Antiguan school children benefit from positive disciplinary practices being implemented at school

14-year-old Glenroy Martin is among the more than 200 students attending the T. N. Kirnon School in Antigua and Barbuda who are now benefiting from the new positive disciplinary procedures being implemented at the school.

This is because since September 2008 the Principal and staff have been embracing the child-friendly school concept being advocated for and supported by the UNICEF Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean where the primary focus has been on positive behavioral management with an aim of reducing corporal punishment in schools.

Glenroy, whom some teachers have described as a troublesome student, admitted to frequently being in trouble- having had to be sent often to the Principal’s Office for misbehaving and having received lashes with a belt on occasions for his misbehavior.

Behavioural contract replaces corporal punishment

Today however, instead of receiving lashes Glenroy is benefiting from other options. One such option includes establishing a behaviour contract between himself and the teacher.

This is one of the ways teachers at the T. N. Kirnon School now discipline students, since the implementation of the new behavioural colour wheel that can be seen in every classroom as part of the positive approach to discipline.

The behavioural contract is done with students who like Glenroy – often go on the red and yellow sections of the colour wheel. The teacher sits with the students and tries to find out what is the problem and why the student continually goes on red. Then the student and the teacher develop the contract together and determine what will be the punishment for future misbehaviours.

Glenroy, who has had to develop such a behavioural contract with one of his teachers, said that he prefers this system to lashes.

“Lashes wear off.” He said. “And you will do the same thing over and over again,” he added.

According to him, the colour wheel is a good idea because it gives the teacher “other things that they can do when children misbehave. Before “they just use to say stop and nothing would happened.”

Reward System encourages good behaviour

The colour wheel is also complimented by a rewards system which is part of this new positive approach to discipline to help boost students’ self esteem.

For the two weeks that he was on his behavioural contract, Glenroy received certificates for his good behaviour and he admitted that is felt “really good,” especially as it made his Mom “very proud.”

But while he perceives the changes as good, Glenroy also realizes that changing one’s individual behavior is a process and will not happen overnight. He admitted that after two weeks of good behaviour he got into trouble for “answering back a teacher”.

He recognizes as well that for his peers the change will have to happen over time as some of them are still “behaving badly.”

According to him, “in addition to the colour wheel and the other positive approaches being used”, it is also necessary to show his peers “what life is like without education.”

They need to see that they can end up “on the streets or in jail,” he said. “This too will help them to change.”

Taking a stand against violence

By Cordelle Lazare.

Over the years violence has become very conspicuous in our daily lives. It is almost as daily as our three necessary meals . The ‘Why?’, question always comes up, and many try to give answers, but who is to say what really causes such outward violence?

Many persons have the notion that violence is only physical. It would be remiss not to make the ignorant wise. It is seen globally that verbal and emotional violence are rampant. But it pains the wise that children, teens and women make up the majority of those affected. Women face domestic violence. Though the initial effects may be physical, the long term is emotional. Sadly, in such situations children are usually entangled. However, it has been noted in the Caribbean that men also face domestic violence. This time with the women being the ones who are inflicting fear and harm and showing dictatorship and bravado. Unlike domestic violence against women, this is not often reported because the men feel that their manhood is lost. This is truly wrong on both counts and does not help anyone.

An increasing phenomenon is violence among youth. There are many reasons why this takes place, whether be it race, sex, mate, money, etc. However, none should be condoned. Rather than spending time to seek advancement for all and band to help make policies which will affect us and those to come, we spend our days chewing at each other. Some, which  many result in death or hospitalization due to serious injury. They vast majority of the time we decide to brandish a weapon or engage in a fist fight , rather than seat as young, disciplined persons and talk. Or simply just walk away from it all with the thought, “A coward lives to fight another day!”, in mind. Are we not pained everytime we hear a fellow brother or sister has to be laid to rest over stupidity? Do we ever stop to think of  the families involved at the end of the day? More than three quarters of the time the answer is, “No!”. We only seem to think of here and now and never long term. A Caribbean calypsoian, from the island of Dominica, by the name of Tarina sang a fitting rendition during her country’s 2009 Carnival Season. This song is entitled, “Endangered Species” and speaks about the violence among young men and comparing the existance of men to certain species like the polar bear. However, this can not be applied only to young men, though they are the ones, the majority of the time, leading the path of violence. It can also apply to our young women.

It is high time that we take a stance and stop commiting crimes against self, others, country and those to come. We need to band together, strong and united and firmly seek progressions for all never allow regression to become a thought.

 

 

Adolescents to launch regional media network

by Patrick Knight, Communication Specialist, UNICEF Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Office.

 

The old saying advised that children (including teenagers) should be seen and not heard, but a group of adolescents from Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean is out to change that mindset with the formation of an Eastern Caribbean Adolescent Journalists Network.

Young people from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines, supported by facilitators from all of the countries, recently met in Barbados to design a blueprint for the group and decide on a training schedule and work plan ahead of the official launch of the network later this year.

 

Representatives from the Antigua Observer, Barbados Association of Journalists, Caribbean Association of Media Workers, Dominica Environmental Youth Network and Searchlight and Yute Newspapers were present at the initial meeting, fully covering the four countries involved in the pilot of the Eastern Caribbean Adolescent Journalists Network.

 

The British Virgin Islands, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands will soon be brought into the network which is being facilitated by the UNICEF Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. The network will feed into the Latin Americana and Caribbean Adolescent Media Network.

 

The network of adolescent communicators is one of the forms of participation that UNICEF and its partners are promoting to make children and adolescents’ voices heard, to put in the public agenda issues affecting them, and to demand compliance of their rights. Through media children and adolescents can express themselves and publicly discuss issues related to their own rights, their aspirations and concerns.

On issues such as child poverty, HIV/AIDS, violence, the environment and education, children and adolescents will be given the skills and tools to speak out through projects using print, video, radio and new media platforms utilising the Internet.

 

Most of the adolescents identified training as the critical component in launching them towards a career in journalism and UNICERF, with the support of national bodies and media houses, are expected to work towards making the training a reality.

 

The specific objectives identified by the group are:

 

• To strengthen the rights of participation for children and adolescents through media.

 

• To promote the exchange of experiences directly affecting members.

 

• To support learning processes of the adolescent participants, transforming communication into a positive experience that transcends barriers and enriches participants emotionally and intellectually.

 

• To share information at the local, sub regional and regional level, influencing public opinion and reinforcing the rights of children with the stories/materials they produce.

 

• To support the dissemination and exchange of adolescents´ participation and best practices and innovations.

 

• Support the participation of the sub regional network in the Regional Intercultural Network for Adolescent Communicators (LACVOV).

 

• To encourage their peers throughout the sub region through the promotion of integral health, prevention of all forms of violence and the use of illicit drugs.

 

HIV/AIDS & the Future

By Cordelle Lazare.

Based on these figures, it can be noted that too many persons in both regions are infected with this vicious virus/disease. HIV/AIDS Response Unit Coordinators expect the estimations for 2008 to show an increase in persons infected in all categories and expect 2009 to follow the same trend.

Over the years treatment has become available and more modern, but all have to keep in mind that there has been no breakthrough for a complete cure. The antiretroviral which is now available, is used to slow the process of infected persons moving from HIV to full blown AIDS. Everyone should appreciate the fact that treatment is not only the inducing of medicine, but it’s also psychological.

The three methods of transmission must now be kept in the consciousness of all citizens, including children and adolescents. These are sexual transmission, blood transmission and mother – to – child transmission. However, these can be prevented. Sexual active persons can protect themselves by using condoms.

However, no form of contraceptive is one hundred percent safe, but condom use is the safest. Secondly, if one has an area of broken skin and that area comes in contact with infected HIV/AIDS blood, then more likely than not that person will in fact contract HIV/AIDS. Thirdly, during pregnancy the child may contract HIV/AIDS. Remarkably, scientists have devised a method to prevent children from contracting the virus/disease.

Now, citizens of this world, especially youths have to ask themselves what is the way forward into 2009 and the years to come. Are we going to let HIV/AIDS destroy lives or are we going to suppress it? If we are big on resolutions, determination and promises for the new year and life ahead, this is a recommendation for a resolution that everyone should make. All sexually active persons should get tested regularly for HIV!

It’s time we all live by the ABC rule. A – Abstinence: this is the only practice which will guarantee that one will not contract HIV/AIDS. B – Be Faithful: that sexually active people stick with one and only one partner. C – use Condoms: this asks that if one is every sexually active that one is always protected for the sake of themselves and their partner’s. Remember the future is at stake!

Fortunately, many organizations have taken the mantel to help provide funding for drugs and treatment, care and support to those infected with the virus, affected by the disease and also to children. This is something which is not expected to change neither in the New Year nor in those to come. Hats off to UNICEF and the UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign and the many other organizations that have been fighting for the cause, there dedicated service will surely not go unrecognized.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, UNICEF.

A breeze of fresh air at UNICEF’s Year End Meeting

 
By Cordelle Lazzare 

Bridgetown, November 18, 2008 -

The UNECLAC*1 /UNICEF Conference on Social Policies for Children’s Rights and UNICEF’s Year End Meeting – “Knowledge Building through Partnerships” were held this month. Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, The Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Turks and Caicos Islands were all represented at the meeting, over the four day period.

On Thursday, November 20th, young people took the stage and captured the meeting by storm. If anyone associated the words immature and inexperience with youth, their thoughts took a one- hundred-and-eighty-degrees turn. The youth commanded the attention of the audience from the start of their presentations until the end. The audience got so wrapped up into the moment that the expressions on their faces showed that they wanted more.

Ms. Je-Melia Maloney, founder of the “Emerging Global Leaders Barbados”*2, presented her social policies participation – her experience in the Junior 8 (J8) Summit*3 . Ms. Maloney was the sole representative of Latin America and the Caribbean at the summit held this year in Japan. Ms. Maloney’s participation in the summit gave her the opportunity to discuss focal areas of interest with young people from around the world, including themes such as poverty and development, global warming and climate change and global health.

But overall, something greater arose from this summit she said, the “Chitose Declaration”*4 . This declaration entails all the problems which the youth of the world face and devises ways forward. But there was one more surprise: she was chosen by her peers to meet with world leaders, among whom was the President of the United States of America, George W. Bush. She highlighted that it was an honor to have met and interviewed President Bush, but the greatest honor of all was that she was chosen by her peers. She was awarded a trophy by UNICEF for her dedicated service to youth.

By the time Ms. Maloney had wrapped up her presentation the applause was great and the audience was eager for more. Whispers spread across the conference room. The most prevalent one was, “The future is really bright with young people like her!”
Next was Ms. Christaneisha Soleyn, a member of our very own Youth Adolescent Communicators

Network -Barbados, who presented recommendations for children and youth-friendly social policies. Ms. Soleyn began talking about health/sex and family/social issues which hinder the progress of children and young people globally. As a young journalist, Ms. Soleyn used her insight to propose recommendations for the advancement of youth via the media. First, she focused on health and sex suggestions. She recommended the development of a cartoon program addressed to children, which could help parents teach children about their sexuality.

Among her many ideas, she suggested the development of internet blogs, and a call-in-hotline and rehabilitation program for troubled children and teenagers. She made a strong appeal for UNICEF to draw attention to and probe legislature to revise the equality in the age of consent and the age an adolescent can obtain healthcare without parents’ approval.

She then tied her recommendations for family and social issues into her presentation. Among many recommendations she highlighted the need to push the use of television and radio to promote the need for fathers to take up their roles in the family and practice good parenting skills. She also strongly pushed for better financial and emotional support for teenage parents. These were only a few of the recommendations made by this brilliant young mind, who seems to be an upcoming global leader.

By the end of Ms. Soleyn’s presentation, the audience gave the impression to have an unquenchable thirst for more. After the wonderful presentations of the two young female panelists, the sole male, Mr. Danny Babb, youth group representative and Interim Director of “Team ACTION Project Implementation Unit (TAPIU)”, was to follow.

The tension in the room hinted that the audience expected something great, and Mr. Babb knew he could not disappoint. Well it would be remiss of anyone reporting on this event not to admit that he did deliver in a magnificent way. His brilliant mastery of the English language eased his presentation geared in giving recommendations for children and youth-friendly social policies. He was very witty and flowed like a professional ballroom dancer doing the Waltz. He presented his recommendations beautifully and the one which stroke the audience was the need to develop clubs/activities to keep the interest of children and youth, which would keep them out of unnecessary trouble.

At the end of the session, the audience’s thirst was quenched and they were pleased to see that amidst the world’s problems, there are still positive young people who are willing to make an encouraging contribution to society.

The entire panel consisted of Barbadian nationals who have made and will continue to make their country proud.

Children Have Their Say at Caribbean Child Research Conference: “Promoting Child Rights Through Research”

KINGSTON, 28 October 2008 – During one session of the Caribbean Child Research Conference, the room fell quiet as the first young speaker stepped to the podium. Over three hundred people were gathered for one of the most anticipated sessions of the conference – the presentations of eight children vying for the coveted award for Outstanding Child Researcher.When the rounds of tough questions from the audience were over and the judges’ scores were tallied, seventeen year-old Tsahai Thomas emerged as the winner for her research on the relationship between media consumption and academic achievement of students at her high school.

Held for the third year in Jamaica on October 21-22, under the theme “Building a Region Fit for Children,” the Caribbean Child Research Conference has become a milestone event that brings together academics, child-focused agencies, government officials and children for two intensive days to examine the latest research on issues affecting children.

The conference has become well-known for bringing the theory of meaningful children’s participation to life. Over two hundred high school students from across Jamaica converged at the conference this year, actively engaging in myriad presentations by eminent researchers hailing from the Caribbean, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Each year, candidates for the Outstanding Child Researcher award select their own research topic, and receive guidance from their teachers in implementing their study. Tsahai, who wants to become a journalist in the future, said she chose her subject because of the current debate in Jamaica surrounding the influence of media on children.

“I knew I would have the energy and the zeal for this topic, I would not be bored!” she said. “I always thought media use would have a big impact on academic achievement, but the students proved me wrong. They are watching a lot of TV but still getting relatively good grades.”
With technical and financial support from UNICEF, the 2008 Caribbean Child Research Conference was staged by the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies in Jamaica, in association with several government agencies and child-focused NGOs.

The conference also bestows an annual award of Distinguished Researcher for an adult researcher whose research on children’s issues has been influential. This year well-respected Jamaican academic Barbara Bailey copped the prize.

For young Tsahai, and many other students like her, the Caribbean Child Research Conference has opened up an important avenue for children to be heard. “Children don’t have a great enough voice in society,” Tsahai reflected.

“There are many children’s advocates but they don’t always consider the view of the children who they talk about. They need to hear our own perspectives,” she concluded.

More information:
Allison Hickling, ahickling@unicef.org, UNICEF Jamaica