There is an uncouthness in the way some professionals in educational institutions across Barbados are treating students, Minister of Education Ronald Jones has said.
“How you treat them in your verbal communication, how you talk to them, determines how they feel too. I have been coming across a little too much of piggery behaviour from some of our learning institutions and it is doing significant harm,” Jones said.
He added: “Somebody will write in some paper how I am disrespecting somebody.
I speaking the truth. I am positioned where I would know. They don’t, so accept my word and shut your foolish mouth. There is a bit too much of uncouth behaviour to our clients.”
Jones spoke briefly on the issue as he delivered remarks earlier this week during a presentation of library equipment at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic.
The outspoken minister noted that such behaviour would have an adverse effect on the young people the professionals deal with because the youth “are susceptible to what we say, how we say it, what we do and how we do it”.
The educator said while there was no excuse for the uncouth behaviour being displayed by some professionals, educators many years ago also had to deal with students who were damaged as a result of various traumatic experiences.
He said students with such challenges today should not be treated badly by teachers because psychology in this modern era should be used for emotional learning.
“I am saying as human beings evolving, let us evolve with compassion. Let us evolve with understanding. Let us evolve with love. Let us evolve with care,” Jones said. “Let us reach out to the poor, the vulnerable, the deprived, the underachieving, those who have certain challenges in life. Our humanity is best reflected when we do those things that I have mentioned.”
