School fights not new

THE EDITOR: Recently there has been a number of letters appearing in various daily newspapers concerning comments by the Minister of Education with reference to fighting in schools. It is sad that respected commentators take such a narrow view of the issue and are not being honest about their days in school.

Sure, we would have been severely dealt with if we fought, but that didn’t stop any of us from fighting if we felt our honour depended on it.

It would be extremely dishonest if anyone pretended that there was no fighting in our schools before this era. True, the fighting was different. We used our fists, but it did happen, and that is all Mr Garcia was saying. He coupled his remarks with the fact that the media, such as we have available now with the technology which facilitates it, uses all means at their disposal to sensationalise events and issues and keep the conversation on a track that does not encourage change.

There are many truths in what the Minister said to evoke such emotion among writers. Let’s examine them:

Truth #1: Fighting has always been in schools. Only we called it fighting then not bullying. Mr Garcia admitted that he fought in school; this writer fought in a girls’ school as well as on the street against boys who attempted to intimidate her.

Truth #2: Violence in schools has decreased. Evidence-based information supports this fact. Schools do not rely on videos to support their claim.

Truth #3: The media blows issues out of proportion.

The truth is the conversation needs to change, but this change will not work in favour of newspaper writers, columnists and many in the media fraternity, since everything will then be so boring! Fortunately, the population will come to know the truth soon enough. After all it is their children who populate the schools.

Pauline Isidore, Arima