Comments for Calls for police patrol outside Mt. Hope Sec. following killing at http://www.thestudentpressdigital.com , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.thestudentpressdigital.com Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:47:23 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.thestudentpressdigital.com/news/7-news/335-calls-for-police-patrol-outside-mt-hope-sec-following-killing.html#comment-1348 For years, there have been serious problems of indiscipline and under-acheivement in most of the secondary schools. Recently, some of the acts of indiscipline have become much more serious and deadly. This trend will continue. The fact that the problems exist throughout the system suggest that there are fundamental design problems with the way these schools are organized. Some of these causal factors are. 1. Rapid expansion in schools and school places with little or no development of a school transportation system. The result has been that undesirable and toxic maxis and PH cars have filled the vacum and both have undue negative influence on student development. Notice that in most developed countries, the school buses provided are manned by retirees who generally have no interest in corrupting young minds. 2. The policy of the MOE to retroactively train teachers, after they have been on the job for a number of years, and by that time, have already been entrenched in all the inefficient and ineffective norms of the schools. This negates the positive effect of teacher training and when such teachers re-enter the schools, it is almost impossible to incorporate new insights into these runaway schools. 3. Ineffective motivational arrangements for teachers. What's the sense for a teacher to work hard and to go beyond the call of duty when wotless co-workers are given the same increments and promotions at the end of the day. There are no effective rewards for excellence coupled with no punishment for errant teachers. 4. A grossly flawed concept of what teaching and education are all about. Most teachers see themselves as teachers of subjects. Few see themselves as teachers of young adults. The irony of this is that the teachers also are victims. 5. Ineffective administrative systems in schools. Poor principals....just to get the info on who came to school, who left early, what was taught in class, etc.....even if the info is obtained...what are they going to do with it? Become a hated and unpopular principal when your fellow principal who does not care and runs away, turns a blind eye etc, is loved by his/her staff. I could go on and on. The point is that police patrols, metal detectors, 10 ft. walls topped with razor wire etc are mere bandages for a deeply rooted cancer. More sores will break out. As one put it so comprehensively the other day when commenting on the el do wall..."if one school wall could solve all the problems in the schools, what a great wall that would be!" Spaddus martinez Sookradge. - Sookradge Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:14:19 +0100