Several well known church, business and political leaders have, over the years, expressed their opinion regarding the break down of the family as the main cause of the ills we now face in our society.  From the rampant violence, to the general disrespect we have for each other, the malfunctioning family unit seems to be where everyone places the blame.   

Jamaica has gradually been seeing less marriages, more single parent households, more men with multiple "baby mothers", more women with multiple "baby fathers", and more children being raised by grandparents and extended family members.  This is not ideal as children tend to grow up without the necessary guidance to ensure their success in life.  The breakdown in the nuclear family results in more unsupervised and directionless children which, more often than not, leads to poor physical, social, and intellectual development due to poor choices of activities when children are left to care for themselves.  The effects are even more pronounced in lawless communities where there is prevalent crime, drugs and disregard for rules and regulatiuons.

But how do we move from identifying the cause to finding a solution?

It's not enough to say that men need to recapture their role as leaders or that we need to exercise more love to each other.  There needs to be a proactive effort to reclaim the youth and prevent them from following the footsteps of their misgiuded role models.  With Jamaica as it is, much success will not be had by targeting the adults with messages of change.  The Jamaican proverb "What gone bad a morning, caan come good a evening" applies.  We need to train up the children in the way they should grow that when they are old they will not depart from it.

So how do we do that?  I suggest boarding schools.  If the parents can't raise the children properly, the governement needs to step in.

Jamaican educators are worrying that escalating violence in the Corporate Area is slowly robbing hundreds of students of precious learning time and valuable contact hours with teachers. The problem is particularly acute in some inner-city schools.  With boarding schools, students in these inner-city areas can be housed elsewhere in safe and secure environments.  

In England, inner-city state schools are preparing to open a new generation of boarding houses for pupils.  A series of semi-independent academy schools, most in poor urban areas, are considering providing on-site accommodation as part of the first major expansion of state boarding for decades.  The facilities will be aimed at children from service families, young people with parents working abroad and pupils from broken homes.

The Jamaican government can seek to do likewise.  Sporadic violent outbreaks are forcing institutions to close which is resulting in many lost school days as well as more counselling for traumatised students and teachers in the aftermath of tragedies.  If we can't move the crime from the children, move the children from the crime.  

Professor Rowell Huesmann, who leads the University of Michigan Aggression Research Program, has cited that 59 percent of those who watched an above-average amount of violence on television as children, were involved in more than the average number of such aggressive incidents later in life.

Huesmann says that ages six to eight are very delicate and critical years in the development of children. Youngsters are learning social behaviour that will last them throughout their life.  If studies show that television can have these effects, what then of real world exposure?  It is therefore imperative that we not only shield our children from the destructive influences of crime and violence, but also from destructive media.  Boarding schools is one way to do this.

Boarding schools also have other benefits including low student to teacher ratio, more emphasis on clubs and extra-curricular activities and more independence as the responsibility for completing all tasks falls solely on the student's shoulders.  Research has shown that boarding school students and alumni are overwhelmingly satisfied with their academic experiences and have advanced more quickly in their careers.  They also tend to be more philanthropic.

We need to take a serious look at how we invest our money as investing wrongly can have serious implications for our future as a nation.  We need to focus on finding ways to educate those most at risk of marginalization.  We need to promote policies and procedures that are successful. Education, particularly at the college level, can afford individuals with the opportunities to achieve and maintain productive and crime-free lives, and help to create safer communities for all.  If we continue to produce uneducated youth the downward spiral will continue until we all are at risk from being sucked into the vacuum of crime's black hole.

Read more on the benefits of boarding schools here.

http://www.schools.com/theTruth/truth2.html