Tuesday, March 7, 2017

School violence is a crisis, and parents need to speak up


An out-of-control six-year-old in the Peel District School Board is handcuffed by police. Two parents in the Toronto District School Board are suing the board, claiming the board has neglected the safety of their children. The Hamilton Wentworth school board spends $1.6 million dollars on taxis; many of the students in cabs are 'unfit' to ride the bus; but not unfit to go to school. Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, recently spoke out on the issue of rising student violence that makes the school environment unsafe for their peers and staff.

What is going on?

Unfortunately, this seems to be an issue people don't want to think about, much less discuss. Violent and uncontrollable behaviour of students, especially elementary students, is on the rise. After Hammond's statements, which were widely covered in the media, there was very little response. The Minister of Education did respond with some motherhood statements about safety in schools, but no meaningful response. School boards won't speak, because they don't want to give the impression there are out-of-control students in their schools. Teachers can't speak because they are afraid of punitive reaction from their employers.  (more...)


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