THE EDITOR, Sir;

The latest Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) results remind us that the majority of our students are failing both mathematics and English. We are tempted to believe that with a little more resources, the students' performance will improve.

The sad truth is that this alone is not enough. The real hurdle is the un-supporting environment at the levels of the home and the society. At home, students have to contend with many distractions (cable-TV, video games, neighbour's sound system), absentee or abusive fathers - clearly a climate not conducive to sound learning.

In society, we have role models (our DJs) who do not embrace English, so how can we expect our children to perform well in English, let alone mathematics, if from their observation one can 'get by' without learning these subjects?

Encouragement

I submit that, English needs to be spoken well before it can be written well. Nevertheless, even if not in their homes, students must be encouraged, through incentive schemes, to speak English at school. Second, our fathers must be held accountable for their role or lack thereof in their children's life. At my son's orientation day for high school last September, approximately 97 per cent of the parents who turned up were women (for an all-boys school).

Third, what kind of society are we engineering when we allow children to attend street or community dances to absorb first-hand not only lewd language, but also adult activities (to put it mildly)? If what we want is improved CSEC results, then we as a society have to change our ways and set a good example for them, otherwise we are only pretenders.

I am, etc.,

CONCERNED JAMAICAN

Kingston