ipevo

The Toronto board-appointed School Safety Community Advisory Panel, headed by human rights lawyer Julian Falconer, says there are a high number of unreported violent incidents at schools across the district, including sexual assaults.

"The lack of safety comes from disengaged, marginalized youth that we have been unable to help as a society," Falconer said at a news conference on Thursday afternoon.

Read the CTV news item here

Is Canada turning in to the USA.......?

Ben W Bell

Have you read the British news the last few years? They aren't really any different these days.

Spectrum

every school has problems..
best part is public school are free.... sometimes it better to join international school.... value for money

YYZlover

Because parenting has gone down the hill and kids aren't taught any manners at home and parents expect teachers to do that instead in class.

Why dod you think Super Nanny exists?

dbd33

The most interesting case lately concerns the prosecution of teachers for their failure to report a gang rape to the authorities. They didn't think they had an obligation to do so because the rapists weren't adults.

Very French, I thought.

Ben W Bell

In the UK there are many child sex-offenders in classrooms with other kids, but because they are underage they are protected under the child protection laws so the school isn't even allowed to know. So parents can send their kids happily to school to sit beside other kids that have committed sexual assault but not know about it as the law has to protect the offenders privacy. It's unknown how many of these cases there are, but they definitely exist. Teachers that are suspect and have been convicted or charged in the past you can keep an eye on, kids in the classes that you don't even know about can't.

mandymoochops

Parents are afraid to 'parent' nowadays. I know its slightly off topic but there's an ad on tv at the mo that really gets my goat and shows this to perfection.

Mum tries to get 4 yr old to eat breakfast, kid refuses and feeds it to toy dinosaur who doesn't like it, mum looks exasperated. Older brother comes downstairs and eats brekkie, younger brother sees this and copies, mum looks relieved.

WTF if that were mine (and I do apply this btw) it would be " :curse: Right, give me the dinosaur, eat breakfast now and do not leave the table til its all gone:curse:"

Kids get away with so much because parents are afraid of handing out discipline and teachers aren't allowed to - do not get me started on this soap box!

Biiiiink

I've been quite surprised at the discipline doled out to 4yr olds in my kid's class - time out chair, phonecalls home, visits to the principal's office. Didn't expect that in Canada, or at this young age. Nice surprise

pinkmcfarquhar

The thing that used to exasperate me most as a teacher was when I had handed out a punishment/detention to a pupil (rarely done, because resulted in pile of paperwork/chasing up) for some quite serious misdemeanour, to get a letter back from the parent saying that their perfect child hadn't done it/wouldn't possibly have done it and therefore wasn't doing the punishment. :curse::curse: Cue me having to put up with smug little **** in my class gloating. This happened on more than one occasion, senior management no help - well freddy says he didn't do it and didn't you know he has been having a few problems so we can just let this one slide!!!!! Yup, I had nothing better to do with my time than make up fake incidents and write out forms in triplicate for the hell of it. If I ever got in trouble in school, I did everything i could to hide it from parents - otherwise they just added to the punishment for getting into trouble!!

Ah well, just a wee rant, my apologies - must have touched a raw nerve. The good news is that it is a year today since I handed in my resignation and I am now sitting happily in snowy St John's!

Atlantic Xpat

Do you plan to teach here in St John's?

pinkmcfarquhar

Undecided at the moment. My work permit doesn't allow working in child care/education until medicals done. So no pressure on at the moment. Will also have to arrange to go and see education people to check validity of qualifications - I was secondary computing teacher, not sure what that equates to over here (junior high/high??).

There were a few reasons leading to resignation - lack of support from senior management with discipline, poor standards of teaching (whole other story!!), continual meetings/target setting ...........

Just feel like I need a break from it for a while - loved the actual job, hated the politics that went along with it.

Applied for a couple of jobs so far, one working part time with a charity as a job coach which looks really good, so fingers crossed.

Zoe Bell

Couldn't agree more , one of the main reasons I left teaching in the UK. We had parents who refused to let pupils attend detentions, pupils who "knew there rights" and knew "you can't do nothing to me" etc.
Have no idea what it is like here . I just know that I am sleeping at night , don't wake up at 3 am panicking and don't get that sinking feeling in my stomach each morning

why

it's the same the world

violence breeds violence,

kids are seeing too much violence
either at home or on the telly and films
so why wouldn't they act it out themselves at school......
all of society is to blame

we think violence is ok...especially verbal violence

mandymoochops

I must seem like a real dinosaur of a parent but my youngest daughter (lives with dad in UK as wraps him round her finger bless her!!!!) when she comes to us (was in UK now in Canada - well will be in Summer) is only allowed 1hr of tv OR pc a day and thats because she should get fresh air and use imagination or play with friends.

You know HAVE FUN AND BE A CHILD!

Therefore when she is with us we all go out, do stupid stuff like bog jumping as Robyn called it back in Norfolk, got muddy, got fresh air. But she is beautifully behaved, never argues, always eats dinner and goes to bed without a whisper. Because she has discipline.

We also take the time to give her attention when she doesn't ask for it if you know what I mean, she could be reading or colouring or whatever so either me or Mr MMC will say come on lets play a game and this means that even an hour of our time when she doesn't expect it means that she is not constanly pulling at our shirt tails.

Now as soon as she goes back to her dads thats a different story - he absolutely worships her but my word she gets away with murder up til all hours, has a choice of about 5 bowls in front of her for brekkie - funny thing is though even at 7 she knows when and when not to try it on - or should I say with whom!!!!!!

JLT

Well you gals have got me a little worried re my daughter. My daughter who is over in the UK at the moment with me because of my elderly father is completing her A -levels and has quoted she would like to teach!! She is bi-lingual in french due to her coming to Toronto when she was 5yrs old and took the french immersion programme (Wonderful by the way to be handed that option on a plate for free). I must say I cannot wait to get back to Toronto seeing how the children behave in the UK although I always had them on pedestal whilst in Canada as a great example not any more. But seeing myself as I was doing a course also the disrespect to teachers and peers it is really worrying me as to whether to promote the idea after hearing the stress of teaching and not just from you!!??