SEX EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS

SEX EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS

As far back as 1954, I wrote a paper on the ”The Role of the School after doing a six-week course for heads and senior teachers of the need of Sex education in Schools.. This is what I wrote: “This subject should find a place in the programme for practical hygiene as the great majority of children leave school during adolescence. Even the Draft Curriculum Guide has given no indication of what can be done in this respect… This is not surprising because even in England and other progressive countries, this need has not been adequately met. This, no doubt is due to a taboo which is gradually wearing away.’

“Sex Education should not be an isolated subject, but rather one viewpoint of a much broader programme of mental and human relationships.” C.W. Valentine on psychology and its bearing on education suggests two principles of procedure. First that the child should be taught some of the main facts as to sex before he or she reaches the stage of adolescence, when it becomes emotionally exciting, though some repetition and extension is desirable during adolescence. Secondly, they should be taught by a person who adopts a calm and rational attitude.

We teach the circulation of the blood and other bodily functions, but never a hint of the most important biological function. We teach the prevention of diseases like typhoid and tuberculosis, but never a word about the social diseases which statistics show has victims among teenagers also. We warn our pupils about the dangers of cigarette smoking and rum drinking, but nothing is said about the dangers of the prostitute. We teach what happens when we overeat and overwork, but teach nothing about sexual abuse. Sex remains a mystery to most adolescents except those who have learnt about it in a crude and erroneous way from other adolescents and indiscreet adults.”

This subject has always been the concern of many conscientious teachers, and I know of an elderly female teacher who took the initiative to speak to a group of girls whom she found laughing at the shape of a pregnant woman. This she did truthfully and skillfully, changing their attitude to one of wonder and reverence. With the right teachers and change of attitude in parents, this subject could be reasonably met.

Sex has been greatly abused. Civilized man, unlike

Primitive man and the lower animals, carries sex in his head. He uses it as an end rather than as a means. He has no season for it, so he indulges as the gourmet does with food. Many are the diseases caused by the abuse of food and sex.

Not long ago, one thought that genital herpes was the ultimate affliction for sexual indiscretion. One did not foresee a more dangerous and devastating killer, the HIV virus awaiting the sexual adventurer. Millions today are affected by this deadly virus which threatens even the lives of the innocent. Nothing can stop this scourge unless man become wise as regard the true function of sex and the value of continence through proper sex education.

The suggested use of condoms for the prevention of the spread of AIDS and of teenage pregnancy, though palliative to some extent, encourages greater abuse and violates the moral code which sustains healthy and loving relationships – that commitment of one man to one woman, not tainted by premarital sex which the Church calls fornication, and not sullied by extra marital relations, adultery.

Though these excesses are redeemable by conversion through Grace, the scar of indulgence remains, after taking its toll on the health of body and mind.

Randall Butisingh

UNIVERSITY OF GUYANA

UNIVERSITY OF GUYANA - Inaugural Dissertation -1963

The following is an excerpt from the Inaugural Dissertation entitled “A University in a Changing Society”, given by Prof. Lancelot Hogben, Vice Chancellor and Principal of the University of Guyana, on the occasion of its opening on October 1, 1963.

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“As members of this species of so many inter-fertile somatic varieties with such common potentialities for good and evil we face the enticing possibility of a future well-being inconceivable to our grandfathers. The alternative is a doom no generation of the human species could hitherto and rightly have regarded as thinkable. We can choose the benefits to which scientific discovery invites us to share with the prospect of a hitherto inconceivably abundant life for all. Alternatively, we can choose a common coffin of nuclear annihilation for men and women of every creed, country and colour. We have now to learn to live together unless we choose to die together. Accordingly, our civic responsibilities have assumed global dimensions.

If peoples of different territorial ancestry cannot live at peace here in British Guiana, how gloomy is the prospect of mankind! For this reason my colleagues are of one mind. A contemporary curriculum of civic studies anywhere, but especially in our own multi-racial community, should make its students aware of what successive peoples of different stocks and skin pigmentation have contributed to the world wide community of what we thanklessly call western Science. It must also make all students aware of what circumstances have impeded the cultural progress of communities which are now as backward as my own forebears in the era referred to as the “Glory that was Greece”.

Because we are, though small, a multi-racial community, it may be that w can make a unique contribution to civic education in what we may hope to be the Age of Plenty only if peoples of different colour, creed, and country coexist peacefully. One of my favourite English poets, William Blake, expressed it thus:

In my exchanges every land

Shall walk, and men of every land

Mutual shall build Jerusalem

Both heart in heart and hand in hand

In this small society let us therefore take courage from the circumstances that the tradition of our world wide culture of so-called western science has preserved its continuity by the perennial rebirth which signalizes the emergence of the novel impact of a hitherto less sophisticated culture in a hitherto less unlikely setting. In this assurance let us hopefully go forward to adapt what is worthy from the past to local needs, which may contribute new benefits to the future”.

Prof. Lancelot Hogben, Vice Chancellor and Principal, University of Guyana, October 1, 1963.

THE EMPHASIS SHOULD BE ON THE TEACHER

THE EMPHASIS SHOULD BE ON THE TEACHER

This article was written in Guyana some years ago as a commentary on International Teachers’ Day.

International Teachers’ Day has recently been observed. It was Buckle who said: “Man’s upward climb towards the light has always been through Education; therefore the most important person in the whole democratic institution and the civilization of the twentieth century is the School Teacher.”

Looking back into the history of civilized man, especially at the close of the twentieth century, has Education been able to reach its goal – that of fitting the child to live and to live with? I say civilized man because this has not been a problem in primitive society where every adult is equipped to do whatever is required to fulfill his simple needs. No individual is idle, child or adult. Idleness has been the bane of civilized societies which, with a growing complexity, a multiplicity of wants and an abundance of leisure have put a heavy demand on Education.

What is needed for the smooth transition at the various stages of the child’s development is continuous learning, appropriate subjects and the right use of leisure. The School has therefore to provide that Education in which the whole child, physical, mental and spiritual, is given the necessary attention.

If the child is properly educated, it follows that the emerging parent will be equipped to train the child in its most impressionable years – those preceding entry into kindergarten or Primary School. “The child is the father of the man” is a paradox that fits the above observation.

When the child enters School, the teacher has the responsibility of molding the young mind, tapping its resources, discovering its potential, and guiding its development. An ideal teacher will be one who has decided to make teaching his/her vocation. He or she will be equipped temperamentally and attitudinally, will possess the knowledge and skill for the work, will love children and will never cease to learn. The School cannot afford to have teachers who hop in for a brief period, then hop out when a more lucrative job presents itself. It will also be a waste of time and money to train teachers who do not intend to make teaching a career.

In the early part of the century, the denominational Schools, dually controlled, were able to attract some of the best people – God-fearing men and women who spent their whole lives in teaching. I remember that time very well. These teachers worked in poor physical conditions – open classrooms, unsuitable and inadequate furniture, a paucity of the basic equipment for teaching, but they were able to perform with dedication and courage, acquiring discipline and fostering good conduct and, above all, introducing the child to the knowledge and fear of God.

Most children chose their teachers as role models. The teachers in those days were very much respected by parents and the community. There was a strict code of conduct for teachers.

If after the child has left school, it was primary then and secondary now, it has not been able to plunge into some useful activity with some degree of enthusiasm, has not acquired some skill, has not been creative or resourceful, cannot make good use of leisure, has no appreciation for the good and beautiful, then his education has not made him “fit to live”. And, if he cannot associate with others in a manner which will breed harmony and a happy coexistence, then too, his education has not made him “fit to live with”.

Today, in Guyana, huge sums of money are spent on the material fabric for Education, not enough on the human resource, the “teacher who is the most important person in the whole democratic institution and the civilization of the current century.”

It behooves therefore, that those concerned in the business of Education, get wise and place emphasis where it is due.

— Randall Butisingh

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

The World is in Peril

While a holocaust is staring us in the face, the nations are still pursuing their divisive policies. It is time to stop burying our heads in the sand and find a solution to avert the impending calamity. Men, we are all brothers, made with the same mud, created by one Father, God in His own image. We are meant to unite and serve one another. We are all pieces, however seemingly insignificant, but necessary, in the Mosaic which is indivisible humanity. If any piece is tampered with, it will weaken the whole structure… If any Nation or individual is wronged it is, as if all are wronged. Stop sowing the seeds of hate and beat your swords into ploughshares and your swords into pruning hooks and let us embrace one another… then, and only then, will there be real peace in the land.

You the abundantly rich, nations and individuals, know that your wealth was given in trust to make good use of. You could not have made it by yourselves without the help of others. Give then of your abundance to the poor, the needy, the orphan, the homeless, the sick as the Lord has commanded and earn the blessings of Him that giveth and him that receiveth. Your wealth will not diminish. It will grow as good seeds sown in fertile soil and not as fallow land taken up with rank weeds. And your reward will be eternal Peace and Joy.

– Randall Butisingh

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE MYSTICS OF THE WORLD

There are no differences among the world of mystics, whether Christian, Hindu or Muslim. They all belong to the same brotherhood and have the same family likeness.

Here is what Miss Evelyn Underhill writes:
Though mystical theologies of East and West differ widely, though the ideal of life which they hold out to the soul differ too, yet in the experiences of the Saint, this conflict is seen to be transcended.  When the Love of God is reached, divergences become impossible, for the soul has passed beyond the sphere of the manifold and is immersed in the one reality.

Evelyn Underhill

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

EVEN SUCH IS TIME.

This poem was found in a Bible in the Tower of London. It was written by Sir Walter Raleigh (1554-1618), a favourite courtier of Queen Elizabeth I. He was imprisoned by King James I, her successor, accused of treason. He was eventually put to death.
Raleigh, apart from being a writer was an adventurer. In 1595, he led an expedition to Guiana in search of El Dorado. He described the expedition in his book The Discoverie of Guiana. He did discover some gold mines, but no one supported his project. While in prison he also wrote “The History of the World.”
Popular feeling has always been on Raleigh’s side ever since 1603. After his death in 1618, his collective writings were collected and published.

Here is his poem:

Even such is time that takes in trust
Our youth, our joys, our all we have,
And pays us back with earth and dust.
Who in the dark and silent grave,
When we have wandered all our ways,
Shuts up the story of our days;
But from this earth, this grave, this dust,
My God shall raise me up i trust.

TEACHING - NO LONGER A VOCATION

TEACHING - NO LONGER A VOCATION

By Randall Butisingh

This article was written in 1971, a few months before I retired.

I was very dissatisfied with what was taking place in school; where political expediency ousted teaching ethics resulting in a breakdown of discipline, insubordination and the degradation of Education in the schools of Guyana.

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Teaching had always been regarded as a vocation, and it was expected that the men and women who entered its ranks did so because of that sense.

The earliest teachers were volunteers who gave their spare time to educate the young ones of their time. Robert Raikes, an Englishman was one of the first of this kind. His pupils were the scum of the English slum – the stray boys as they were called – and his first task was to teach them Religion, and later Reading and Writing.

From that humble beginning sprang the Church Schools which gave formal lessons in the Three R’s and also taught them Religion… Teachers were remunerated but the pay was so small that only the dedicated offered their services. To these it was an opportunity for service to their fellow men.

Even in this country, in the nineteenth century, teaching attracted to a great extent, the dedicated and conscientious worker. Teachers never used to grudge giving services during unofficial hours; to them, it fitted with the sense of vocation.

Vocation knows no holiday and working in an occupation in which one is dedicated is a holiday in itself. The good teacher enjoys this perpetual holiday and is bored and unhappy when he is away from his charge.

For the past half century and more, much has been done to mar the spirit of devotion, though it is not entirely eradicated. The payment by results system, in Dual Control, when government came in and paid the bills, has been one of the ugliest blots in the administrative system. If teachers gave extra service, they gave it through compulsion; they struggled hard to survive, and in the struggle, some resorted to unethical means. The smartest and not always the most conscientious survived.

This state of affairs, where results mattered most, proved a bane to real progress because, if volition which is consistent with the spirit of dedication is removed, then vocation becomes a misnomer, and true education, that what is worth knowing and becoming suffers.

At present the payment by results system does not obtain, but teaching in the context of Guyana, has been made attractive in the form of more pay for teachers, opportunity of training for all – formerly only the few academically best were selected for training – protection of a trade union which can resort to the strike weapon and go-slow tactics, and numerous holidays.. These have attracted into the profession many who have no love for teaching, self-seekers, opportunists, who can never inspire or motivate their pupils.

Some of these square pegs however, are intrinsically good, with a potential for other type of occupations, but unfortunately, the system offers them no scope for their development, neither has it been able to discover their hidden talents. So the potential technician, craftsman, farmer, fisherman and others find teaching a field for financial exploitation, and also a stepping stone to more lucrative employment… With the promise of free education for all, what will happen to the army of youths of average ability who will pass five or more subjects at the G.C.E “O’ level? Surely the teaching profession, the civil service and the industries will not be able to absorb all of them in white collar posts. Many of them will roam the streets and be a burden to state and society.

The type of Education which does not take aptitude into consideration cannot successfully build a young nation that is struggling for economic sufficiency through Cooperatives. Technical skill and brawn are the things most needed… Without them our Education would be unproductive, it would produce unproductive teachers who would perpetuate un-productivity.

A manual- based Education is the best thing for our schools. Pupils should be made to use their hands right from the beginning and produce. This productivity should continue all through the school… No school should be without a Garden, a Handicraft and a Domestic Department. Here is where the children would learn that there is dignity in labour and would enjoy the fruits of labour. Every School, if properly organized will be able to pay some of its expenses. If this is done, when the pupils leave school, they will be able to wrest a living from the Agricultural lands, Forests, Water and other resources of the country.

Again proper incentives should be given to the manual-type worker if this type of occupation is to be stressed. The scavenger who does the dirtiest work but very essential job should be better paid than the clerk; the farmer should be rewarded with bonuses and national honours and compensated when his crops get destroyed by floods or pests.

The indispensable service of the farmer should be properly recognized as his profession is a noble one and people owe him its sustenance. Also a National Farmers’ Day should be held every year when public recognition could be paid to them.

Because of the security which teachers enjoy and the unwillingness of many to go the ‘second mile, they should be made to do by compulsion what their counterparts of the past did voluntarily. What reason is there why teachers should not work more than five hours a day, five days a week and during vacation? This does not mean that they will have to do routine work all the time, but they can surely help the Nation in social work like Adult Education, Youth Club activities and classes for the underprivileged. They can also find some time visiting parents, arranging their own refresher courses, writing text books and learning to use their hands among other things.

The holidays given throughout the year should not mean exemption from duty for teachers. They should be considered on duty and be available for utilization in the National cause, especially as they are paid for these periods.

At present, apart from the three months’ holidays teachers get every year, a month’s leave every three years, many hours are lost to teaching in this country by teachers who take leave for illnesses real, or imaginary, and for selfish reasons.

Is there any wonder, taking all these things into consideration that Teaching has ceased to be a Vocation for many?

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Update: All the recommendations concerning Farming that I have made in this article were later implemented by the People’s National Congress (P.N.C.) Government administration.(1964-1992)

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

RISK TAKING

Security is mostly a superstition.  It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.  Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.  Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

Helen Keller.

Risk Taking Is Free

To Laugh Is To Risk Appearing the Fool

To Weep Is To Risk Appearing Sentimental

To Reach Out For Another Is To Risk Involvement

To Expose Feeling Is To Risk Exposing Your True Self

To Place Your Ideas, Your Dreams Before The Crowd Is To Risk Their Loss.

To Love Is To Risk Not Being In Return

To Live Is To Risk Dying

To Hope Is To Risk Despair

To Try Is To Risk Failure

But The Risk Must Be Taken, Because the Greatest Hazard in Life Is To Risk Nothing

The Person Who Risks Nothing, Does Nothing, Has Nothing And Is Nothing

He May Avoid Suffering and Sorrow, but He Simply Cannot Learn, Feel, Change, Grow, Love or Live

Chained By His Certitudes, He Is a Slave, He Has Forfeited Freedom

Only a Person Who Risks …Is Free.

— Author Unknown

EVERYTHING’S FINE

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

EVERYTHING’S FINE….

By the Brahma Kumaris, a spiritual organization committed to self transformation through meditation and positive thinking.

During and after the end of WW II, as the founding fathers of the United Nations formulated a blueprint for a world peace, security and justice, the founding members of the Brahma Kumaris were researching core values which they considered necessary to restore individual worth and human dignity.
In 1980, the relationship between the United Nations was formulated.

“To a truly contented and enlightened soul, everything in the world, which means the way the world is right now, is just fine. To the unenlightened and discontented soul, this will sound like a massive avoidance. But think about it. Does the masterful actor go to the theatre for their evening performance, and on entering the stage start shifting the backdrop, altering the scenery and moving the props around? Of course not, they are totally concentrated on the role they need to create and play to the best of their ability. And so it is with the world… The backdrop of our life is the way things are at this moment in time. The props are exactly where they are meant to be at this moment in time. Many people spend their whole lives trying to change the backdrop and move the props around, little realising the futility of the exercise… Yes, they may succeed in altering an angle here, a minute part of the picture there; but all at the cost of the focus and the energy needed to put on their best performance and achieve their own highest standards of excellence, not only will those around them be changed automatically as the invitation rolls in to perform their life elsewhere. Excellence is a much more powerful influence in the world than discontent. So everything is fine out there. No one says it is perfect; but it is exactly the way it should be…at this moment. So, here is the paradox of effective change - if you want to influence change for the better, then the more effective way to begin is with contentment with the way things are. The way things are, are the way they are meant to be.”

–Brahma Kumaris

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

MOTHER’S DAY SPEECH

Speech given by Randall Butisingh made at a gathering of people of a mixed religious group.

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We have met today to pay tribute to that most important and lovable person, the Mother.

Here is a quotation from one of your bhajans ( hymns)

Maa teree mamta, kitnee pyaree

Kitnee pyaar jagatee hai

This translates as follows;

Mother, how great is your love

How much love does it awaken in me.

In another bhajan in your Atma Geet, it says; Maata, putra se pyar, kaun karega itnaa.. Yes, the love a mother has for her son, who can exceed that love. And if I may quote a poem I learnt in school as a child;

A mother’s love, how sweet the name,

What is a mother’s love?

A noble, pure and tender flame

Enkindled from above

To bless a heart of earthly mould

The warmest love that can grow cold,

That is a mother’s love.

Yes, mother is the sweetest name on earth. Her love is kindled by the Divine Flame. The ideal mother is God’s substitute on earth. She nourishes her child with her own blood in her womb and suckles it when it is out. She watches and protects it night and day. She tends it lovingly as a gardener tends his precious plants, watering, mulching, pruning, keeping off harmful pests. A good mother is patient and self sacrificing; she sleeps not while her little one is awake, and she is worried when it is ill.

If you look at the lives of some of the greatest men who ever lived, you will find that they owe their greatness, primarily to the care and nurture of their mother, especially in their formative years. She, it was who taught them quite early the path of devotion to God. Gandhiji was one such man who benefited from a devout and loving mother..

Of course, sad to say, there are mothers who have not played that role in the lives of their children as the poet rightly observed; “the warmest love – no other earthly love can be so warm and tender as the mother’s - yet as human beings who are prone to error, that love grows cold, and some mothers relinquish that duty and that obligation, nay! that God-given privilege and responsibility of providing the affection and nurture for their offsprings.

We are not here to condemn any mother. Who are we to condemn. Only the great Creator knows why a mother acts in the way she does. Let Him be the Judge. We are here to honour all mothers. Without them, we could not have been here. We owe them a duty for their labour and pain for bringing us into the world. If we serve them, they will bless us. There is no blessing like that of the mother.

At this time also, it behooves us to remember our Divine Mothers. You who are Hindus in this gathering have Lakshmi Mata, goddess of light and prosperity, Sarswati, goddess of learning, Sita, for her love and devotion to Lord Rama, her consort; Christians have Mary, the mother of Jesus and Mother Teresa that great soul who has become mother for thousands of the underprivileged, homeless, sick and suffering in India and branches in other parts of the world. Muslims have Khadeja and Aisha, wives of the prophet Muhamad. You could add to this list; I have named but a few.

ow, I would like to wish all the mothers here HAPPY MOTHERS DAY and ask God’s blessings on them so that they can continue their demanding role until the end. Also to those who are not biological mothers, but have played the role successfully and are even more deserving of our thanks and appreciation.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL MOTHERS WORLDWIDE.