Old gang boys tell kids to cool it
We are all familiar with the Creole proverb: “when fish come from rivah battam and tell yuh halligata gat bellyache believe ahm.” Well yesterday students at St. Joseph’s Primary School welcomed two big fish who did not hesitate to tell the students what life in the muddy waters is really like. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods has more.
Floyd Gladden, Member, Conflict Resolution Programme
“Friends will lead you astray. I was what you want to call, a wanna be. And after becoming a wanna be, I became an O.G. But what does it profit me? Nothing today. Thank God… It’s only God that have me here explaining to these children.”
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Thirty-nine year old Floyd Gladden, known as the “Original Gangster” or “Cinco Seis” has spent fifteen years of his life in and out of prison. Today he was among the speakers at an anger management meeting for the standard six students of St. Joseph Primary School.
Floyd Gladden (Talking to students)
“My bottom line is to tell you to keep off drugs. Drugs hurt; you have to be alert. Noh mek no friend try set you fi tek a lee draw. The teacher said this dah your last year at school, you have a lee graduation party, man wah roll up a lee weed, and man wah seh tek wah lee draw, nothing wah happen to you. But I want you to know that it’s that first draw that leads to destruction. That first draw of the cigarette start to marijuana. Because unu feel like unu dah big man and woman, unu come out ah standard six now, I could tek a lee draw. No, no, no that’s not the way.”
One hundred and ten students listened to the personal testimonies of men who have been in trouble with the law. The presentation is part of an anger management programme initiated by school officer Clara Kisling.
Clara Kisling, School Officer, Min. of Education
“What we are trying to do is to help them to control themselves rather than bursting out and getting into more mischief.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Unfortunately some students may already have a lot of anger in them because of whatever situations they may be faced with, so some people may see these presentations as one way of helping those groups of students.”
Clara Kisling
“Yes. This is my intention, to help the ones that are already at this point, and try to contain the ones that haven’t reached that point as yet.”
Kisling says she intends to take the presentation to other primary schools and other officers have expressed an interest in doing the same with their respective educational institutions.
Principal Glorycela Torres says she is grateful to the Ministry of Education and Y.F.F. that her school was the first stop on their list and sees the meetings with students very beneficial to the children’s overall development.
Glorycela Torres, Principal, St. Joseph Primary School
“We are preparing our children for high school or for lifetime. It’s not only for high school; we are preparing them for life. And with the problems we are facing right now with crime and violence, we would like our children to be ready to face what is out there, to know how they can manage anger.”
It’s not sure just how many of these children will remember what was told to them once they leave primary school, but they are pretty sure that they will never have to attend any conflict resolution sessions in the future…and it’s that kind of positive attitude the school’s administrators are counting on. Reporting for News 5, Jacqueline Woods.
Today the Y.F.F. team was scheduled to visit with the students of All Saints Primary School.
