Orientation 2011
Ms. Wilson in addressing the gathering of both parents and students, pointed out the paltry number of parents in attendance. She went on to read from a list of over 100 boys in the fifth form whose entry into the school has been delayed until Wednesday and who are required to bring their parents before returning to school. What is alarming is that the list is well over 30% of the total number of fifth form students. The Calabar family is failing these boys. That family includes the Baptist Union, the teachers, the parents and the old boys. Each group have a key role to play in the life of the boys in the school. Collectively, we are failing. We must draw the line now, so that “no guy canna cross it”! Much of the problems lie in the lack of parental control and the lack of positive role models. COBA or old boys can provide that. Helping a boy to identify a goal is the first step. In real terms this may in many instances just involve providing him with the idea that there is another way other than the way of the thug. Who is better prepared than an old boy, to assist in providing this glimpse of an alternate option. Just the mere presence of a man, that has walked this waybefore is sufficient to provoke some sort of introspection in a boy. Real live stories with varied results are an important learning tool and catalyst for change. The academic standard for getting in to Calabar is in the mid to high eighties. Other candidates with special needs or with special skills also are “Called to the Bar”. Whatever the route that a boy takes to get to Calabar, he remains a special person, with boundless potential. Calabar must begin again to equip boys with the tools that will enable them to be positive leaders in Jamaica and beyond.
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