00:00Former Education Minister Dr. Nian Gadsby-Dolley is challenging Prime Minister Kamala Pesad-Bissassa's call for teachers to send misbehaving
00:09students home.
00:10The Prime Minister, as the new school team began, urged teachers to take a zero-tolerance approach to indiscipline,
00:17telling them that students who refuse to behave and whose parents ignore concern should be sent home.
00:23But Dr. Gadsby-Dolley says simply sending children home could leave the underlying causes of their behavior unaddressed.
00:31The Prime Minister has made her position clear teachers should not have to tolerate persistent disrespect and misbehavior in the
00:40classroom.
00:40In her message to mark the start of the new academic year, Kamala Pesad-Bissassa urged teachers and principals to
00:48adopt a zero-tolerance approach.
00:50She said, quote, if students refuse to behave properly and parents are ignoring your concerns,
00:57send them straight home and let them and their parents battle it out in their house, end quote.
01:03The Prime Minister also stressed that teachers are there to teach, mentor and protect students who are willing to learn
01:10and should not be subjected to abuse, intimidation and harassment.
01:14But former Education Minister Dr. Nian Gadsby-Dolley says the issue cannot be addressed simply by removing troublesome students from
01:23the classroom.
01:23She's asking the Prime Minister to look beyond the behavior and examine what may be driving it.
01:29Gadsby-Dolley said, quote,
01:31It is all well and good to say send students who misbehave home.
01:35But for many students, home is a problem and their misbehavior is the symptom of much bigger issues, end quote.
01:42She says hunger, abuse, undiagnosed learning disabilities, anger and a lack of attention can all contribute to student behavior.
01:51And she questions what happens when a child who's already struggling is simply returned to the same environment that may
01:58be contributing to the problem.
02:00She adds, quote,
02:02Sending misbehaving children home is like placing a plaster on a saw, end quote.
02:07Her argument is that discipline and intervention should work together.
02:12Dr. Gadsby-Dolley points to the Student Support Services Division as one mechanism through which students and their families could
02:20receive assistance with behavioral, emotional and educational challenges.
02:24She's also critical of the decision not to renew contracts for a range of education support personnel, including school social
02:33workers, guidance counselors, restorative practitioners, learning support assistants, diagnostic specialists, special education instructors and school psychologists.
03:08What chance is the education system giving those who need help the most, end quote.
03:13Dr. Gadsby-Dolley is calling for greater intervention outside of the classroom.
03:19She says the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services must have a role in helping families become more supportive
03:25and functional if children are being sent home because of their behavior.
03:30And she warns there could be wider consequences if vulnerable students are repeatedly removed from schools without receiving help.
03:37She said, quote, because trust and believe that they are not going to stay home.
03:42We will find them in the streets with guns in the prisons and inside our homes, end quote.
03:48Dr. Gadsby-Dolley is proposing a broader approach, including restoring the Student Support Services Division, increasing support services within schools
03:57and restoring and expanding MILAT and youth camps as residential alternatives for students who may need a complete change of
04:06environment.
04:06She says the objective should not be to excuse in discipline, but to understand and address its causes while maintaining
04:14standards in schools.
04:16Dr. Gadsby-Dolley asked how misbehaving students can be helped and their behavior transformed, appealing to the Prime Minister ultimately
04:23for a deeper examination of the issue.
04:26She said, quote, this is not about politics.
04:28This is about the salvation of Trinidad and Tobago.
04:32We must think deeper, end quote.
04:34Well, this debate now places two priorities alongside each other, protecting teachers and students from disruptive behavior, while ensuring that
04:43children facing deeper challenges are not simply removed from the education system without meaningful intervention.
04:51Well, Prime Minister Kamala Pissot-Bissasa has responded to the statement made by the former Education Minister.
04:59Attaching a clip of Dr. Gadsby-Dolley, while she was Minister, saying many of those students who misbehave have PNM
05:07mothers, PNM fathers, and PNM grandmothers,
05:10Pisan Pissot-Bissasa asked why are persons now complaining about common-sense action being taken to protect teachers and students
05:18when all along they knew about the problems but did nothing to fix the situation.
05:23The PM said hardworking, low-abiding parents are fed up with bullies, harassing and abusing their innocent children at school.
05:31She said, quote, neither the state nor teachers are responsible for parenting your children.
05:37You made them, so you have to mind them.
05:40The simple answer to not being sent home from school for bad behavior is to behave responsibly and respectfully and
05:48study diligently.
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