CAPTAIN SAWYER hit the stage this calypso season with a song entitled Something For Something, and caused an absolute furore throughout this most beautiful land. Some critics sought to pigeonhole his lyrics into a narrow confine of interpretation. Others reached out and phoenix like buried their heads in denial! This, they sought to claim, is not the Barbados in which they live! Wow, how wrong!
Apart from my liking for the song, I have allowed my mind to drift a little further into the deeper meaning of the something for something notion. First, I saw myself as a primary school student many years ago at the Speightstown Boys’ School. Unlike today’s students who are taught the dissolution method of subtraction, I was taught to borrow and pay back. You take something, you must give back something. That was a great lesson in values for me and others.
In the general school setting, students are expected to respect the significant annual investment that is made to education. Salaries, buildings, equipment, transportation and training can be quite taxing to the national budget. The decided focus is to improve the citizenry and positively impact national development. So taking must be coupled with giving.
Students in return are expected to be the best that they can possibly be. They need to study, work hard and exercise all their God given talents. Plain and simple, they get and they are expected to give. Teachers and parents must assist in this process by establishing structures and boundaries that are also called rules and regulations. Children may complain and object, but they love and need structure. Without it, they are at a loss and indiscipline follows.
Much too often we see many young people hanging around or simply sitting on the block. These are individuals on whom much public expenditure was spread. They took something and should be expected to give back something. There are areas of service and volunteerism that cry out for the involvement of such youth.Â
Opportunities for mentorships, small group tutoring (understanding that you learn best when you teach), running of errands for the elderly and a focus on improving the national landscape. A country like ours with a reliance on tourism can only be made better if it is seen to be aesthetically beautiful. Cutting of overgrown grass along the streets, clearing of gutters and gullies can also keep these individuals engaged and productive consistent with what the national purse would have given to them. Maybe there is a need for a required national service obligation for all citizens!
It has annoyed me and even led me into unnecessary conflict as I have annually sought to eliminate the significant amount of time wastage during the final two weeks of the school year. Parents send children to school with high expectations. Teachers continue to rightfully accept their usual salaries, yet very little is done during this period. There must be something for something and the fact that corrections and other administrative duties are being done cannot explain the time wastage.
This, more than any other time of the year, requires the leadership of the hierarchy of the school. Students must be engaged and allowed to explore and discover. Hence, the utilisation of worksheets, quizzes, sporting and cultural competitions augmented by coordinated tours should ensure that students are positively engaged and that the school entities are giving as has been given to them.
Some years ago, I sat in a church congregation and heard one of our political leaders make an appeal for established members of our society to give a weekly minimum of four hours voluntary service. This impressed me, and I took it to heart and have lived it to this day.Â
In a country such as ours, heroes at all levels are needed. We cannot believe that these individuals can only come from politicians, sportsmen or entertainers. In every area of civil society, successes abound. These leaders in business, education, religion, industry, medicine, law and the plethora of others must accept their responsibility to give back. They can be of service to the less fortunate, the developing youth and the budding talent. We as a country could be so much better if we consistently and purposely give something for something!
Jeff Broomes is an experienced educator, principal and community organiser who also served as a vice president of the BCA and director of the WICB. Email: [email protected]
