Reigning Pic-O-De Crop monarch Ian iWeb Webster is worried about the possible impact of the current upsurge in gun crimes on future generations.
Speaking this morning at Courtesy Garage in Wildey, St Michael where he was presented with his prize of a fully loaded Nissan X-Trail valued at 125,000, Webster suggested that the spiralling violence could have an additional consequence of introducing young children to crime.
“Gun violence is never a positive thing. Children grow up in the society, you know, we are all a part of it. Children happen to emulate what they see. So, when we have a lot of gun violence and these other things going on right now, it is obviously troubling, on more than one level, you know. We have violence taking place but also have violent education taking place, so it’s quite concerning and really doesn’t augur well when we look down the road for our upcoming generations.” he said.
The Springer Memorial School music teacher stated that it was important to engage the island’s youth with the goal being to get them to think positively.
“It starts with a mindset. We need to get our young people thinking differently, we have to engage them differently. On an intellectual level, we [must] start to maximize their potential in terms of our educational system and make it a system in such that persons who are not necessarily academically inclined are able to achieve. They may not be academically inclined, they may be musically inclined or technically inclined, but set up our situation in such a way that they are able to thrive and prosper in life,” the reigning monarch said.
Webster told the media he was using the music platform to convey positive messages to young people, and as a teacher, he sought to instil certain values in his students.
“They may not like it but at the end of the day I am there as a teacher and not their friend. [As] their teacher it is my responsibility to model behaviours, to instruct them academically, and to teach them about the core values in life,” he said.