Being Prefect the most difficult task

[SKYJUICE221]

I was attending Greenwich primary school in Kingston during eaghties. My job was to maintain discipline. My friends cheered me on for taking on
such tasks.

I wasn't much of a straight "A" student, but my manners was good. Thanks to my grandma. Anyway, One morning my class teacher Ms Mckane selected me to be prefect. I was glad at first because being prefects also give special privilege. It's was memorable one at Greenwich primary school.

The biggest problem I have was with my own friends
because they think the rules don't apply to them because they are friends.

After some my friends become enemies, I become frustrated because I lost some of my best friends. My grandma talk me into not giving up else they will look at me as a weak leader. I tuff it out, but more problems came after some guys that doesn't attend the school was hanging out in front female restroom. I approached them ask them to leave else I'm going to called my teacher. I was slammed with all type threats and name calling.

One day the teacher ask me and two other kids to go to the cardboard factory after school to get some cardboard to build charts. Me and Martin and his cousin julie. We were ambushed by four big boy on our way to the cardboard factory . One of them looks familiar. They mack me and called me teachers pet. I tried to fight them, but they was bigger and stronger than us. They hold us and order us to take off our clothes else they going to drown us. including Julie who is a female removed her clothes .

I thought they was going rape us, but they didn't. They gathered up all our clothes and through them into a near by river and leave us butt naked, started Julie cried. One of the big boy I remember standing in front the female restroom. He was the cruel one. Big boys was laugh at us am while they leave.

After they leave we used tree limbs to fish our clothes out the river. It was one of the worst embarrassing time of my life.

Friends that cheered me on when I become prefect become my enemies. It was one of my own friend staged the whole ambushed even though I didn't saw him among four big boy, but Julie saw one of the big boy with my friend Roan days before the ambushed. Roan didn't speak to me again since that time I ordered the boys to move away from the female restroom.

On till this day was the first time I ever reveal anything about it. Two weeks later I gave up my prefect position to someone else. I was glad I did because two weeks after the new prefect take over someone push him down the stage and break his leg.

I don't know about your primary school, but at Greenwich primary school them kids possessed by demands.

[Wahalla]

there is a difference between obedience and discipline that is too often confused in Jamaica...

And the prefecture system in Jamaica school is one such manifestation... the enforcement of petty rules by elevation of one, creation of differences, lack of a "scholarly jurisprudence as to the enforcement of the rule... I called them the equivalent of Kapos, the jewish enforcers in the concentration camps ...

Look what the boys did to you was out of order... hanging out in front of girls toilets was a no, no...

in September i was dragged along to meetings in Jamaica with "educator" (as teachers are now called) from Primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in Jamaica and the same heritage of disdain remains. This confusion of discipline and obeidence is still at the heart of it.. Teachers are ill discplined and expect blind obedience to their rules...

(i think blu will be surprised by this, but he will see the teachers as the heros., i see them as the primary villains)

I particularly dislike the way children are demonised... children are failed too often by their parents, the church, the family, the society and most of all by the school system... I particularly blame teachers for this... They see the children " failures" as the children fault and they have not changed their delivery mechanism to compensate. The attitude is: we teach if they failed the exams deh pickni dem dunce and dem poor.. and they use the excuse of the exceptional child who despite the hurdles is successful.. as the primary example of their skills while not the "failure of the majority" to meet a basic standard of education...(look at the numbers at the two primary gateways... GSAT and the CXC exams)

Teachers from all three types of insitutions make the claim "if wi did get pickni / students from high socio economic bracket then they would learn. Because we the teachers are brilliant the fault is the student.. (for once we have a minister of education who recognises this issue...so did Prince Andrew...)

It is ironic but boys are seen as indiscipline when they are actually reacting with their viseral programming as to how they react and learn... this means that girls are better students by being quiet and demure.. in essence they are more obedient and seek affirmation by girls are thus easier to teach and rewarded.. this leads to the primary issue that faces Jamaica.....

[Peasie]

You had a traumatic experience.

You were smart to give up being a prefect. It was not your responsibility to maintain discipline. The teachers put you in a difficult and unfair position and you should blame them.

You are fortunate to have a grandmother who loved you and took care of you.

Have you been in touch with Martin and Julie? How are they?