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The Good Must Suffer For The Bad

It has contributed to the death of a 14-year-old boy.

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‘The good must suffer for the bad.’

These words are repeated often in my country and are transferred into actions in classrooms across Jamaica.

It has contributed to the death of a 14-year-old boy. I think it is irresponsible, dangerous, and must be stopped NOW!

I never thought I would thank a killer virus, but COVID-19 has put a pause on it. I am praying it will be a permanent one.

Our classroom has a minimum of forty students in some high schools; some have more. We only have one teacher per class. This is one of the possible scenarios leading to the good suffering for the bad and the death of an innocent child.

Mrs. Hamilton* warns her class, “Children, I will go to the office for a minute. You have work to do, so please do it quietly and don’t disrupt the class next door as they are doing a test.”

From experience, we know that after the teacher exits, most times chaos enters.

Depending on the extent of the uproar, the classroom next door will be affected.

“Sir,” a child in the next-door class calls out, “The noise from Mrs. Hamilton* class is breaking my concentration.”

“Yes, sir,” another child agrees. “They are making too much noise.”

Mr. Willis* says, getting up, “that means she isn’t over there.”

He walks next door. The few children that saw him stopped what they were doing, then alerting other children of his presence. Silence enters, and chaos leaves.

“Didn’t your teacher leave work for you to do?” he asks.

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

“Then do it quietly!” he demands, going back into his class.

Mrs. Hamilton* returns to a quiet class. Then Mr. Willis* appears at the door and tells her what happened.

“I want the names of the students who were being disruptive,” Mrs. Hamilton* demands.

Silence remains as over forty pairs of eyes held her gaze. None of the children will inform because they have been brainwashed since birth to believe that ‘all informers must die.’

Every child in Jamaica knows those words, and most, fearing to be branded as a ‘rat,’ will never tell, especially for those in an all-boys school where egos and high levels of testosterone are raging. I went through it in school, and so did my children.

Mrs. Hamilton* stared at them, waiting for a response. After getting none, she said, “Okay, then the entire class will stay back until someone talks.”

She sits around her desk, marking test papers, and for the next half an hour, silence reigns.

“Then the good will suffer for the bad,” she says and continues marking test papers for the next hour or more.

Jason Brown* was a quiet child. Here in Jamaica, most parents spank their children. Our Government is trying to imitate the US policies regarding spanking, then taking a bold step and labeling it ‘child abuse.’

They are trying to force parents to discipline their children in a more humane way.

When Jamaicans find a policy that works, they stick with it.

Teachers used to slap children in Infant and Primary Schools. The High Schools use Detention and Suspensions, I.e., depending on the severity of the incidence and the school rules. When the schools have exhausted their options, parent intervention is applied.

When murders happen in my country, there are two sides. The sides that the police reports, and the side that the voice of the people told. Most times, the word of the people is correct and some news station aids in sharing their information. We have a news system in the grapevine, ghettos, and other middle-class communities the FBI, CIA, MI6, KGB, and other major intelligence organizations would envy. We have people here who can reenact the incidence, just by what word of mouth says.

One of our news stations reports that Jason* was warned by his parents not to take any Coaster bus as a transportation mode to get home. We have a Government-run transportation system, but they operate on a time schedule. The Coaster buses run according to how fast they can pack these buses like sardines in a can. Because the teacher punished the entire class, the good children who obeyed the rules are suffering along with the ones who don’t.

Most high schools dismiss at 2:15 P.M. At the time the teacher dismisses them. It was rush hour. Knowing that he would be in trouble with his parents for being late, and in a hurry to get home, he jumped into the first bus that came by.

He had what we called a ‘banger phone.’ (Jamaican slang: A cheap phone that cannot access the internet. Or use apps like WhatsApp etc.)

It was a Coaster bus that stopped close by his school.

Persons have died here for not wanting to give up their cellphone. Mine was cut from my canvas market bag in a crowded market on Saturday. I am celebrating focus and being alive. I was the lucky one.

A man on the bus demanded the banger phone Jason* had in his hand. He refused to hand it over. He was stabbed in the heart and hand with a thick blade steel knife. Then was thrown from the bus while many Jamaicans sat on the bus and watched.

He was pronounced dead at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

According to some news reports, he was an only child for his mother.

Death is coming; nothing can be done to stop it. Fate plays a vital role too.

What if that policy wasn’t implemented?

What if the teacher had chastised the class with a warning and dismiss them at the right time?

Would that child still be alive?

As a volunteer Teacher’s Aide for five years, I study the personalities of all the children that come in annually. That increases daily by their actions, choices, and decisions. I am always learning something new about children. It takes me one month to identify each child by their names. I am also able to recognize the penmanship of each child when I must mark their work. They are not afraid of me, so they show me their natural side. They open up and tell me things they are scared to say to their parents and their class teacher.

I also learn who the troublemakers are.

I am not a trained teacher by profession.

What if that teacher had done some of what I did?

Would that child still be alive?

We have unacceptable customer service issues in our country and a high rate of incompetence.

When persons are trained to do their job and do it professionally with a touch of wisdom, kindness, understanding, discretion, love, and good things that encourage positive vibes and communication, chaos will be averted.

What if...?

I write this piece with pain in my heart. When it happened, my heart was in pain. I am still in pain because I know my sons would do the same.

Thank you for reading this piece. I hoped you enjoyed it. Please enjoy more from other writers on this platform.

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Life
Death
Incompetence
Cruelty
Illumination
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