Dear Editor,
Recently, the Education Minister Ronald Thwaites stated that parents should not send 'leggo beast' children to school and expect teachers to re-mould them.
Many people have misinterpreted his comments and have lambasted him for his 'untamed metaphor'.
A number of people believe that the minister is instructing parents to keep children of the foregoing ilk out of the school system. Thwaites is well-lettered, and he is quite au fait with the legal parameters of his purview. Therefore, he could not have proposed precluding disruptive or uncouth children from attending school. Certainly, such practice would run afoul of a child's universal right to education.
He was essentially encouraging parents, and teachers alike, to dedicate sufficient time to the holistic grooming of their children. He wants to ameliorate the psycho-social environment of our schools so that seeds of excellence can flourish. Minister Thwaites understands that he cannot deny unruly children an education, but he can certainly encourage parents to properly train their children before and during their academic enrolment. The minister wants parents to stop expecting teachers to miraculously reform their children.
The schools will accept the 'leggo beast', but parents must not expect that teachers will become surrogates and assume responsibilities beyond the already arduous task of tutelage. In fact, for the first time, the minister has apparently recognised the imposing strain on teachers who often have to deviate from academic instruction to address behavioural issues. His directive was, therefore, in protection of teachers and students whose progress is being threatened by children who are outwardly ill-intentioned and need meaningful at-home attention.
Yes, Thwaites' language, though literary, was unmilled. However, his vernacular offers a fitting description of the behaviour displayed by many of our children who need to be trained and tempered with love.
On another note, I wish to endorse the minister's position that teachers should strive to be exemplary parents and professionals. A teacher's deportment must consistently command esteem in and outside of the classroom. This is an inarguable expectation of a leader who is often emulated.
Let us applaud Minister Thwaites' for his comments. I sense truth and empathy in them, not venom.
Shawna Kay Williams
Old Harbour, St Catherine
shawna201@gmail.com
Thwaites''leggo beast' comment truthful and well-intentioned
-->
Recently, the Education Minister Ronald Thwaites stated that parents should not send 'leggo beast' children to school and expect teachers to re-mould them.
Many people have misinterpreted his comments and have lambasted him for his 'untamed metaphor'.
A number of people believe that the minister is instructing parents to keep children of the foregoing ilk out of the school system. Thwaites is well-lettered, and he is quite au fait with the legal parameters of his purview. Therefore, he could not have proposed precluding disruptive or uncouth children from attending school. Certainly, such practice would run afoul of a child's universal right to education.
He was essentially encouraging parents, and teachers alike, to dedicate sufficient time to the holistic grooming of their children. He wants to ameliorate the psycho-social environment of our schools so that seeds of excellence can flourish. Minister Thwaites understands that he cannot deny unruly children an education, but he can certainly encourage parents to properly train their children before and during their academic enrolment. The minister wants parents to stop expecting teachers to miraculously reform their children.
The schools will accept the 'leggo beast', but parents must not expect that teachers will become surrogates and assume responsibilities beyond the already arduous task of tutelage. In fact, for the first time, the minister has apparently recognised the imposing strain on teachers who often have to deviate from academic instruction to address behavioural issues. His directive was, therefore, in protection of teachers and students whose progress is being threatened by children who are outwardly ill-intentioned and need meaningful at-home attention.
Yes, Thwaites' language, though literary, was unmilled. However, his vernacular offers a fitting description of the behaviour displayed by many of our children who need to be trained and tempered with love.
On another note, I wish to endorse the minister's position that teachers should strive to be exemplary parents and professionals. A teacher's deportment must consistently command esteem in and outside of the classroom. This is an inarguable expectation of a leader who is often emulated.
Let us applaud Minister Thwaites' for his comments. I sense truth and empathy in them, not venom.
Shawna Kay Williams
Old Harbour, St Catherine
shawna201@gmail.com
Thwaites''leggo beast' comment truthful and well-intentioned
-->