"...I felt sick to my stomach when one reporter said the murderer "somehow got a gun into the school," knowing full well he or she needed just to walk through the front doors at any time during the school day and would likely not be approached or questioned by anyone."
"These are just a few of my experiences. Other incidents include students throwing textbooks and desks at teachers and the time a female teacher was surrounded by a group of male students as they taunted, "Suck my d--k"; the list is endless. Sadly, each of these cases were initially brushed off by certain members of the administration, if acknowledged at all. As each day passed, my sense of normalcy was deteriorating. Does this sound like a safe environment conducive to learning?"
She describes a school environment of complacency and willful blindness to the number of intruders that loiter in the hallways, and parents who don't seem to have assumed responsibility for instilling proper values.
The Globe carried an editorial yesterday (under subscriber lock) that backed up these observations (To Save Schools from the Thugs):
"...Believe it or not, there are Toronto schools with doors for black students and doors for the non-black, a rule enforced by school thugs. This is a recipe for loss of adult control and community confidence. School authorities need to move faster to take back control from the thugs."
We are far beyond the point where a few extra security cameras are going to make a difference. Who's going to watch them, or do anything about it anyway?
I have long been an advocate of teaching children logical consequences. You tell the child that if he or she does "a", then "b" will happen. Then if the child does "a", you actually follow through with "b". It's not rocket science, but it works. I have two children who grew up to be wonderful, responsible adults.
This is what a child needs - a firm, loving predictable environment. It sounds as if at C.W. Jeffrys, the inmates are running the asylum. There appears to be no control. No wonder the kids are cautious about snitching. Who's going to protect them? Not the teachers, that's for sure.
If you continue to let a child get away with murder when they're young, chances are that someday it just might actually happen.
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