Men with Cutlasses Terrorise a School in Trinidad

[bluefete]

12 men with cutlasses allegedly invaded a school in Grande today

Ah hearing this but I am not sure if true.

Can anyone confirm?

[EXODUS]

cutlass? injun? hadda be!!!! but me nah hear nuffin yet...

[star scream]

what from the OP POST suggests that, or is your head up your arse.

[EXODUS]

hold on lemme check .... nah it intact, check urself though cus sh!t jus came out from ur mouth. oh and welcome to ole talk so don't get all butthurt ....

[DVSTT]

[sleepertercel]

12 men with cutlasses allegedly invaded a school in Grande today

Ah hearing this but I am not sure if true.

Can anyone confirm?

Heard it was because they were teaching the theory of evolution to the kids.

[K74T]

http://www.ctntworld.com/cnews2/index.p ... Itemid=707


There have been confirmed reports that a group of young men, armed with cutlasses, stormed the Sangre Grande Secondary School on Friday morning, leaving teachers and students in shock and fear.
According to reports, the incident left the school population very afraid to return to the school compound.

C News understands that the 10 young men, who are said to be from the community, entered the school compound wearing bandanas and were armed with several weapons including cutlasses.

A member of the Parent Teachers Association confirmed to C News that the School's main gate was recently repaired but it is often unhinged by the young men in the community so they could get inside.

Teachers have threatened to stay away from the job next week and have the full support of the parents.

[star scream]

is friday somebody had a lil score to settle, normal ting.

[konartis]

you could imagine the fear a child can go tru with this?? imagine that your child going that school....where them bad boy police that does kill people when you need them???

[streetbeastINC.]

lil fkin roadside gangstas realy spoiling this lil island.......things would be so different if these lil shyts had a better more productive mentality......its only going to get worst, from speakign to teachers from many different schools throughout this coutry-- the discipline of students is at its absolute worst...i personally blame deliquency on the min of education, they leave little room for teachrs to discl delinquent student and the student knows that all they have to do is cry wolf and they can get a teacher in trouble.....BRING back discipline inside each classroom= less delinquents less crime-- leave it as it is--we going down the shythole...

[SweeP]

i remember ah time when i was in high school ah 15 yr old from form 1 run in to deal with ah next fella with ah cutlass from we class, man aint business he swinging blade fuh everybody just to get to dat fella. I hear de noise from de blade when it swing by my ears, den desk an chair start to fly across de class room.The amount ah we tryin to pass tru dat doorway to get out dat class was like ah trinidad bottle neck highway and the fella eventually get ah dread chop way he bone was showing.I think de cutlass fella get away buh i doh knw if he ever return to de school!!

[hustla_ambition101]

Northeastern settlement wannabes I'm sure, sec students does be grimey tho, dem fellas was sure to get some blade turn on them

[Bizzare]

i remember ah time when i was in high school ah 15 yr old from form 1 run in to deal with ah next fella with ah cutlass from we class, man aint business he swinging blade fuh everybody just to get to dat fella. I hear de noise from de blade when it swing by my ears, den desk an chair start to fly across de class room.The amount ah we tryin to pass tru dat doorway to get out dat class was like ah trinidad bottle neck highway and the fella eventually get ah dread chop way he bone was showing.I think de cutlass fella get away buh i doh knw if he ever return to de school!!

hey i remember that too. think we went the same school bro. Success Laventille Secondary?

[javishm]

pandora cause dat o wa

[SweeP]

i remember ah time when i was in high school ah 15 yr old from form 1 run in to deal with ah next fella with ah cutlass from we class, man aint business he swinging blade fuh everybody just to get to dat fella. I hear de noise from de blade when it swing by my ears, den desk an chair start to fly across de class room.The amount ah we tryin to pass tru dat doorway to get out dat class was like ah trinidad bottle neck highway and the fella eventually get ah dread chop way he bone was showing.I think de cutlass fella get away buh i doh knw if he ever return to de school!!

hey i remember that too. think we went the same school bro. Success Laventille Secondary?

hmmmm same story bro buh different schools,this was barataria secondary comprehensive dis was on de news too!!

[stev]

hmmm...waste of time and money to raise them any further.....should dispose of them when caught....i not paying tax to feed dem in jail.

[bluefete]

lil fkin roadside gangstas realy spoiling this lil island.......things would be so different if these lil shyts had a better more productive mentality......its only going to get worst, from speakign to teachers from many different schools throughout this coutry-- the discipline of students is at its absolute worst...i personally blame deliquency on the min of education, they leave little room for teachrs to discl delinquent student and the student knows that all they have to do is cry wolf and they can get a teacher in trouble.....BRING back discipline inside each classroom= less delinquents less crime-- leave it as it is--we going down the shythole...

Very well said.

We must remember that it was Tantie Kams in her dispensation as the Minister of Education in 2000 who take basket from Diana Mahabir-Wyatt and eliminated corporal punishment in schools.

Since then discipline in schools has hit rock bottom and we have started to dig further.

[bluefete]

Inter Press Service English News Wire, 6 February 2001
Govt to Ban Corporal Punishment in Schools

PORT OF SPAIN, Feb. 5 (IPS) -- Shanice Belfon sees trouble ahead coming from a decision by Trinidad and Tobago school officials to ban corporal punishment in schools.

"Now they (the students) will feel that they can do anything and get away with it," the 7-year-old says disapprovingly.

Ten-year-old Chalesia Rosila agrees that schoolchildren should be beaten. However, it should not be done to the point of having "bruises and marks on their skin."

"Licks sometimes help children to show respect to teachers," she adds.

But eight-year-old Sajeedah Mohammed disagrees. "I think they should try a different type of discipline or give extra homework or something," she adds.

Their views mirror a wider social debate since Education Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar announced last month that the government was launching new legislative initiative to ban corporal punishment in schools.

"Spare the rod and spoil the child is an old adage that should stay in the archives, not in schools," she said adding that a "carrot rather than a stick is more desirable."

Persad-Bissessar recalls her elder sister being expelled from school "because she confronted the teacher for raining blows on me."

The Ministry of Education says it would be holding discussions with its Education Guidance Unit and the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) to discuss "possible alternatives to corporal punishment."

TTUTA has said it welcomed the initiative and was open to discussions on the matter.

The government says there are also social implications for banning corporal punishment in schools.

"If we fail at the school level, we will continue to face it at the social level. Research carried out in North America and Europe suggests that children who are constantly beaten see physical violence as the only way to resolve differences between themselves and others," Persad-Bissessar said.

A former coordinator in early childhood education with the Toronto Board of Education in Canada, Ramona Khan says it is important for the country to understand that the system used 20 years ago is no longer acceptable in societies that are evolving. "We need to help children develop responsible behavior," says Khan, a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Coalition for the Rights of the Child (TTCRC). She believes there is need for "retraining our teachers, instructing them to use alternative methods."

TTCRC in a statement said that it welcomed the new initiative to ban corporal punishment saying, "there are many non-violent alternatives that can be used to modify negative behavior." "Schools are a place of reason not force. We believe this measure is a positive step towards the elimination of violence in our society," the TTCRC said.

Dr. Marilyn Atherley of the Study Center, an education and family resource organization, said that while it was commendable for the authorities to ban corporal punishment in schools, "let us not forget the deep-rooted effect corporal and other punishment has had on our teachers themselves."

She says while teachers will now have to deal with their "own thinking and feelings about the issue," they will also be required to face "their own fear and anxiety" in implementing alternative measures to "maintain discipline in their classes and get their students to learn."

"Remember a large number of our teachers have had no training nor understanding of the social and emotional aspects of teaching and learning, and, therefore, were of the misguided perception that beating a child will get him to learn or sit quietly in class," Dr. Atherley adds.

She warns education authorities that handing the teachers a "manual with suggested alternative punishment and talking at them about it in a two-day workshop is not going to change attitudes and behavior."

The issue of corporal punishment has dominated the media here in recent weeks, especially since 11-year-old Justin Joseph committed suicide after being spanked by his mother. Clinical psychologist Isolda Ali-Ghent said that even though Joseph's parents admitted to spanking him only when "it got overbearing," severe scolding could also have a traumatic effect on a child.

"It is necessary for adults to examine the kind of hurt, punishment physical or verbal can do," she said.

Psychological counsellor Franklin Dolly said that children of Joseph's age "don't really want to kill themselves. They want to draw sympathetic attention. Unfortunately for some of them, they do it so well, they die."

He said a child might exhibit suicidal tendencies after a particularly traumatic experience between the child and parent.

The Express newspaper, in welcoming the government's ban on corporal punishment, said that children needed to be nurtured and taught, and not made to fear teachers and schools.

"Too many teachers expect children to be magicians and mind readers. They do not realize that teaching takes patience and understanding. Children have to be taught many things that are not in the curriculum," the paper said in an editorial.

"It is good that we have pout our horrific history of beating children in school behind us for it does nothing but conjure up images of domination. It is a colonial burden we must rid ourselves of if we are going to develop as a free and independent nation," the paper added.

But the increasing level of violence at schools, particularly when students attack teachers, has led to calls for maintaining corporal punishment at schools.

"Indeed, the pendulum of discipline has swung so heavily in favor of children and their rights that a few taps to their head could cause 11-year-olds to either attack their parents or teachers, or if they feel deeply hurt, show their defiance by committing suicide," wrote columnist Raffique Shah.

He wrote that many secondary schools had now become "battle zones in which ill-disciplined students take out their rage on hapless teachers."

"Now instead of having to deal with deviants who tell them to their faces 'Miss you can't beat me', teachers are using the easy way out. They are absenting themselves from school or when they do attend ignore infractions of the worst kind, sticking to the blackboard and chalk," Shah said.

But Persad-Bissessar said that her Ministry was seeking to deal with the situation and was spending approximately $6 million annually on security to deal with the upsurge of violence in schools.

"The violence that concerns me includes teacher to pupil, pupil against pupil, pupil against teacher or other staff, parent against teacher and sometimes parent against another child," she told a seminar on alternative methods to corporal punishment last month.

[bluefete]

12 men with cutlasses allegedly invaded a school in Grande today

Ah hearing this but I am not sure if true.

Can anyone confirm?

Heard it was because they were teaching the theory of evolution to the kids.

[saxman642]

Discipline in a mess in schools:
I recall two stories working in Fatima College as a non-teaching staff (IT guy) a couple years ago.

A form 4 student at the time tried to crown me with a chair because I told him to leave the computer lab. Which was left unsupervised by the bonafide teachers. (Fatima boys, guess which 'teachers') Lil bastard run out the compound when he realize I was gonna blaze his tail like a man.

The outcome? Principal tell me I had to apologize to the student!! Why? I made physical contact with him trying to reason with him by preventing him from getting up from his chair. This student was known to get in trouble and his mom was backing him up staunchly, once quoted as saying, "I know my chile and he does not lie." He got off scot free.

I get justice in the long term. 7 months later he get an instant 1 month suspension from assaulting a female teacher in the principal's office, even while his left hand was in a cast, in full view of Mr. Joseph, his dean (RIP). Within months of leaving school we went some party in Diego and got himself stabbed up. So much for 'bad boy' from St. Barb's, Belmont

Another time I make the mistake and grabbed a form 5 student by the arm and shove him into the lab to be deal with by a teacher for giving me attitude. Waste of time. I get raked over the coals because he was known to be a "good student". The student had the balls to tell me to my face - in front of his dean - he would have cough me down in my face. Dean said nothing in response.

[hustla_ambition101]

^^^Two incidents you posted come across like you assaulted both students

[bluefete]

^^^Two incidents you posted come across like you assaulted both students

Back in the day in form 4 in CIC, I remember "Jap" was the principal. One lunchtime two boys were fighting in the form 4 corridor and "Jap" happened to be passing. Next thing I know I just see some white clothes pass me in a blur.

Jap hit one of the boys a flying tackle and pull him down by his two ankles!

I guess you can't do that today because students have rights. Or that would be "assault".

Lemme tell you something. My son was being bullied in school and I did not know.

I had previously warned to stay away from fights in school.

When we found out what was happening, my advice to him was "defend yourself".

All "shite" stopped after that and the school admin dare not call me because they knew what was happening and did nothing because the bullies had parents who were doctahs and liars (lawyers) and they were more afraid of those parents.

The Fatima incidents are true examples off why our society is the mess it is in today.

[hustla_ambition101]

There are ways to deal with situations like that, remove yourself and call security/principal/dean, if student throws first punch is a different story.

In the case of bullying, your son had a right to defend himself, he have to be beh beh to stand up and take licks, I am small frame and people thought they could have bullied me back in my days, started toting blades and other weapons to deal with any bully who jump out

[~Vēġó~]

one of the worst things that was done.....removing that fear of consequence for infraction.....hence 12 years later.....but maybe it has nothing to do with now.....I don't agree though, I believe that it has everything to do with problems faced now.....

[*$kїđž!™]

students have more rights that teachers...there is nuthing that can be done to correct students.....a 7 days suspension and then they back in school....yet Tim only studying about teachers taking their righful days off .....

[marvin23]

its very encouraging to see a post where some people actually may have an understanding of what teachers have to go through...i must admit there are the bad apples that have caused all teachers to gain unfavour among the masses...but our job is so much more than meets the eye...

basically, teachers are at the mercy of students now...we cant beat, shout...anything can come across as 'abuse'...........yet the students can get away with murder........if a teacher defends himself against a physical attack from a student...and the student gets injured.....the teacher can be charged still...

on the issue of corporal punishment..it may bring change...but not 100% transformation...it will not work on every student...some irresponsible teachers may have abused this form of discipline...while at the same time, parents are sparing the rod and spoiling the child.....i say bring back corporal punishment in a controlled environment...with neccessary accountability, documentation and support for teachers, parents and students....

[*$kїđž!™]

students are very disrespectful.....just yesterday I passed though a school in central.......going through the admin door a student hit me with his shoulder....I told him ..dude let me pass and dont bounce into me.....his response......"wham like you want me to buss yur face or wha"......

I am so sorry for what teachers have to go tru......its better to become a prison officer.....at least you could beat them....lol.....

[streetbeastINC.]

buddy i am not a teacher but i know so many good teachers---family friends dedicated to the cause , not jsut a job-- one from south told me the studets tied a piece of fishing lie across two post and was waiting to trip teachers, a teacher passed and ripped out her toe nail--fell other damages-- the students came out with two days suspension-directives from min to leave them alone.....this is just oe story....i often wonder what TTuta has to say on these issues.....but when you have a MIn of ed with a vendetta against oly teachers something is wrong----- I am suprised that this govt sees all students as angels--- alot of these angels are the ones we see in court facig murder,rape,robbery etc charges ---- these are facts....we are supposed to make decisions based on facts- criminal stats show increased deliquency from form2-5---fact hypothesis- govt created alot of the crime situation today by their angel approach to all students.......and they actually view ad blame teachers for school delinquency

[Chimera]

lol

this remind of of one of my padnas who cuff down a man who hit him a slap

our form teacher ask him "why you didn't turn the other cheek?"

padna say "but miss, then he wudda slap me there too!"


even the principal start to laugh for that reply yes

[link]

its very encouraging to see a post where some people actually may have an understanding of what teachers have to go through...i must admit there are the bad apples that have caused all teachers to gain unfavour among the masses...but our job is so much more than meets the eye...

basically, teachers are at the mercy of students now...we cant beat, shout...anything can come across as 'abuse'...........yet the students can get away with murder........if a teacher defends himself against a physical attack from a student...and the student gets injured.....the teacher can be charged still...

on the issue of corporal punishment..it may bring change...but not 100% transformation...it will not work on every student...some irresponsible teachers may have abused this form of discipline...while at the same time, parents are sparing the rod and spoiling the child.....i say bring back corporal punishment in a controlled environment...with neccessary accountability, documentation and support for teachers, parents and students....

what about when that 'student' apologise to u for the trouble...AND PASSES CLOSE TO YOU TO WHISPER 'WHEN YOU COME OUT OF THE SCHOOL COMPOUND, I'LL BE OUTSIDE..'
.