Fights @ ESHS are now the norm; $1M wall useless- Students & Teachers
Minister Walwyn in his second term (2011-current) as Education Minister said the million dollar wall will keep out knives and drugs, reduce fights and stop non-students from getting on the compound while, according to him, “protecting teachers and students.”
Well none of this has come to pass and many students and teachers, speaking to our newsroom last Friday December 2, 2016 after a big brawl among mostly male students of the Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS), confirmed that the wall has not reduced fights and made students and teachers any safer.
In fact they confirmed that former students easily “jump the wall and come on to the campus to make trouble all the time.” One female student said “it’s like there is no fence. It got fights all the time and we smell weed on campus.”
Who were fighting last Friday?
It is alleged that the fight last Friday were among students from the Belle Vue area of Tortola against students from the western end of Tortola, including from Jost Van Dyke.
There are unconfirmed reports as to what started the fight at the end of the school day, but it is reported that almost every month there is a fist fight at ESHS, according to one local teacher who said she wants out of the school.
The regular fights usually involve young boys fighting over girls, and so called East vs West side, according to one student. When asked if there are gangs at ESHS, the 16 year old student said “I don’t know if it’s a real gang like what they have in the States but everybody got their side and once you trouble someone from the other side there is beef and you have to protect your boys.”
It was unclear if any student was charged or injured or had to be taken to Peebles Hospital or what was the level of the Police and Security involvement in stopping the nasty fight.
When the fight eventually ended, several items belonging to students brawling were destroyed or missing, including shoes, bags and other items.
It is unclear what happened to the students involved in the fight, however, there are reports of suspensions being handed down.
A video recording of the brawl, shared with this news site, has gone viral on social media.
Principal Sandy M. Underhill could not be reached for comment while Police Information Officer Diane Drayton didn’t respond to our queries at the time of publication.
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48 Responses to “Fights @ ESHS are now the norm; $1M wall useless- Students & Teachers”
Parents, show your children love and caring attention. That is what they are lacking at home. They listen to you with your negative conversations at home and you shout at your children and put them down. How do you expect them to feel good about themselves in order to become law abiding citizens of our country.
I never felt so shocked and upset with no one trying to stop it. Bullying doesn't help with self esteem, and those angry kids turn into angry adults when no one stands up for them. Stop it!!
jerk.
R--, you sound just how you look. this can be control, fighting is never the best way out.
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Frist of all some of the teachers need discipline and in turn they can discipline the students. But in that school if you are not in the cleek you are left in the cold. Too many in mature ladies with problems are employed. When you visit the staff room you can hear the cleek bad talking each other. TEACHERS RESPECT YOUR SHELF AND THE STUDENTS WILL FOLLOW SUIT. TEACHERS /WORKERS FIGHTING IN CLUBS WHAT DO YOU EXPEXT THE STRUDENTS TO DO. BE ROLE MODELS AND THE CHILDREN WILL CHANGE. STOP TRYING TO KEEP DOWN EACH OTHER AND DO THE JOBS YOU ARE PAID TO DO.
As one of his students have told me, "We use to laugh at him because we know he couldn't catch us. And for the ones he did catch, we laughed and wonder how."
Maybe if teachers and parents would treat the children as children then they would perhaps gain some sort of control.
Let us try to understand how the children feel and accommodate their needs. Perhaps an amusement park, an aquarium or a top notch museum might spark their interest. Or maybe more recreational activities like swimming, skating, snorkeling.
Parents, step up to the plate, discipline yourselves so that you may discipline your children. Visit your children at school. Check on them and make sure they are okay.
Teachers, take authority and playfully discipline the children as Mr. Stoutt did.
And as for the children, try to find new ways of achieving your dominant role in the high school society.
Try "fighting" in the basketball arena. Try "fighting" to make it to the top of your class. You can put your natural abilities through different test, not just through "fist fighting".
Come on. You should know better.
The teacher's concept of "I learn already" is not encouraging a child who is not a B or an A student. Some obviously need more attention than others. With proper lesson planning ( if the lesson plans are assessed), one of the teacher's job is to analyse her/his students and meet the students where they are.
A teacher should have good classroom management skills. We know that some of these students come from dysfunctional homes. The teachers are just escalating the problem by their blatant disrespect, use of foul language like the "BIG F" on students, not intervening when there is an altercation in the class, neglecting helping a child who may need further explanation on a math problem , and such like. Sometimes you visit a classroom and cannot differentiate the teacher from the student because the teacher is cursing with the students. Do we expect students to behave any different?..Lord send help. Sometimes, what these kids need is a little soft talk to let them know that someone cares. Yes, I know its High School, but their needs differ.
With these in mind,
1. The Ministry needs to do proper screening before hiring teachers.
2. A teacher can make a big difference starting in the classroom.
3. Let's get back to "a community raise a child".
1. The Ministry needs to do proper screening before hiring teachers.
2. A teacher can make a big difference starting in the classroom.
3. Let's get back to "a community raise a child".
how about parents need to raise their children the way God originally intended? A teacher can only do so much.
:(