Jarmila Jackson, Features Writer

Pauletta Chevannes

Wearing short dreadlocks that complement a face full of wisdom, Pauletta Chevannes is charismatic and inspiring as we converse on the back porch of her home in St Andrew.

Chevannes is coordinator of an outreach project of the Department of Educational Studies of the University of the West Indies, aimed at curbing the incidence of violence and antisocial behaviour in schools. The programme is called 'Change From Within'. Founded in 1992 by the late Sir Philip Sherlock, the organisation, rather than confronting the problem of violence directly, works at building self-esteem and providing the inspiration that will allow for a self-empowered change.

"It does not approach the question head-on. What it does is it takes a whole-school approach to the question, building self-esteem in the schools and thereby improving overall performance and via that route, reducing violence."

Students' focal point

Making the students and those with whom they come in contact its focal point, the programme is so effective that it has expanded even overseas. Success comes from having an immense love for children and a belief in their potential.

According to Chevannes, the critical area is building leadership and we do this by what we call a 'circle of friends'. This circle will include the principals, teachers and guidance counsellors from all of the 32 schools currently involved. We try to get the principals to be people who listen, people who have a vision for their school, people who feel that there are possibilities, even within a situation that seems dismal."

The interventions are not just for students, but may be workshops to motivate teachers or build leadership. Workshops are planned at the annual five-day residential meeting.

Widening her eyes in pride, she states that out of that major circle, other sub-circles have been formed with the aim of empowering other schools which are encountering problems.

"It's a support system which we have found to be tremendous." The programme now involves students in their own work-shop, the most recent planned and supervised by the students themselves.

"Another important component is building on the positives, so that within a school or within a student, you highlight an area that is positive and you encourage people to participate and you make it become a whole-school activity." She places emphasis on the next component; finding a new way of teaching. "Ask what it is that interests the students, and use that as a vehicle, so learning becomes fun." This method is one that encourages the participation of students, allowing them to provide insight on why previous methods have failed.

The project also includes a mentorship programme. "When we say mentoring we don't mean just the teachers mentoring students, but teachers mentoring teachers too, students mentoring students, parents mentoring students and so on. In other words, we don't think that the problem is only with the students and it's only the student that needs building of self-esteem. It has to be a process that involves everybody.

"In one of the schools, the gate man is on the roster for devotion, in another they trained some parents as teacher's aides. Some of these parents can't read and write you know, but there are positive things about them that they can do. They can help with discipline, order, and when your child sees you, they are inspired."