This is one letter from a concerned citizen found in NST Online dated 19/4/2011
Lessons in violence at school
There are obviously certain conditions that have to be met before the terms of reconciliation can be agreed upon. It has to be part of the judgement.
It is a cause for great concern when a 14-year-old boy can react with such fury against a teacher in his school. Such violence in the youth does not augur well for society.
Cases like this should be carefully handled and investigated. It is important to establish the reasons the boy reacted in such an aggressive manner.
Surely there were warning signs of the brewing fight. Did some alarm bells go off, only to go unheard or ignored by the guardians and teachers of the school?
On the other side of the coin, but in the same state, was the death of 7-year-old Saiful, allegedly at the hands of his teacher, who has been charged for murder.
The circumstances and the manner in which the boy died was horrific enough, but what was truly shocking was that the alleged perpetrator was someone from a noble and respected profession.
I am surprised that the suspect's violent nature went undetected by everyone in the school. There should have been tell-tale signs, or were those ignored as well?
Contributory negligence of those responsible for the safety of both the suspect and victim is a pertinent point that should be taken into account.
Both cases are perfect illustrations of a serious problem in dealing with the youth culture of today.
On one hand you have an escalation in juvenile delinquency arising from social ills, negative influences in the child's environment and poor upbringing.
On the other, there is the declining standards of some in the teaching profession.
The standards of discipline in schools have dropped over the years, in stark contrast to the previous generation.
Students these days are more complex because of constant exposure to global media and easy access to information and knowledge.
Modern day teaching is an exhausting job, and the teacher-student relationship bears all the traits of a pressure cooker.
Student reprisals are a real fear for some teachers..
Teachers, therefore, should not only be academically qualified for the job. They must also have the passion, the patience and the flair for it as they play a crucial role in shaping young minds especially during the impressionable years.
Police action after a nasty incident is not the answer to the problem. It is just a reaction to a situation. It is damage control instead of getting to the bottom of the problem to root it out.
We are well into the second decade of the new millennium and the Information Age has entered almost everyone's living rooms through the radio, idiot box and the Internet.
We cannot ignore the problem while we keep up on the information superhighway towards progress. Values and morals can be compromised as a consequence.
Knowledge in the young can lead to higher expectations and the pursuit of the good life. Proper guidance and supervision to ensure that the child receives the right flow of information are crucial..
Negative traits must be recognised and reined in early by both the child's guardians and teachers. The latter, who are trained in the honourable profession, act as a check-and-balance to poor guardianship.
It is the callous few that need to be weeded out as they mar the image of the majority who are doing their best.
It really is up to all of us to achieve this.
The writer is a retired police officer
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