Colleen Adams receiving her certificate of participation in The Education Outreach School of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) from Coordinator, Jeff Broomes, during the recently held Graduation Ceremony at NUPW headquarters.
By:
Patricia Thangaraj
While there are many positive and highly talented young people in Barbados, there are also some challenges facing them which must be addressed as soon as possible.
This is according to Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ronald Jones, who delivered remarks recently at The Education Outreach School of the National Union of Public Workers’ (NUPW) Graduation Ceremony at NUPW headquarters.
He said that this is especially true as these youngsters reach their early teen years.
“On the other side, I also see some challenges in some of them, not in the ones this age, but as they grow and they start to reach the age of 14 or 13, particularly 14...we start seeing some changes, some influences that are negative...and if we are not able to quickly snap them up right by 14, 15, we have greater challenges down the road.”
Jones stated that the majority of times, these young people behave in such a manner because they are afraid of how they are going to cope in this rapidly changing world.
“Many youngsters on the blocks of our country are scared – scared because we live in a society that is so different now, so fast-paced, so rapid…It is a part of what we live and how we live. But we need to stop and take time. Barbados is a small country in a big world.
“But one of the weaknesses sometimes in this society is fear because we see somebody standing there and you may have heard the fellow on the streets or the fellow on the block is frightening. No!” he contended.
The minister pointed out that in most cases, these persons are not negative and are actually longing for someone reach out to them and show them that they care. He noted that when an adult takes the time to do this, the young person, after careful reflection, starts to make positive changes in his or her life.
“Some do change a little later because somebody standing by the side of the road, somebody, or may be passing at the side of the road said you know what, let me stop and say something to that young man or that young woman, and you say something because that young man or young woman was standing here hoping that somebody... would have the courage to say, ‘good morning, how are you? How are things going? Come let us have a little talk here.’”
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