On March 27, I attended the Lester Vaughan School’s speech day. It was a well organized ceremony.
The first thing that caught my attention was the prompt 9:30 a.m. start. These days only a few people are paying attention to punctuality. It is my strong feeling that schools should begin these functions on time, because the school is the place where our young people are being trained for the world of work and for life.
As a person who has a close association with the school, I was very pleased with the 2011 CXC results, which showed a number of students gaining grade ones and grade twos.
Principal Diana Wilson in her 2010 – 2011 review reported that a number of students had not collected their reports and their parents showed no interest in collecting them.
She also stated that some students were not doing homework.
What a pity! In my day as a student this was unheard of.
Sometime ago when Matthew Farley, principal of the Garrison Secondary School, spoke about parents and students not collecting reports, it came as a shock to me.
But now I am seeing it as a developing trend.
When I was a schoolboy many years ago, my parents would demand my report at the end of each term before I could properly make it through the door. If it was not good, I was in trouble – but it was usually good.
As far as homework was concerned, it had to be done. I can remember quite clearly, even now, my dad saying to me: “Boy, get a book – you are selling my labour.”
It seems to me that today’s parents just do not care. Tell me, how can students fail to collect their reports or do homework?
That shows the indifference of some parents. We must immediately start looking at our school system. I am convinced that some of our students do not value education.
