Joseph Cunningham, Gleaner Writer

One hundred students have been prosecuted since the start of 2006 for illegal possession of weapons, according to a recent report by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

Additionally, there have been reports of students arrested for unlawfully wounding their pairs and even for applying the rod of correction against their tutors. With a little over four months to go before year-end, two students have died during violent altercations at school.

Against this background, The Sunday Gleaner took a microscopic look at the issue 'Angry Students in Schools'. We found that amid the anger sweeping over many of the nation's youths, there is a startling contrast.

Passionate Christian teens

The Sunday Gleaner visited kindergarten classes and witnessed babies gleefully singing Yes Jesus Loves Me, and it is very much the same when we attend Inter-School Christian Fellowship (ISCF) programmes at high schools and view many of passionate Christian teenagers who are preoccupied with being Christ like.

Jason Lovelace, outgoing vice-president of the University and Colleges Christian Fellowship, has worked with youths through various programmes such as anger management, sustainable development, leadership skills, conflict resolution and healthy lifestyles. He reports that, "Those who are involved in Christian programmes usually submit readily to school rules and regulations and are generally cooperative." He adds that through the spiritual approach incorporated into these programmes, he has seen many reckless youngsters transformed into sober persons.

Dr. Donnah Brown, associate professor and member of the student Christian fellowship at Northern Caribbean University, believes there is an even balance of conscious students as opposed to 'ill-directed ones'. "Young people, just as older folks, know what is right from wrong," Dr. Brown asserts.

She recounts: "When I went to Meadowbrook High as a student, a vibrant ISCF programme existed. I was not a Christian. However, I was soon converted by the sense of direction and the resulting peace of mind that the Christian-based activities gave to me."

Some serious problems

Sheva Johnson, age 20, was a vibrant ISCF student while at Excelsior High - located in the volatile Mountain View community. She said there are some serious problems affecting young people. "At high school I happened to interact with young men who were being pressured into gun violence," she related. However, she continued, "The difference with the Christian approach is that we really care." Resulting from the approach she said, "My schoolmates turned over guns to the police."

Nevertheless, Dr. Brown laments the current state of these programmes. The school programmes needs to be energised and reinvented. "The way young people are being led to Christianity today has too great a similarity to secular expressions. She argued that only 'wholesome' Christian activities could influence youths who are victims of an immoral society.

She added, "These programmes need to be marketed in a manner that promotes students who are exemplary Christian role models. These are the kind of students who will be able to influence even their ill-mannered pairs," she stated emphatically.

Dr. Brown, who has her doctorate in educational administration and leadership, is confident that, in a way, the Christian programmes could redirect the youths regardless of how astray some have gone.