Claude Mills, Staff Reporter
IT'S THE new theory which has been infiltrating education circles as they grapple with the special challenges presented by this year's batch of high school students taking the Caribbean Examination Council's (CXC) exams.
You can call it the 'Gilbert Babies' theory.
The term is now being used to describe children born in the year-long period before and after Hurricane Gilbert hit Jamaica on September 12, 1988. Educators see the trauma associated with Hurricane Gilbert as the behaviour-altering catalyst which is now manifesting 'its winds of change' in the lives of young teenagers.
While it may seem far-fetched, the theory seems to be gaining some amount of momentum in the minds of educators across the island as the battle to gain control of the classrooms from rambunctious kids spills over into the island's criminal justice system and morgues.
"In my school, these children born around the time of 'Hurricane Gilbert' are an intellectually brilliant bunch, and they might surprise us in terms of their results, but in terms of behaviour pattern, they tend to be restless, unfocused, and they're only stimulated in a classroom environment if the teacher is highly motivated. They demand a lot more out of teachers as it relates to their attention spans and interest levels," said Sonia Neil, acting principal of Munro College.
"We've not had to expel anybody, however the children play a lot of pranks, and we've suspended a few of them. They are a unique bunch in terms of their behavioural patterns, which differs from the current fourth year batch who are quite settled, disciplined and focused, there is a seriousness about them that is not in the current crop of fifth-formers."
Mrs. Neil said that her colleagues at schools such as Hampton, Glenmuir and a few schools in Kingston such as St. Andrew High, and St. Hugh's High have experienced a similar 'syndrome' occurring in the grade 11 (fifth form) stream of students aged 15 to 16 years.
'JAUNDICED VIEW'
One principal at a prominent girls school in St. Andrew concurred with this 'jaundiced view' of this year's batch of CXC students.
"We were shocked when these girls came to first form, they were loud and vulgar, and it's taken a lot out of us to groom these girls...we'd never seen that sort of behaviour before. As teachers, we've joked about the 'Hurricane Gilbert' effect and the possible trauma from the womb but no one has studied it," she said.
"These children are also the first set of children who took GSAT, and that year, we feel that many schools held back their best students, because the following year, we got a much better batch of students afterwards. This year's batch taking the CXC are the weakest cohort we've had in a while, and they could lower the national averages in many subject areas."
Natural disasters often result in destruction of property, major economic losses for affected communities, serious injuries, and loss of life. However, the psychological toll of natural disasters is also quite significant. Studies with children indicate increases in psychological problems following natural disasters.
According to a study published in the March issue of the Journal of Family Psychology, one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit the United States 'Hurricane Hugo' caused a significant increase in divorces, marriages and births among the residents of South Carolina who were the hardest hit by the brutal storm.
According to another study conducted by the University of Miami School of Medicine by Alan M. Delamater, PhD, and E. Brooks Applegate, young pre-school-age children who were exposed to the stress of a major hurricane were more likely to exhibit symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than a comparison group of children who were less exposed to life threat by being geographically removed from the most damaging winds of the storm.
Even one year after experiencing the hurricane, PTSD symptoms were fairly common in these children and 16.5 per cent of exposed children met diagnostic criteria for PTSD on the basis of their mothers' reports. It was later discovered that children with PTSD at 12 months post-hurricane, were four and a half times more likely to have developmental delays at 18 months post-hurricane than children without PTSD. Further, those children with PTSD at 18 months post-hurricane were nearly eight times more likely to continue to have significant delays in general development.
Branford Gayle, president of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, erupted into laughter when he was first approached by a reporter with the 'Gilbert Babies' theory.
TRAUMATIC
"This is the first time I am hearing this, this is a new one. Quite frankly, I wouldn't write it off though, I didn't experience Gilbert because I was off the island, but it must have been traumatic, maybe it was passed on through the father's genes, but I think it needs psycho-scientific analysis... you can never tell how it affects these kids," Mr. Gayle said.
Psychologist Dr. Leachim Semaj debunked the theory, saying that there must have been "other intervening conditions for one event to have affected the behaviour and learning abilities of this group of children for close to 15 years.
"I would be more likely to believe that the 1980 election with its prolonged period of shooting and killings would be a more disruptive development on the cognitive and learning abilities of young children than 'Hurricane Gilbert', which was technically a one-day event."
"The loss of life was minimal for Gilbert, and I remember my children being very terrified, but they've since graduated from college and are doing well. I have never really heard any reference to any trauma associated with the hurricane."
