Males and their education

by Frances Clarke 07.SEP.07

There’s an African saying “it takes a village to raise a child.” This is also true in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, since every child is a part of an individual family that is residing within a community, living in a village throughout our islands.{{more}} There is a common mind set about the general world view and everyday thinking of what it means to be “a man” in SVG. This unwritten code that everybody unconsciously knows says “manliness” means “toughness, a bold, rugged self-centered approach to life, reinforced with bad words, the decisive use of power and authority to manipulate, machetes, or guns.” So what education is required for that?

“Street smarts” would be the number one asset. Clearly, that would be obtained outside the shelter of the four walls of your home. Is that why the prevailing mind set concerning raising boys says “let go the boys, let them come and go as they like with limited rules?” But when things get out of hand we cry, complain, yell, scream and cuff down! But male man has been made by an intelligent Creator to become a disciplined strong yet sensitive leader, protector and provider. Every male has this coded in his psyche! It is only for us to bring these good qualities out with education. But the lack of leadership structure and rules at home for boys works against them in the formal education of school, since that requires a lot of systematic self discipline, including rule keeping.

We agree we do not want an entire community of ‘soft’ man, but for today’s world, we do want a man with some formal education, since you need it in order to succeed and prosper without getting used, abused and robbed. Note the prison is filled with mostly men of limited education. So what is the way forward out of this dilemma?

Let’s love our boys enough to insist on them being faithfully responsible for some things around the family. Chores are a must! Everybody has a contribution to make, no matter how young you are. Staying in school, attending regularly, doing homework and doing the best that you can do at school is crucial. A man can not emerge from school at sixteen (16) years old unable to even draw his name and count his money! To be literate is deliberate and must be reinforced in every village.