REGENERATING THE MORAL AND SPIRITUAL VALUES OF OUR SOCIETY

By Vernon Khelawan

More and more this country is seeing the dire need to pull itself back from the brink insofar as moral and spiritual values are concerned. It is so distressing to see the lack of respect for family, neighbours, friends, co-workers as displayed at all levels of society by so many.

It is particularly disturbing when children show great disrespect to their parents or guardians and even to their teachers. For years the question has been asked. What is the root cause for this deterioration? One does not have to look too far to realise that it all stems from right there in the home.
Single parent homes have grown exponentially over the years: numerous “live with” relationships produce children to mothers and sometimes fathers, who are neither prepared mentally nor financially to deal with such a responsibility.
The extended family of decades ago where “granny” or “auntie” would just love to take care of those children now no longer exists, because women become “grannies” at much younger ages. Apart from having a life of their own, they may need to work to provide for themselves, so out goes the “granny” help.
Therein lies the reason for the explosion of day-care or child-care centres and even some dubious kindergarten establishments, run by unqualified persons, where the fundamentals of manners – the “please” and “thank you” and “good morning” and “good evening” have been gobbled up in the quest for fees. Lack of government oversight and the absence of criteria and set standards add to the problems.
At the primary and secondary school levels discipline is a hard to find virtue. The days have long gone when a child who was punished for errant behaviour would dare go home and tell his parents he was punished in school that day. That would be taking a great risk, because chances are further punishment might be in order.
Today, the converse applies. Should a teacher punish a child in class, the next thing that happens is that a parent or family member proceeds to the school and accosts the teacher with threats. With such behaviour is it possible to correct a child?