Cumberland High adding parenting course to school syllabus

 

Come September, Cumberland High School will be adding a parenting course to the syllabus for its Grade 10 and 11 students as it seeks to educate them about child rearing.

 

Guidance counsellor at the institution, Barbara James, who made the suggestion at a recent Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) Youth Forum, said the parenting techniques being exercised desperately require change.

 

Advancing the issue on TVJ's Smile Jamaica on Monday, Ms James said parenting is an important life skill that should not be left to chance.

 

She further argued that lessons in proper and effective child rearing techniques could help to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy. 

 

"Teenage pregnancy is real. It is something we face every year. So the fact is these children will become parents. And remember now, the child comes without a manual, and so we just learn by trial and error. But I believe if we make some deliberate effort to educate them, then we would find out that maybe they would even delay the whole thing of this teenage pregnancy. We probably would have experienced tremendous decrease and hopefully elimination, because the students now would be making better choices," she reasoned. 

 

Ms James said students deemed at-risk should be targeted for the training programme, which would have practical and theoretical components. 

 

"Just like we do the work experience, we will have some practical areas that they will go into. You practice, so you keep this child for some time. You take care of this child. This child is your responsibility in addition to everything else that you have to do."

 

She said the programme will be assessed and adjustments made where necessary.

 

In anticipation of criticism, Ms James said she does not see parenting education in high school as planting a seed too early.

 

"It's not a matter of planting the seed. It is the reality because, as I said before, there are grade nine students who become parents. And so we need to be real," she insisted.