Education And Violence

I WOULD as a mother like to express my dismay at the way education is linked to the increase of violence in our country.

How many of us remember the last Bible verse they were taught in school? I still do. Now you may ask what that has to do with the violence in our country.If you take a young boy and teach him it’s wrong for a man to violently handle a woman then imprint it in his mind like the Bible verse was, I am sure there will be a positive outcome.It is so unfair that we don’t take advantage of a child’s developing mind, then later when it is sometimes too late, we want to rehabilitate them as adults, after the damage has already been done.There’s also the perception that men don’t cry.Personally I have a big problem with that statement.How many women are known to commit violent acts, or are known to commit suicide compared to men? We may think there is a reason why that is so, but there is not.The only real reason is that women cry more than men and that is solely done to relieve the anger or hurt that you feel in side.When you tell a young child it’s not right for him to cry, where or how does he then relieve his anger or hurt? I challenge parents and I also ask the Ministry of Education to help educate every child from an early age that violence is and never was a way to solve a problem.Some would say they see their parents fighting.It is known that children can also contribute to educating their parents! So we as parents must listen to our children, because only then can they change this country for the better.Afra Kavandje Via e-mailNow you may ask what that has to do with the violence in our country.If you take a young boy and teach him it’s wrong for a man to violently handle a woman then imprint it in his mind like the Bible verse was, I am sure there will be a positive outcome.It is so unfair that we don’t take advantage of a child’s developing mind, then later when it is sometimes too late, we want to rehabilitate them as adults, after the damage has already been done.There’s also the perception that men don’t cry.Personally I have a big problem with that statement.How many women are known to commit violent acts, or are known to commit suicide compared to men? We may think there is a reason why that is so, but there is not.The only real reason is that women cry more than men and that is solely done to relieve the anger or hurt that you feel in side.When you tell a young child it’s not right for him to cry, where or how does he then relieve his anger or hurt? I challenge parents and I also ask the Ministry of Education to help educate every child from an early age that violence is and never was a way to solve a problem.Some would say they see their parents fighting.It is known that children can also contribute to educating their parents! So we as parents must listen to our children, because only then can they change this country for the better.Afra Kavandje Via e-mail