Editorial: A challenge to the adults

THE saddest side of last Tuesday's killing of a high school student inside a school campus is the intangible. Indeed, there can be nothing sadder than the death of a child. The repercussions, however, does not bode well for all.

We have the stabbing incident in another elementary school last Thursday to show for it.

It's not just about children losing their tempers and causing injury or death to the cause of their vexation, it's that intangible belief that one should behave in school, and if one can't, then at least do the misdemeanors and crimes outside. That's why climbing those school fences have become the trademark of truancy. In school you behave, and then you escape to do the naughty if not downright bad things.

This is the very fine thread that was holding the peace in our school, given the lack of parental guidance among many of our children.

It was all about self-restraint because they are in school and there are clear persons in authority, namely, teacher and principal. These same children who no longer feared the police were still wary about school officials.

The Tuesday incident virtually broke that myth.

The challenge now is not just to ensure that not one child will be able to bring in a weapon inside the school because we all know that anything can become a weapon to the furious. The challenge is to bring back that respect for school authorities so that by themselves, the children will behave. This is the time when not just the faculty and school administration are needed to get their acts together, but the ubiquitous Parents, Teachers and Community Associations (PTCA).

Last Tuesday's incident echoed by last Thursday's incident is calling on the PTCA's to step up the plate and do what they are really there for, to ensure that the children get the best they can while inside the school. This is no longer about just deciding how much will be the contribution for a new classroom curtain or a graduation party, rather this will be about creating a nurturing relationship among their second parents and the students and reestablishing respect for school authorities among the children.

How, first, by admitting that there is a problem that requires everyone, including the Department of Education, to get their acts together and come up with clear, actionable solutions.