VI @ point where teachers should help ‘parent’ bad youths– Cromwell Smith

Talk show host Cromwell Smith aka Edju Enka said the Virgin Islands is at a point where teachers should now have to step in to parent children who lack parenting at home.

Mr Smith was at the time interviewing Minister for Health and Social Development Hon Marlon A. Penn (R8) on ZBVI 780 AM on February 13, 2023.

According to the radio host, the proliferation of crime in the territory at the hands of youths could be a result of bad parenting in the home.

“It has come to the point from a social service perspective, we are going to have to help to parent our children and I discussed a long time ago whether we ought to give teachers more responsibility, along with more pay and training, to manage our students who were not getting their training at home,” he said.

‘Upsurge in extreme misconduct’

Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports Hon Sharie B. de Castro (AL) recently reported of an upsurge of “extreme misconduct” in the public secondary schools.

“I can regrettably confirm that some of our students are threatening the lives of their peers, teachers, administrators, and security officers and are threatening to destroy school property.

“Additionally, Madam Speaker, our schools have found students in possession of marijuana and marijuana products as well as e-cigarettes and alcohol. Brass knuckles with knives attached are being confiscated from students far too frequently,” Hon de Castro stated at the Third Sitting of the Fifth Session of the Fourth House of Assembly (HoA) at the Save the Seed Centre, in Duffs Bottom, Tortola on February 10, 2023.

Mr. Smith added that while training begins at home, if the parent does not have the capacity to train their children, systems should be put in place for example in the school system.

Gov't systems should train children- Mr Smith

Meanwhile, Mr Smith added that while training begins at home, if the parent does not have the capacity to train their children, systems should be put in place.

Mr Smith said the VI government should therefore assist the parents in parenting children so that society would be free from all the violence and the disrespect now being seen.

Hon Marlon A. Penn (R8), during the same episode of the show, said with the upsurge of gun crime in the Virgin Islands, local law enforcement needs as much support as possible.

“We need to support the law enforcement agencies as much as we can. It has to be a true partnership,” he added.

#the Virgin Islands