The Editor, Sir:

Every trained teacher in our school system knows about the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains of learning. The emphasis in schools tends to be the cognitive domain, and this is more than understandable, in light of the annual debates on school performances in GSAT and CSEC.

Several schools have multidisciplinary curricula, which allow students ample opportunities to develop their psychomotor skills. The technical/vocational subjects, sport, music and drama are vehicles for this domain. However, not much attention is given to the affective domain. This domain concerns attitudes, values, feelings or emotional learning. This learning is also very important for the performance of both cognitive and psychomotor skills.

The Caribbean authors of The Education for Human Values Programme, in 1987, recognised the need for moral education and the role of schools in "reaffirmation of basic moral and spiritual values". This programme identified five basic values: truth, right action, love, peace and non-violence, and was adopted by the Ministry of Education, Jamaica, to be implemented in schools. A Jamaican edition of a Teachers' Handbook was circulated to schools and colleges. It is not clear how this programme has been implemented, if at all, in Jamaica.

Information sharing

It must be admitted that some attempt is made in most schools through the guidance and counselling department, but this takes on more of an information-sharing relationship than teaching the values intended. Other schools expect the infusion of these values through the extracurricular programming and other activities and the 'hidden curriculum'.

In short, there is usually no structured curriculum nor modality for teaching values in schools, and this could be the root of the problem we are experiencing with our youngsters today. So, while we tackle the other contributing factors, such as the breakdown in the family, substandard music, weak communities and poor school leadership, we must simultaneously address this deficiency in our school curriculum, and strengthen the teaching of values in order to aid in good character building in our students.

A programme of instruction for character building is urgently needed in our school system.

I am, etc,

RAG SHIPPEY

C/o CASE

Port Antonio