School law, in theory and in practice
It is becoming more and more evident that safety in our schools is becoming a top priority due to its intimate link with success in learning. All curriculum subjects are served on the plate of a safe learning environment. Consequentially, safe school legislations have evolved in a number of ways since the Safe Schools Act (2001) after we learned from the obstacles to meet the goal of making the kids feel safe. Presently, the Accepting Schools Act (2012), along with other bills waiting to be passed, are the most recent legislations on helping to foster a safe learning atmosphere.
Under the Accepting Schools Act and Bill 157, it outlines clearly the type of behavior that will lead to either suspension or expulsion. But more importantly, it requires school boards to have support programs whether academic or nonacademic in place for students who were expelled or suspended for a long term. I have experienced this first hand with a student at-risk in my grade 9 Applied math class. For a second time, he injured another student in the hallways during a fight and was suspended for 5 consecutive days. I was instructed to help my associate teacher in putting together a package for him to work on during his time away. My associate teacher also informed me that he is going to have to continue to attend the anger management workshops at a nearby community centre. It wasn’t until a few days ago that I made the connection with the underlying mandate for suspended students to be enrolled in support programs.
While I was working on the package with my associate, I felt at first that it was pointless since he will most likely not even open the first page. Progressively however, I started to understand why the Bill presented such a mandate. The way to foster an accepting school is not to focus on punitive measures, but by using a restorative approach. While students are still at such an early point in their lives, I now firmly believe that it is much more important for us to focus on getting the student to build empathy and get back-on track instead of isolating them. Thorough research has shown that simply removing the student who perpetrated from the school did not make the other kids feel any safer. The reason is simple: punishment precedes hate, which precedes vengeance. Attempting to restore character will be much more valuable to society than weeding them out.
To be safe is not the same as to feel safe. I sincerely hope that with the right implementation of safe school policies, the right staff involvement, and the right community support that we can make our students feel free to explore, express without boundaries.
Under the Accepting Schools Act and Bill 157, it outlines clearly the type of behavior that will lead to either suspension or expulsion. But more importantly, it requires school boards to have support programs whether academic or nonacademic in place for students who were expelled or suspended for a long term. I have experienced this first hand with a student at-risk in my grade 9 Applied math class. For a second time, he injured another student in the hallways during a fight and was suspended for 5 consecutive days. I was instructed to help my associate teacher in putting together a package for him to work on during his time away. My associate teacher also informed me that he is going to have to continue to attend the anger management workshops at a nearby community centre. It wasn’t until a few days ago that I made the connection with the underlying mandate for suspended students to be enrolled in support programs.
While I was working on the package with my associate, I felt at first that it was pointless since he will most likely not even open the first page. Progressively however, I started to understand why the Bill presented such a mandate. The way to foster an accepting school is not to focus on punitive measures, but by using a restorative approach. While students are still at such an early point in their lives, I now firmly believe that it is much more important for us to focus on getting the student to build empathy and get back-on track instead of isolating them. Thorough research has shown that simply removing the student who perpetrated from the school did not make the other kids feel any safer. The reason is simple: punishment precedes hate, which precedes vengeance. Attempting to restore character will be much more valuable to society than weeding them out.
To be safe is not the same as to feel safe. I sincerely hope that with the right implementation of safe school policies, the right staff involvement, and the right community support that we can make our students feel free to explore, express without boundaries.
cyberbullying: an ever increasing concern
“Mr Y, Ray is pushing me continuously,” says a student covered in tears. Mr Y then asks Ray to stay behind after school attempting to have a conversation with him. Decades ago, even up until the early 90s, bullying of this kind was easy to spot and not so difficult to control. However, with the emergence of Internet along with the boom of other technological advances, the “traditional” schoolyard bullying is becoming more and more rare. That is because the former has taken onto a new form. According to Bill Belsey, cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.
What really made me reflect about this issue is how vulnerable students are to this form of bullying, especially amongst adolescents. Internet has no doubt become a vital part in our daily life and so we must find a way to cope with this issue.
There’s the obvious, schools can enforce policies to ban the common mediums such as Facebook, twitter, and other social media sites. This method however, contains as many loopholes as the method itself. Students can still access them at home, along with texting etc. In many instances, regulations simply create alternative opportunities in the same way that rent control can cause black markets.
Another issue with cyberbullying is that it is very difficult to catch. Comments made online can often be from anonymous or fake profile sources. I’m not sure if board policies can control what happens beyond the classroom hours, which is where majority of cyberbullying takes place.
I think another reason that cyberbullying is more prevalent than traditional bullying is because kids often don’t realize the impact of a few keystrokes on another person. They may also find that sitting in front of a computer screen keeps them from getting caught while giving them a sense of power.
I personally believe that the best way in dealing with cyberbullying is to help students to stay informed. Workshops and activities should regularly be conducted to convey the idea that cyberbullying is just as hurtful as physical bullying, if not, more. Role-playing can be a powerful tool in achieving that goal. Once that step is achieved, the next goal is to educate students to not be bystanders. Any bullying’s biggest enemy is a voice. Bullying thrives on their victim’s fear. If we encourage the victim, or anyone that witness such a deed to come forward, a great deal of bullying in general may be diminished.
This, however, is utopia talking. As long as the Internet is present, there are always going to be people utilizing it in a bad manner. That does not mean that we shouldn’t strive toward that vision. I don’t personally believe policies minimize cyberbullying in any way, if anything intensifies it. I do believe however, that even a small light can lit up a dark room. We need to teach our students, that silence, is not acceptable when others are harmed. Nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. One in four has had it happen more than once.
What really made me reflect about this issue is how vulnerable students are to this form of bullying, especially amongst adolescents. Internet has no doubt become a vital part in our daily life and so we must find a way to cope with this issue.
There’s the obvious, schools can enforce policies to ban the common mediums such as Facebook, twitter, and other social media sites. This method however, contains as many loopholes as the method itself. Students can still access them at home, along with texting etc. In many instances, regulations simply create alternative opportunities in the same way that rent control can cause black markets.
Another issue with cyberbullying is that it is very difficult to catch. Comments made online can often be from anonymous or fake profile sources. I’m not sure if board policies can control what happens beyond the classroom hours, which is where majority of cyberbullying takes place.
I think another reason that cyberbullying is more prevalent than traditional bullying is because kids often don’t realize the impact of a few keystrokes on another person. They may also find that sitting in front of a computer screen keeps them from getting caught while giving them a sense of power.
I personally believe that the best way in dealing with cyberbullying is to help students to stay informed. Workshops and activities should regularly be conducted to convey the idea that cyberbullying is just as hurtful as physical bullying, if not, more. Role-playing can be a powerful tool in achieving that goal. Once that step is achieved, the next goal is to educate students to not be bystanders. Any bullying’s biggest enemy is a voice. Bullying thrives on their victim’s fear. If we encourage the victim, or anyone that witness such a deed to come forward, a great deal of bullying in general may be diminished.
This, however, is utopia talking. As long as the Internet is present, there are always going to be people utilizing it in a bad manner. That does not mean that we shouldn’t strive toward that vision. I don’t personally believe policies minimize cyberbullying in any way, if anything intensifies it. I do believe however, that even a small light can lit up a dark room. We need to teach our students, that silence, is not acceptable when others are harmed. Nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. One in four has had it happen more than once.
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Attached above is an account and reflection of my practicum overall