AN OVERLY PERMISSIVE society produces many confused young people. In Barbados thi sis the reality as we have allowed our young people unbridled freedom.
In Barbados, where lax parenting is the norm among all strata of society, our youth have been allowed to drift deeper and deeper into the morass of lost values.
Enlightened leadership in all spheres, in the home, in the classroom, in the religious organisations, is necessary if a sense of confidence and balance is to be developed. All of the agents of socialisation have their role to play if we are to scratch the surface of the rescue effort of our youth.
Having a formal education will not solve the problem. Testing and measurement techniques built into exams will permit all to get into secondary schools, and the brighter sparks into grammar schools, but these will not solve the problems confronting our youth.
Many parents expect that on entering secondary schools children are at the mercy of teachers and the school environment by applying the latest teaching aids and technology will work miracles on these tabulae rasae.
Many of the school environments are not conducive to miracles. The parents have a critical role to play in the development of their children; a sense of values needs to be instilled in children.
It starts at home
A child must first become aware of himself in the home. Such things as manners, self- esteem, values, respect, must all be cultivated in the home, even before the onset of formal education. He must have high ideals, and recognise the importance of honest toil coupled with the will to succeed.
Unless this is done, the provision of the most modern facilities is partially wasted. What answers do we give our youth when they pose troubling questions pertaining to their future prospects in Barbados, which many still adore and would like to make here the land of their birth their home? How do they navigate the labyrinth of pitfalls facing them? Do we as adults have the answers?
Excessive individualism without purpose, with everything subject to negotiation and dialogue as is the practice, can lead to confusion. Truths and fixed values still should be paramount.
Truth is like a three- dimensional object. We are only exposed to a degree of it in any time frame, but over time more and more of it is revealed. Nevertheless, it is absolute with no watering down.
Uncertainity
Unbridled individualism can also lead to uncertainty, especially when there are no societal goals, and can lead to confusion and frustration in a small society, where there is a lack of consensus on several salient issues, when paths on which we are headed can lead to cul-de- sacs. In a society like Barbados, progress can only occur when there is a generally accepted vision to which the majority are working.
Integrity of leaders, in their public and private behaviour, lofty ideals, tolerance and respect for the genuine legitimate rights of others provide the crucible for the members of society to reach their full potential – and by extension the entire nation.
– PHILIP HUNTE