Two retiring teachers with a combined teaching experience of 70 years have admonished parents for lack of involvement in their children's lives.

Victor Scott Primary School teachers Helene Stephenson and Ianthia Eve revealed to The Royal Gazette their thoughts on many years in front of the blackboard.

Mrs. Stephenson, a former Central School (now Victor Scott) student whose teaching duties have also taken her to Heron Bay, Harrington Sound, Dellwood and Elliott, said many parents do not raise their children properly.

"Teachers have been forced to take up the role of social educator in addition to academic tutor because children are not learning these skills at home,'' she said.

Mrs. Eve, who has also taught at the former Paget Glebe school, said: "Many of these children have little respect or manners. I was taught those things at home at an early age.'' She said parents, especially single mothers, are forced to take on two or three jobs just to make ends meet and do not spend enough quality time with their children.

"Children are not getting the hands-on parenting they need,'' she said.

Teachers often complain that children do not do their homework because parents do not or are not there to check up on them.

And basic abilities, such as reading, have also suffered due to lack of parental involvement. In her Primary Six class, Mrs. Eve said she had students who read at Primary Three level.

"The TV has replaced reading. It entertains unsupervised children,'' she said.

"And because they often don't see their parents reading, many children have no inclination to do so.'' She also blames television for having a detrimental effect on childrens' attention span.

"Children have become used to half-hour programmes with commercial breaks on television. After 30 minutes on one topic, many of them tune out.'' Mrs. Stephenson even ventured to say that Bermuda could become the next Littleton, Colorado.

"If guns were available, we would have school shootings in Bermuda,'' she said.

"People need Jesus in their lives. It is not an old fashioned idea to have God in your life.'' And Mrs. Eve blamed the lack of religion for societal ills which have invariably affected children.

"The Bible teaches moral values which we learned and lived by,'' she said.

"We were taught not to get pregnant before marriage and very few people did.

But now there is a whole generation of young people that know little about God.'' "In our day, black families had little else to look up to besides God,''she added.

But despite some changes for the worse, both teachers feel that their vocation has been very rewarding.

"At the time, I chose teaching because opportunities for young black women were limited,'' Mrs. Eve explained.

"But I now feel God has placed me in the teaching profession. I teach Bible stories to children who no longer go to Sunday school. I teach them lessons they will remember later on in life.

"I have enjoyed my teaching career. I wanted the best for my children and I always expected their best effort.'' Mrs. Stephenson said: "I feel thankful that I have been able to deal with so many children. It has been very rewarding.'' "There is something good in every child,'' Mrs. Eve added.

Experience talks: Between them, retiring Victor Scott Primary teachers Helene Stephenson and Ianthia Eve have 70 years of teaching. The two were recently crowned at a school ceremony.