared meal. Of course, it is good to see the transformation of the classrooms in various parts of the world extending from the Muslim cities of Asia to the diverse towns of the Caribbean.
The worrying part about all this is the fact that even though all these things are taught, there is still the practice of solely, Christian devotions, which seems to be enshrined in the life of the primary schools. We still have the children being indoctrinated at devotions and then confused when they get to the classrooms and are told that one attainment target is ... "Develop an openness and sensitivity towards people whose religious beliefs and practices may differ from those with which they may be familiar." When then is the sensitivity if all students are bundled at the start of the school day to worship God.
SEPARATE DEVOTIONS
Why not allow the Rastafarians to have their own devotion, better yet why not have all the various religions having their own devotion? Can you imagine the tongue lashing or even the corporal punishment that a child would get if he shouts "Jah Rastafari in one of these sessions? The worst would come if a Rastafarian turns up in school without a tam. If children should only ... "Demonstrate an understanding of religious practices, principles and phenomena" by discussing the morals which guide other people's lives then the education system would have failed. What we need for these students, at such a tender age to do, is to live these as a natural part of their daily lives.
Therefore the idea of only Christian devotion is a skewed vision of what devotion in schools should be like. I went to an institution run by a church one day and saw students sitting quietly in a devotional exercise. Of course I queried the rationale for the students' quietness and was promptly told that they were Jehovah's Witnesses but the school rule states everybody must be at devotion and so they are complying. Just imagine the wrath that must have gathered in these students' hearts when they were forced into a devotional exercise which seems merely a ritual to them. How much longer are we going to force this one-sided devotion upon the nation? The thought that Jamaica is a Christian country has lost its appeal to even the persons who coined it and so the change must now show this. A good place to begin is in our schools.
Let us now show our versatility and make the move to save our children from this and other skewed ideas about our country. Whoever you term as God will be happy to see the change.
I am, etc.,
PATCHA MALCOLM
Patcha4eva@hotmail.com
