Dear Source:
If responsibilities are put on the right shoulders maybe a real difference would take place. Local commissioners who have been in charge of running the Dept of Education has had to deal with the same problems of school violence that Dr. Spampinato is now seeing up close and personal. Whether local or from beyond yonder, crime should not have to be their main focus.
Education should be about education and the maintenance of schools. Criminal activities should be the responsibility of Dept of Justice and the Police Dept. whether it is inside or outside of a school. They are the ones who are trained to deal with crime and criminal behavior not the teachers or administrative staff of Education. School's maintenance should be responsible for putting in security measures such as fencing, lockable doors, security grills, or even cameras. Once criminal activity takes place beyond these types of measures, then that should correctly fall upon the police to handle and manage. The most the Education Dept can do is contact the Police Dept to report criminal activity that is taking place beyond the security measures the school has put into place.
A huge problem is not placing the responsibility on the right shoulders who are trained to deal with certain problems. On that basis I disagree with Krim Ballentine's letter. The police are the people who are trained to deal with criminal activity, crowd control in fights, etc. It is the Police Dept who has legal right to use excessive force to control a criminal situation and/or a crowd that is getting out of hand. This is not something we want in the hands of any civilian. It is the Police Dept who should have a Director of School Safety that works with the Education Dept not the other way around. They should bring their expertise and training to the table to help with school violence.
Behavior control and teaching children how to be adults start at home. Schooling only adds to this process that should have already been established by parents. By the time children are in high school they should have already been taught how to behave in a group and in a public environment. This is not something teachers should be responsible for. When children commit crimes in school, parents should be held accountable for helping to bring that child under some kind of control. Teachers should be able to count on parents to make sure the child buckles down in school. Teachers and society is secondary in controlling a child's behavior. Parents are the primary key. Parents are a huge factor with what is going on today with children in school and on the streets. Parents should be aware of what is going on with their children and how their children behave when they are in the public. If a parent has a child that engages in illegal or disruptive behavior, that they cannot bring under control no matter what they have tried, then there should be some place they should be able to seek help from.
When priorities and responsibilities fall on the right shoulders, change will happen. Each section should be responsible for their main purpose and work in conjunction with the others. Education belongs to the Education Department. Crime belongs to the Police Department. Children's behavior belongs to Parents.
I do agree with Ballentine about management skills. Any person who is put into a management position, no matter what department it is, should have management skills to do whatever their job requires. Even parenting requires skills.
As a local born person, I however see no difference between local and beyond yonder persons, where education and crime is concern. What I care about is who will get the job done right no matter where they come from. Ballentine seems to have develop a passion for the Virgin Islands as a yonder person. We will watch to see if Dr. Spampinato will develop the same passion for our beloved Virgin Islands as another yonder person in our midst.
Carol Berry
St. Thomas
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