The front page of the Thursday Gleaner reported the grim details of a murder which has forever changed the lives of the students and teachers at Braeton Primary School in St. Catherine.

The article was about two students having a dispute during which a knife was used to stab another student who died. The shock of the incident caused some students to faint and has the whole school in mourning.

This story once again raises serious concern about violence in schools. Obviously, far too many of our students are getting involved in violent altercations that have deadly implications.

Certainly, this is a spillover from what is practised daily in our society. Adults who should know how to better deal with their problems have instead resorted to violence to solve even the smallest of issues.

Adults have been using implements such as stones, knives and other such weapons to attack each other when talking it out seems to have failed in giving the justice they want. This behaviour has been carried over into the schools where students have been using the same approach to solve their disputes and the result is a school population which is fearful and often times grieving.

Adults need to practise what they preach. They cannot be telling children to discuss their problems when they are not doing the same. Adults need to be the grown and responsible people they are expected to be. The so-ciety needs to practise tolerance so that the children will learn the correct measures of handling problems and ultimately reduce the violent incidents in schools.