In recent years, there has been a disturbing increase in school violence in South Africa. In places where they should be improving, our children are killing and fighting each other.
Some are ending their lives because they believe they are stuck in the depths of mental illness.
Last week, a 13-year-old pupil shot his principal at school. Firearms at schools is a worrisome fact, more so that a primary school pupil felt compelled to carry one. Although peer pressure may be a contributing factor, the tragedy cannot be justified.
A teacher can only play a limited role in a student’s life; their influence is only by proxy.
The root of the issue lies at home. No matter the circumstances, love and affection can help mend many broken hearts and fill the void where the echo tramples on one’s sanity.
It takes a village to raise a child, but it only takes one individual and one moment to destroy them.
I was brought up in a Christian home and was taught to honour and respect my parents because I was told that doing so would guarantee a long life in the land of the Lord.
This principle was not applied to my biological parents but extended to every elder I encountered.
Fear was also a result of my reverence for the elders and for many of my contemporaries at the time. Fear of being a “bad kid” in general and the fear of punishment for breaking the rules or showing disrespect for elders.
I learned as I got older that respect is mutually beneficial. I learned this from my favourite teacher, Mr Benson Munyoro, who taught me the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
I started using this rule after that, and I saw results. He did, however, say that the golden rule should not supersede the lessons my elders taught me when I was growing up and that the two should work hand in hand.
I was impulsive and defiant back then. I started to see a diversity in my rebelling that disturbed my inner serenity. Many of my peers were from low-income families and were forced to work hard even in their prime.
An excellent example would be one of my close friends. While her mother drank herself to death in local taverns, she was left to fend for herself.
She was neglected, mistreated, sexually abused and raped. At 16, she began dating older men to support her siblings and herself. Their parents
never cared to even try.
At school, she joined in with the wrong crowd, smoked and drank. They were unruly. To be honest, they weren’t totally to blame. The base was not solid.
I am grateful for my parents’ hard and strict parenting style at this point of my life. I am grateful for everything they have taught me. It’s only now that I realise their significance.
It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, young or old. Take care of one another and show one another love.
