Hopewell High School in Hanover

[Historian]

Romantic activities by Hopewell High School continue unabated
Students damage fence, clear brush enroute to quenching sex thirst

BY HG HELPS Editor-at-Large helpsh@jamaicaobserver.com

Sunday, July 06, 2014

THE embattled Hopewell High School in Hanover has again been placed under the microscope, this time with reports of daily sexual acts by students on properties situated close to the institution.

Apart from indulging in sexual activities, smoking of ganja is also rampant off property, the Jamaica Observer has found out. The matter appears to have got out of control and the school's management has not been able to reduce or prevent the activities.

Even as the school year ended last Friday, fear has deepened that the new academic year will begin in September without the matter being sufficiently addressed by authorities.

“Every day these students leave the compound to engage in sexual activity,” a veteran school official told the Sunday Observer last week.

(For full story: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/School-Sex-Galore )

Source: The Sunday Observer, July 6, 2014

[Islandman]

Ok, but was there any form of buggering taking place?

No?

[Historian]

Sarcasm is Fine - the Problems are Deep-Rooted

Ok, but was there any form of buggering taking place?

No?

I am sure that my friend Islandman is simply being sarcastic.

This school is in such deep trouble (alleged corruption at the very top, chaos on campus and its environs, extremely low academic performance) that one might ask, is there any hope? In fact, the irony behind the name of the school, “Hopewell” was the first thing that struck me on reading this investigative story.

Hopewell High is one of Jamaica's lowest ranked schools, according to recent education surveys.

The latest one put out by EducateJamaica.org rated Hopewell High in the top 10 worst performing schools islandwide, with only two per cent out of a possible 100 per cent. The ratings are based on the schools' success in five subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate level.

Hopewell High came out in 156th position of the 161 schools surveyed

[Gamma]

How is it that the administrators and everyone know so much and yet nothing is being done about it?!!

[Mosiah]

Mind people tell yuh dat "if there was sarcasm it was very, very poor and of bad taste."

[Rockman]

When I was a child,I was told by "ladies" that men are dogs and women are ladies.I believed that lie until I became an adult,more importantly,back then most girls believed it too.
We are living in an entirely different era now,it is no more about having a hustlermagazine hidden under yourmattress,with the click of a link,one has access to pornography,our music and tv programmes too have changed for the worse.It is as if shame is no longer a variable.
If rampant sex indulgence is not evident in the handful of schools ranked lower why is it implied the culprit?

[Historian]

Re: How is it that the administrators

How is it that the administrators and everyone know so much and yet nothing is being done about it?!!

I think I understand the background to Islandman’s comment above in response to my post, and I honestly cannot blame him for his cynicism!

Now to your question, Gamma: That thought actually crossed my mind as well, but then I dismissed it as I thought of other serious shortcomings that are well known in Jamaica, but about which nothing has been done.

Hell, we can even start at the very top!! Maxfield Park and its environs today are NOT a great deal different compared to what they were almost 30 years ago when their sitting Member of Parliament first became their community representative. Of course, I say all of this to imply that your question, “How is it that the administrators and everyone know so much and yet nothing is being done about it” sums up in a nutshell the attitudes of leaders and administrators in our beloved country in this 21st century!

Life in Jamaica is a matter of lurching from one crisis to another each day, and nothing surprises me anymore.

Now, on to other important matters, PC Owen Ellington….

[HL]

Blame the leadership (principal).

Blame the broken homes *(and out of wed-lock students).

Blame the poorly trained teachers.

Yes, the churches should get involved as they did with the gay issue. I am sure they will get involved shortly.


*there are out of wedlock kid who do very well

[Karl]

Bwoy????

[Historian]

Re: Blame the leadership (principal)

Blame the leadership (principal).

Yes, the churches should get involved as they did with the gay issue. I am sure they will get involved shortly.

Now, the highlighted section of the quote above is serious sarcasm (lol -- incidentally, the phrase “serious sarcasm” is obviously alliteration, but is it also an oxymoron?? Just wondering.)!

Anyway, while I question whether Islandman’s comment was intended sarcasm (I am still not sure), what you have done, HL, is gone all the way! And you know what, I agree with you 100 percent!

Moving beyond this school, as far as leadership issues are concerned, this has been a problem at all levels of Jamaican society since independence, but we only occasionally get a wake-up call when others point this out (see, for example, what the American businessman J.J. Geewax recently had to say about Jamaican businessmen in the Jamaica Observer business article, “Business Culture About Posers, Not Results”, Friday, July 4, 2014). Believe me, everything – social attitudes, economic focus, political decisions, etc. - are all linked and, in fact, feed off each other.

So, maybe I’m being a bit naive and hypocritical in bothering to post a thread on a minor issue such as Hopewell High School’s failures. Isn’t this, ultimately, a microcosm of our Jamaican society?

[Islandman]

It was certainly an attempt at sarcasm.

We are a Nation of Yappers. We love to do a lot of talking about everything , we have strong opinions on most things (including that which we know little about) , but we are not much into doing anything. This is particularly true when the issue at hand is difficult, important and takes some determination and focus.

That is all.

[Historian]

Re: "We" Are Yappers

It was certainly an attempt at sarcasm.

We are a Nation of Yappers. We love to do a lot of talking about everything , we have strong opinions on most things (including that which we know little about) , but we are not much into doing anything. This is particularly true when the issue at hand is difficult, important and takes some determination and focus.

That is all.

In five relatively short sentences you used the pronoun “we” a total of five times. The operative word, therefore, is the rather mysterious “we”.

To some extent I believe I understand your position, and I agree that “we are a nation of yappers” (which, incidentally, is reflective NOT only of Jamaica, but of every democratic society in this Caribbean region, bar none!). However, your statement cannot explain or absolve the decision-makers at Hopewell High School from taking measures that would have reflected some change!! They should do that or get the hell out and make way for capable foreigners who can!!

“We” Jamaicans who post on this forum have no decision-making ability at Hopewell, unless I’m missing something!

Clearly, Hopewell High has serious problems, probably more than the majority of schools in Jamaica, and what the mass media -- in this case, the Observer -- did was what the communications media in any democratic society are expected to do; that is, identify and bring to the forefront issues concerning the society. What else can the staff of the Observer do? Take over Hopewell by force?

Now to us! We here on the board – or most of us at least – have no decision-making power at any important level in Jamaica. Some of us are in positions of influence in our immediate foreign environments (business, corporations, etc.), but none in Jamaica. So, the only thing we can do, and which was done in this thread, is highlight issues for discussion. I guess we can call it yapping.

Normally, my forte is cultural matters, hence my constant posts on music. However, occasionally something of a social or political nature will touch me to the point where I choose to highlight it. The Ananda Alert is one point I have often commented on, despite the fact that few posters here have any apparent interest in disappearing children and teens in Jamaica.

Having said all of this, therefore, I am not sure why you chose this particular thread to condemn the “yapping” on this board! The reason for the repeated use of the adjective “we” is also not clear. What is happening in Hopewell is certainly complex, like you said, and we do not understand the complexity.

Nobody on this forum, as far as I’m aware, is in a position to effect change at Hopewell High School. I am sure that, given the legal ability to do so, some of us might. But, until then, we can either “yap” about issues or else engage in what totalitarian regimes encourage, silence via censorship!

Whether you like it or not, the complex problems at Hopewell High School are synonymous with what is happening at the macro level in Jamaica, hence our almost unending reliance on, for example, the IMF. I do not understand the complexity of the Hopewell situation, and I am not paid to or required to. Does it mean that we cannot give comments on it?

[Don1]

When I was a child,I was told by "ladies" that men are dogs and women are ladies.I believed that lie until I became an adult,

In my case...I didn't believe it until I reached adulthood

[Islandman]

Actually I was referring more specifically to the yappers at Hopewell, but also making the point that it was quite typical of us Jamaicans with all challenges that we face, home and abroad. Hence reference to "we".

I strongly disagree that we on the board can do nothing but yap. Historian this is the 21st century, anyone who wants to engage the community or cause they identify with can do it. Distance is by no means an insurmountable obstacle. Many are indeed staying engaged but not nearly enough.

It's not that something is WRONG with yapping, it is just that if that is ALL we do then we have no business expecting anything to change.

Take that Taino lady, she is not just yapping about being a Taino, something she clearly is passionate about. No, she is making an deliberate effort to rewrite Taino history in Jamaica. That is commendable, that is what we need more of, especially from non-resident Jamaicans who think driving around with a flag and posting "you know you are a yardie when... " tidbits on Facebook is all that is necessary to be a contributing Jamaican.

[Don1]

Actually I was referring more specifically to the yappers at Hopewell, but also making the point that it was quite typical of us Jamaicans with all challenges that we face, home and abroad. Hence reference to "we".

I strongly disagree that we on the board can do nothing but yap. Historian this is the 21st century, anyone who wants to engage the community or cause they identify with can do it. Distance is by no means an insurmountable obstacle. Many are indeed staying engaged but not nearly enough.

It's not that something is WRONG with yapping, it is just that if that is ALL we do then we have no business expecting anything to change.

Take that Taino lady, she is not just yapping about being a Taino, something she clearly is passionate about. No, she is making an deliberate effort to rewrite Taino history in Jamaica. That is commendable, that is what we need more of, especially from non-resident Jamaicans who think driving around with a flag and posting "you know you are a yardie when... " tidbits on Facebook is all that is necessary to be a contributing Jamaican.

Amen