Ed director says assault doesn’t define JGHS
(CNS): In a video message following an assault on a John Gray High School student by two of his peers last week, Department of Education Services (DES) Director Mark Ray outlined what the Ministry of Education, the DES, schools and the police are doing to ensure safe learning environments for students and staff. Last Friday, Ray and a team of officials attended a staff briefing at the JGHS to support the staff and stress that recent events should not define the school.
Two boys were arrested and bailed following the assault, and they have been temporarily suspended from the school.
The JGHS, which has around 1,100 students and 94 teachers, was graded as a good school by the Office of Education Standards when it was last inspected in April 2021.
See the video message from the director below.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Crime, Education, Local News, Police
Why are these children so angry? It appears as if they drink gas and hot peppers for breakfast, lunch and supper. The blame is certainly not with the school or the teachers, it is the up-bring of the children. This behavior starts from within the home. I see disrespectful parents bullying others in front of their children. They curse the police and commit all sort of crimes in front of them. Now, what do you expect? The teachers are not there to raise your children and teach them manners. They are there to TEACH! Manners and respect should be implemented at a young tender age in the home.
On the Brac even the young CBC officers don’t have any manners. if they going in a door ahead of you they let the door hit u in the nose if you are not careful. In other times we will hold the door for anyone that’s coming right behind us. I am 77 and still hold the door for anyone that’s following me to go through the door. etc, etc ,etc. They never say good morning. Young people have no respect. Young people should be thankful that we old people worked hard to make these Islands what they are so they can have a good easy life.Times have really changed in these islands, and
plenty are for the worst.
The recent school survey reported that in some districts 40% of children experienced violence AT HOME. Let that sink in a moment. To be fair to the public schools we’d be delusional if we didn’t expect some level of violence at schools given that horrifying statistic.
40%!!!
https://caymannewsservice.com/2023/03/survey-finds-over-half-of-students-exposed-to-violence/#:~:text=Over%2058%25%20of%20the%20teenage,of%20all%20students%20reported%20neglect.
Yeah, no. Tried and failed.
The kids are the next generation of Northward guests. Another approach is needed.
Contraception is the approach needed, followed by abortion.
The 3rd world teachers are not a help either.
Just like Cayman the school only looks good in reality its trash.
When you try to justify the issue it does not help or solve it. The students involved in these “coordinated” and “intentional” acts have to be severely punished it is the only way they will understand that it is wrong and unacceptable. It will also let the others see the same. When the parents, (if you can find them) and the Heads of the school try to inhibit the punishment that is required this does not help.
Bring back the “Scared Straight” program and have these little “wanna be’s” pee in their pants when they see LIFE!
The other alternative is to add prison cells for when they reach 18 and either kill or severely injure an innocent person.
Be a part of the solution and stamp it out. There is absolutely no need to waste valuable time on things that you have full control over!!
Thug life on tv is romanticised, and is attractive to some youth. My parents would have been the ones to fear had I done something like this, not the authorities. They would have beat my ass blue. Therein lies the difference.
This behavior starts from home. If they know it’s a violent household, arrest the parents. Children behave according to how they are brought up the majority of the time.
name and shame the parents.
there is no hope for 90% of those attending public schools.
Maybe if we paid all the teachers a minimum of 10k a month things would improve?
The DES cannot guarantee the safety of children. That appears to be a fact. The attack in the video is NOT bullying. It is battery. Treating it as something other than what it is does not help. Bullying is serious. Behavior modification steps should be immediately taken. Battery is a serious crime. There should be no hesitation in pursuing the harshest and most immediate of sanctions, as a criminal matter, before the courts. If the perpetrators are not Caymanian they should be required to leave these Islands. Permanently. There should be no place for them here.
Caymanians should be suing their government for the cost of private school fees.
@ 19/09/2023 at 7:20 am – I agree with you 100%! Caymanians should be suing the government for ruining and continuing to ruin the public schools in this country. Caymanians are being forced to put our kids in private schools, even though our tax dollars pay for public education. We’re paying a high price for public education, but we can’t take advantage of it because the education is sub-standard and the schools are becoming increasingly dangerous.
The money that Caymanians spend on private schools should be going towards our mortgages and our retirement! We must insist on better public education! We’re paying for it!
To counter the argument that this is the norm, it really isn’t.
It’s always likely, and it will always happen. Private schools have the luxury of being able to remove children as they see fit. At government schools, they’re pretty much forced to accommodate kids with extreme behaviors. It doesn’t make it right, but dickhead behavior will happen.
The videos passed around on social media are done so because Cayman runs on gossip.
As a former teacher, I saw plenty of fights, but for the vast majority of the time it was just normal school. The biggest issue faced by the school is apathetic students, staff, and parents.
Cayman is gossip central thanks to social media and perpetuated by the likes of Sandra Hill’s Cayman Marl Road. Yes, others are complicit but its fair to say that her platforms have emboldened people to abuse it. Freedom of speech has should have its limits and that’s what the ITC regs were meant to address but it has done little to nothing to protect citizens. This is what is to be expected when our society essentially promotes this from the top. Wayne and PACT amongst other issues plaguing our islands will need to reckon with this.
Freedom of speech should never be impeded. That is a very slippery slope. You can’t blame the likes of Sandra. It comes down to the parents at the end of the day. They are responsible for ensuring their children grow up with manners, discipline, and love. Teachers can be strict but at the end of the day, they only have so much power to control these young delinquents. I think compulsory regiment (or equivalent) training should be applied. Would teach many of these kids the value of hard work and a healthy level of discipline.
Also a controversial opinion but I believe kids shouldn’t have access to social media at schools and preferably not till they are older. Many studies are coming out that show it is having a detrimental effect on children’s mental health and behavior.
I doubt you would feel this way if you or your family were the targets. And I sincerely hope you never are.
“Freedom of speech and expression, therefore, may not be recognized as being absolute, and common limitations or boundaries to freedom of speech relate to libel, slander, obscenity, pornography, sedition, incitement, fighting words, hate speech, classified information, copyright violation, trade secrets, food labeling, …”
Taking into account how small this island is it even more detrimental to the lives of all of our residents when CMR and the likes and her little agents etc wage war on whomever they please because they know most people won’t want to take a very expensive legal route and knowing that it adds fodder and an audience to her platform when they do.
You saying that social media should be banned for children makes the point that all speech is not acceptable.
“Parents” implies a stable mother and father couple.
What we have here is feral Jamaican baby daddy offspring who have no guidance , role models or inspiration.
Their 3rd world teachers are no better.
Look at your future Cayman, it’s not going to get any better.
Another former public school teacher here; we used to say in the old days 5% of the students give 95% of the serious problems. My bet is that it’s not so different now.
Former public school student here. The 5% need to be identified with urgency and separated from the rest.
The former teacher again here 3:48: we were not allowed to do anything in the old days with the 5%. Certainly not separate them permanently ie expel them. When we even tried to discipline them we got parliamentary questions every six months from Roy Bodden asking what we were doing and why, because he believed it was white run schools discriminating against black students. Check the Hansards in the 80s.
Maybe this should be changed so these students do not have to be accepted. Then it would be up to the parents to:
1) pay for their misfits to enter private school (if they can get them in), or
2) home school the misfits themselves.
perhaps the government should build a new school where those expelled can attend. No district restriction etc.
Once parents start to feel the effects of their children’s misbehavior I am sure change will start to be seen.
You really have no idea what the parents of these children are like I’m afraid 1:11. There is a reason the kids are the way they are!! These “parents” don’t give a sh&t about their kids behavior and in most cases that behavior is the same as the parents behavior was in school!
At least it would remove the students who don’t care and leave a safe environment for the remaining students that want to learn.
indeed it defines all the public education!
No moral values or “education” which begins from home, kids learn their behavior at home and just apply what they know everywhere else, obviously “enhanced” by external influences, as social media, music, if what they hear now could be called that, and group pressure.
Home Education is key, just like has been said before, who cares if the speed limit is lowered to the minimum when they don’t seem to understand or care to follow laws and rules.
Unfortunately some parents don’t have the time or the will to properly raise kids any more, leaving that “burden” to someone or something else.
Or they’re just adding to the “proud” and “entitled” ones …
That’s Caymankind for ya!
Yeah but you fix that? A competent education department
I agree with the title. Assault, drugs, pregnancy, sex, and rock n roll defines JGHS perfectly loll
Some of these young men and young ladies never got spanked or told No when they were little. They are a product of their upbringing and home environment.
And now society reaps what was sowed.
Yes the school has much room for improvement, but the problems we are seeing all start in the home.
No role models. No rules. No consequences.
And others have had the crap kicked out of them by their parents.
Yes, it does. Anyone who went to school at JGHS, whether recently or 10+ years ago, knows this is the regular.
The only difference is we didn’t have HD phones or Social Media to record and post it.
We also had to have “nicely groomed hair” and dreadlocks were not allowed except for 1 person due to their religion (RIP Sham).
I’d say yes, this 100% defines JGHS, primarily because it has ALWAYS been the norm.
I agreed with you….Back in my days there was the alternative unit behind the library for the usual suspects…there needs to be separation within the student body for students with aggression issues who think it is ok to assault people.
1:25 Military school might be a good option. Teach them hard work and discipline that they evidently arent being exposed to at home.