THE EDITOR, Sir:I WENT to Melrose All-Age School and Wolmer's High School for Girls. Along with the academics, we had guidance counsellors and family life education classes. In the latter, we were taught about the male and female bodies, the reproductive organs and how they function. We all had classmates, crushes, urges, 'followed bad company', peer pressure, etc., not always doing the right thing as teenagers. Not unlike what today's school population faces.
But know this. We did not need to see a condom in class to get the point (no pun intended), that sex was best left alone to responsible mature adults.
STOP BEING HYPOCRITICAL
Maybe while we try to point fingers and blame the dancehall lyrics, and the 'farin' clothing choices and styles, we should stop being hypocritical and focus on that which is missing: Discipline in the home. We are quick to adopt a foreign way of life in many areas:
Focusing on trying to legalise homosexuality, while people are being killed daily while the governing party's leadership seems oblivious.
Conveniently acknowledging the magic of dancehall music only when one of ours gets an international award or special mention, while embracing the 'clean fun' of the soca music that also exposes one to how to assume the position, instructions on where to put what in a woman's private parts and so on and so on.
Suddenly, we have scholars who have determined that patois, our beautiful, indigenous dialect, is of little value and more or less contributing to illiteracy and who knows what else. Never mind that our learned scholars are the ones most likely to lapse into the vernacular probably more often than others patois has little import to some of us, now that we have arrived. Patois certainly did not affect my humble country parents' common sense: We had to read a lot (especially when the playing got out of hand among 12 siblings); there was no such thing as 'no homework' from school.
A CLEAN SLATE
And now, teaching children how to use a condom in schools is going to make us a better society. We would do well to kick out all the politicians and start with a clean slate by NOT starving the communities of basic human needs (e.g. water from even a stand pipe) only to show up at election season à la Santa Claus and hand out blood money that is earned during the election bloodbath and afterwards, when the hunger strikes and the politicians go missing. THAT is education. Hanging the murderers so that their would-be followers will know there is no jailhouse meal for them THAT is education. Encouraging children to do 'private lessons' after school, or go home and read a book THAT is education.
I am sure we can find a host of other positive examples of how our children can have satisfying, healthy lifestyles without a dildo and a condom. Maybe I'm just 'not with the times' then again, old-fashioned discipline seems to be forgotten by many. I'm sick of our priorities rarely being placed where they really belong.
I am, etc.,
JOAN DAVIS
jdavis@yahoo.com
Via Go-Jamaica
