First I must say greetings and congratulations on the fine job the Old Boys have been doing, however I do not want to give false hope or an impression that things are great at the College, because they simply are not.
The School in almost all areas has descended unto a decadent dark and gloomy path and I kid you not, I went to KC 1974-79 and things today are far from what they used to be, the buildings are run down, well as you know Hardie House is still a figment of our imagination, the field is rock hard and has caused serious injury to the Athletic Program, the School Morale is at its worse, with student today looking like men taken out of the field after a hard days work cutting cane, and dons a tie, which he uses to prop up his low self esteem.
And if you thought that was bad the teachers are afraid or are shackled and afraid to dispense discipline as they fear for being targeted. The noise level at Melbourne Park, especially in the mornings is so bad vendors in Coronation Market would finish outside the top 30 if they tried to compete with each class in the morning.
I have complained to the Principal on numerous occasions but to no avail, to put it mildly the discipline in the school has gone to the dogs; I have been informed that a schoolboy raised a T-Square to hit the Principal and has been referred to a psychiatrist.
The matter of Education is also a very serious one at the school, my son has been averaging 70+ since being at KC and I am very skeptical about the educational system not that I don’t think he can do his work, but my son doesn't study, he doesn’t read, he doesn't get homework and yet he is always receiving academic prizes, I really don’t think my son is a genius , I strongly suspect something is wrong.
Another thing I was informed by a Teacher at North Street that several of the teachers on Campus have not been preparing lesson plans and are simply recycling materials used the previous year, Teachers don’t want to mark homework, so they give none and are not accountable.
In an era where almost every school is trying to improve their situation I am at a loss why KC is mired in mediocrity.
Last year's glowing results must not be used as a benchmark, to think that things are fine at the school, they are not and this is not just a wild and crazy Old Boy disgruntled with life, we are heading for rock bottom.
Another matter of extreme urgency which needs to be addressed, there are boys in the school involved in GANG WARFARE and this has caused the meeker boys on Campus to be targeted by hoodlums from other schools whenever they venture on the road. The KC board is seen as being very weak and incapable of running the school properly, there are known gang members in the school who are allowed to remain in school. To add insult to injury truants from schools like Calabar and Wolmers have been accepted in the School....
Stealing the KC tie, I mean holding up KC students at knife point and stealing the tie has become a national pastime, every week students lose their tie thru holdups, those who are unfortunate get boxed, kicked and stabbed. My own son was held up and robbed of his tie only last Friday. The matter was reported to the Police but they are overburdened with more serious crime and is not treating the matter with urgency. Only a few weeks ago, a gang of about 12 knife-wielding boys said to be from Calabar attacked several KC boys in Cross Roads.
The School is said to be at war with at least four other schools presently, they are Calabar, Jamaica College, Kingston Technical and St. Georges College.
I get the impression from reading your newsletters that you guys who support the school from all the way in the USA are being given a six for a nine in affairs of the school. Most things are falling down in Jamaica but KC is scraping the base.
