Senior Reporter
akash.samaroo@cnc3.co.tt
The Silver Lining Foundation (SLF) is advising Government to rethink its school violence strategy. This is because the anti-bullying group believes the Military Led Academic Training (MiLAT) programme will serve to empower perpetrators.
SLF advisory member Krystal Ghisyawan said that MiLAT’s model may not be best suited to fix violence.
“That is something we have advocated against in our recommendations based on the studies we’ve done. Because violence cannot fix violence. And the modus of these bootcamps and military tactics are the use of fear and intimidation. So, you’re essentially teaching students that this is effective and you’re empowering them to use these tactics against others,” Ghisyawan posited.
Minister of Education, Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly had previously defended the State’s decision to enrol unruly or expelled students into the programme believing that it would transform their lives. Ghisyawan suggested another method.
“So, an alternative might be having students do community service where they work alongside other disadvantaged groups. Let’s say they were bullying someone who is differently abled, maybe exposure to people who are differently abled will allow them to learn compassion,” she said.
In a media release calling for a collaborative effort to address the root cause of bullying and violence, the foundation cited two national surveys done in 2016 and 2019 which analysed the challenges faced by both boys and girls in schools.
Underscoring that “boys are in crisis in our society” the SLF revealed, “In 2016, we found that 15 per cent of verbal bullying was based on differences in ability. At that time, 75 per cent of respondents indicated that they played an active role in teasing or harassment of classmates/schoolmates, either by themselves or as a group over the period. Of this, 14 per cent indicated that this active participation was often or frequent over a three-month period. Teasing most commonly targeted differences in appearance, and secondly, differences in ability.”
Ghisyawan told Guardian Media yesterday that some students yearn to be in the in-crowd, even at the expense of hurting others.
“So, it appears as if the group dynamics are critical to determining how and why students engage in bullying. At this age, a primary need is belonging, and students want to be part of the social group even if that means harming outliers to gain acceptance,” she suggested.
Concerning the 2019 national study, the SLF stated, “Male students were shown to be teased (23.6 per cent) and called names (24.2 per cent) slightly more than female students (21.1 per cent and 23.3 per cent respectively). While teasing based on appearance was most common across the board, girls were teased more because of appearance (12.7 per cent), than boys (11.7 per cent); while boys were teased more on ability or inability (7 per cent) than girls (5.4 per cent).”
The foundation added that both studies revealed a spike in violence towards students from 24 per cent of students polled in 2016 to 30.1 per cent in 2019.
Ghisyawan said a sustainable solution would be to teach respect, as students who took part in the national surveys indicated that was missing from peers and teachers.
“The way we approach our differences has been combative and derogatory, and understanding what diversity means, how diverse we are as human beings and how we can find an equal footing can move things in the right direction,” she recommended.
