PUBLICATION:
The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2005.11.16
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Editorial/Opinion
PAGE: 21
ILLUSTRATION: photo by Ernest Doroszuk Police arrive at James Cardinal
McGuigan high school Monday to make arrests in an alleged sexual assault.
BYLINE: CHRISTINA BLIZZARD
COLUMN: Queen's Park
WORD COUNT: 665
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CLEAR OUT THE BULLIES
OUR CHILDREN CANNOT BE TERRORIZED IN OUR SCHOOLS
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How ironic that, at the beginning of a week set aside to fight bullying,
a horrific story emerges of a young teen who has allegedly been brutalized
at her school for as long as 18 months before she finally told a teacher
who called in police.
And much as we may all be shocked by such allegations, anyone who has
a child in an inner city Toronto school knows that there is an undercurrent
of violence in many of them that needs to be addressed. Forget all those
namby-pamby, anti-bullying programs. What these thugs need isn't a group
hug and a round of Kumbaya. Many schools need a full-time cop.
Frankly, I'm getting just a bit tired of the politically correct wall
you run into any time you dare suggest we get tough on the hoodlums who
terrorize our schools.
First, there was the Safe Schools Act brought in by the previous Tory
government. That is now under review. Why? Because some parents complained
it was "racist," in that it disproportionately targeted black
youths. Another criticism is that it arbitrarily expelled youngsters and
left them on the streets with no place to go. The first point is a pretty
sweeping condemnation of teachers and school principals, since they are
the ones enforcing the law. I don't think for a moment teachers are, as
a profession, racist. And there are programs for expelled students to
go to. If they are full, then the government needs to get more up and
running.
The allegations in this case make it crystal clear: Victims need protection
-- not the bullies. You need to get the perpetrators of violence out of
the schools. It may be a hard lesson. But here's a handy guide to avoid
expulsion: Behave yourself. Don't threaten other students. Don't fight.
Keep your fists to yourself. Don't use abusive or profane language. Don't
assault your teachers or other students. Don't bring guns or knives to
school. While we're at it, parents might try to enforce these rules, instead
of excusing their little darlings. Apparently, they're not, "bad,"
they're just "misunderstood." Or so they'd have you believe.
Well, follow my rules and I guarantee you won't be expelled.
At the other end of the scale, on Monday two teacher unions held one of
the more self-serving news conferences I have attended recently. The Ontario
English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) and Ontario Secondary School
Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) hauled out a study showing an estimated 30%
of teachers have been bullied by parents or guardians, 24% of teachers
have been bullied by school administrators and 15% of teachers have been
bullied by other colleagues. The unions want legislation to outlaw psychological
bullying in the workplace.
GET A SPINE
Well, here's an idea. When a group of adult employees who belong to some
of the strongest unions in the province can't handle a few nasty words
from a co-worker or a parent, then it isn't a new law you need. It's a
spine.
Don't get me wrong. I have nothing but sympathy for the average teacher.
In some schools in this city, they have to deal with weapons and violence
on a daily basis.
But this week, the biggest news story was about awful allegations of a
child who has been terrorized in a school for a year and a half. Yet the
biggest concern these union bosses have is psychological abuse? Give me
a break.
Kids learn from example. One of the unions, OECTA, was involved in an
incident almost three years ago when then-Tory Education Minister Elizabeth
Witmer had water poured over her by union members at a convention.
Okay, the union apologized. The College of Teachers resolved it through
a "dispute resolution," process rather than through a disciplinary
hearing. But when teachers set that kind of example, how do you expect
to control schools?
Meanwhile, the real victims are the kids who daren't go to school because
they fear violence. Every child has the right to an education in peace
and security. We've already lost control of our streets to a violent element.
Let's not let our schools go the same way. We need cops in them -- now |