We can agree that the main purpose of education at the primary level is to ensure the development of children. This is, and should never be, limited to the academic aspect, as the social and emotional skillset is just as important. This needs to be given a system shift in Jamaica. We have seen over many years, a sharp decline in the ability of young children to socially interact with each other and resolve their differences amicably.
It can be said that our society, being one that is prone to the virus of violence, makes it extremely difficult to effectively shape the minds and behaviour of our youth. However, it is also true that our society has never been absolutely free from the scourge of crime and violence, but things appeared to be better. If we keep making excuses and not making changes, we are most certainly going to get the same results.
There needs to be an institutionalised thrust towards placing interpersonal relations on the curriculum. The idea of teaching communication skills to see how well a child can relate to a subject or how well they can explain it needs a change as well. The need for communication to be taught must be to ensure every child can speak confidently, debate a point effectively and understand how to handle differing views.
One of the biggest causes of conflict between people is a deeply ingrained inability to communicate what they want to say or process what is being said to them. It is very easy for a conflict to gain heat and fire once a disagreement starts to descend into a lack of communication. We see examples of it every day in families, communities, even in road rage, and of course, schools. It is important to make every effort to insert the critical elements early to avoid the problems when they become adults.
Schools at the primary level need to be teaching interpersonal relations, conflict resolution, communication and messaging, the same way math, language and science is taught. It must also be graded, exams set and become part of the teaching modules. We are wasting time in schools if we are more focused on pass rates and scholastic achievements, while sending children to the secondary level who cannot effectively and positively interact with each other.
It is a wonderful idea to think that students who can read and write well are averse to conflict, physical altercations, negative influence and social challenges. If a child is not leaving the primary level with an excellent sense of self-awareness guided by great social and emotional skills, he or she will have a harder time adjusting to a bigger space with more students. Additionally, we must now factor in the amount of students who will be walking into the same ill prepared. This is a prescription for sure disaster.
We keep seeing more cases of violence starting at the primary level, and when the answers to the source of the dispute are revealed, it stems largely from an inability to communicate effectively. It doesn’t take a man who has walked on the moon or the builder of a rocket to know that the first reaction of a person who cannot communicate effectively is anger. Let us picture two young men who quickly descend into a fight which could easily be prevented by a calm conversation. Should we continue to blame society and fold our hands, or will we try a different approach to change society in the future? It is worth the effort.
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