I took my 10 year old today for an open evening at our local secondary school this evening, didnt go as well as planned, some 13 year old decided to throw something wet and large at my son's head. My son is now weary about going to this school.
What are canadian schools like in general? If someone bullies you or intimidates you, are there reprecussions for your actions?
England now seems to have the mentality that the perpetrator is now the victim, be it bad childhood, problems at home, social services involved etc.
Are canadian kids this bad in that they just enjoy being violent and hurting others? Do schools have a zero tolerance towards this kind of behaviour?
Any information will be greatly received.
Thank you

Our kids school takes it very seriously. Even in JK one kid had a full time teaching assistant assigned due to his behavioural problems, and another was "moved on to a more specialist facility"

Of course, there will still be bullies, thats life, but our school has taken it very seriously and not just brushed off our concerns. Generally I get the impression that Canadian kids might be better behaved than their UK counterparts. Perhaps any agression is channeled into hockey?

Well thats nice to know at least.
Thank you

Canada has six time zones. It's the second largest country in the world in terms of land area. Schooling is administered at the provincial level, not the national level. Many aspects of schooling are even administered at the municipal level. So it's difficult to make blanket statements about "Canadian schooling."

However, in my personal experience, the kids where I live (Calgary, Alberta) are a pretty decent lot for the most part.

The schools that my kids attended (which were just regular government-funded schools, the equivalent of state schools in the UK) took bullying very seriously.

In Calgary there also is a philanthropic organization that visits elementary schools (that is, the younger grades) and holds puppet shows that demonstrate how undesirable bullying is. The puppet shows also teach children the measures they can take if they find themselves the victims of bullying.

I find Calgary society to be quite child-friendly in general. I mean it's not only the responsibility of schools to ensure that children are safe (although, naturally, schools do play an important part in that).

When I was at home fulltime, when my own kids were young, I used to have a Block Parent sign in my living room window. That meant that any child who felt uncomfortable could ring my doorbell, and I would render necessary assistance. Children are taught to recognize the bright red Block Parent sign and to call on a Block Parent when they need help.

My kids now are in their mid twenties. Until recently I was working downtown, but since the beginning of October 2007 I've been doing my consulting work from home. This thread has reminded me that, now that I'm in my house fulltime again, I would like to register as a Block Parent once more.

Local parents also are leaders for Brownies, Cubs, and Guides, and they coach children's sports teams. I thought the world of my son's coaches back when he played ice hockey. They were wonderful men.

All in all, I feel that my children grew up in a very supportive environment.

Postscript. During their first three years of schooling, my kids caught a bus to and from school. That's because they attended a French immersion school that was beyond walking distance from home. Each young student was assigned to an older student on the bus. The older student watched out for his/her young charge. When he was in kindergarten and grade one, my older son used to fall asleep on the bus. His older care taker used to wake him up when he reached his stop and make sure he got off the bus.

The bus driver would not let a young child off the bus if that child's designated adult was not waiting for him/her at the bus stop. The designated adult could have been a parent, nanny or whoever. I forget the age at which this practice was discontinued, but it certainly was done for the children in the earliest grades. I remember an occasion on which a little boy's mother wasn't at the bus stop. The bus driver kept him on the bus, and took him back to the school. The school then phoned his parents to resolve the issue. I forget what had happened to prevent the mother from being at the bus stop at the proper time. In any event, one of the child's parents drove to the school and picked him up.

I relay that account to illustrate the point that, in my opinion, Calgary school officials do care about children's well being.

My wife used to be part of that puppet show here in Ontario. In that case it was the CMHA that was organising it.

I think the progamme no longer exists. Sadly.

Someone should probably tell them then...
http://www.blockparent.ca/news.htm

I'm happy to be corrected. I'm certain that some places have given up on the programme though. I did read about that. TO? Ottawa? Can't remember.

Hello, were currently undergoing a PNP to come to live in Canada. can anyone tell me what would happen to a Yr 9 and Yr 7 child. Do they get put down a year, re-evaluated and are they welcome by other children. (Something we dont get here). My concern is that my Yr 7 child is flying at senior school, top grades in everything and I wouldnt want to damage her education. Although reading your comments and others from other sites Canadian children seem much more grounded and rounded. My two not overally impressed with the 200 community service they are expected to do. Shame kids cant be taught that here.

No one said the kids here were all that thrilled either...but if they want to graduate, then they have to find a way to log the hours, and often after that some of them seem to actually quite enjoy doing it.

My daughter was very unhappy at high school in the UK - so much so I moved her 2-3 months before the rest of the family to join her dad in Canada before the final move.

I have found Canadian schools most accommodating. Our school here in Alberta has it's own counsellors who are really nice and always there fo the kids - they even check in with kids who are having probs through out the day.

My daughter is now totally settled and happier than ever - in fact the other morning she was sat eating breakfast and suddenly said " mum I love going to school " - only a little thing but by god it warmed by heart

Gaynor

thats a help. Thanks. My eldest was bullied at her old school something rotten cause she is tall, thin and very girly and all the butch girls made her life hell. But do you know how they put them into classes. I am assuming the UK education will put them back a grade at least?? We are a long way off coming over but I want to deal with all the negative questions we have - cause we dont have many.

I work in the school system on Vancouver Island, don't know about other places but here it's WAY different than it was at my old school in Bristol. They are very big on empathy here & it's taught at a very early age.

I just (today) dealt with an incident where a child laughed at another because she tripped up.......I mentioned it to another EA & she made the child walk with her for 10mins so she could 'instill some values' as she put it, into her. Also today a group of kids were running away from a new kid, the lunchtime person rounded them up and asked them how they would feel 'in their heart' if someone did the same to them, then she asked them what would be the right thing to do & they sorted themselves out...............................as we walked away I said to her 'your really good at situations like that' to which she replied 'actually, I think they're little sh*ts but I can't say that!!

Just to add..........a friend of mine (in Bristol) just phoned me & mentioned that her son is having trouble at school, he got into a fight and ended up with a bloody nose.......she said to me 'I'm SO angry.......the other kid bloodied his nose & he didn't get 1 decent punch in!!'

I have to say that moving to Canada has been the best thing for my daughter - she is now the confident 13 year old that she should have been 12 months ago.

gaynorx