A Lethbridge student is suing the school board because he was assaulted by a fellow classmate after school. The attack was the result of an incident in class in which the student supposedly unplugged his soon-to-be attacker’s computer monitor.
By taking the school board to court, the student is showing a lack of faith in the school’s ability to keep him safe. Granted he was assaulted, but will his personal gain of $13 000, if he wins the case, keep the next student safe from an assault? Why not sue the school board to introduce better supervision policies or anti-bullying programs or conflict resolution seminars? These initiatives may leave a more lasting and beneficial legacy. Unfortunately, those programs and policies are only as good as the teachers, administrators, and boards that back them. Not be too cynical, but I am sure there are some great programs out there that are not implemented effectively because they are possibly either misunderstood, not valued, simply seen as an extra chore, etc.
Will this case add credence to legislating Bill 206? (See previous posting ‘Is Bill 206 the Answer?’)
But is this just a case of bullying? Or might it be better to ask why the attacker used violence to “resolve” his conflict? All along the way, students are exposed to violence (video games, sports, TV and movies, UFC, and the list goes on). Does exposure to violence lead to violent behavior? Not necessarily. But if violent behaviour is viewed as the accepted way to deal with something then that is a problem. I do think that the bigger problem here is violence. But how do we work towards a less violent society? Is the Dalai Lama correct in saying that the key is showing compassion and that each individual is capable of compassion? The Dalai Lama’s point of view is interesting because he seems to believe that change can result from individual action, not the substructure or that we are trapped in a functionalist society that preselects and reinforces our place in society. Is he naïve? Would he be any less motivated if he believed that he could not make a difference? Probably. Can individuals make a difference? Can we as future teachers make a difference?
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Wow, I found this blog post extremely interesting. I did not know about this incident until I read your blog post. I quite enjoy reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I find it interesting that the school board is being sued. After all, I would have to question whether the school board is really the one responsible for this incident. What role does the school board play in contributing to those types of incidents or to stopping incidents like this one from occurring? I would be more inclined to question who was responsible for supervision at the time of the incident. Was there anyone on supervision after school hours? During school I know that the teacher acts in place of the parents, but after school is a whole different story. I really cannot see how this argument could be taken to court and won. After all, I think that if the incident occurred after school then the fault is not really, in my opinion, on either the school board, the school or any of the teachers. If the incident happened inside the school and during school hours then I think the parents would have a whole different argument.
Is this a case of bullying? Well, yes I would say that would constitute bullying. Do I think that video games and violence are contributing factors? I think they might play a role in bullying behavior, but it’s a tough call. In fact, I believe that the lack of respect kids show for some people now is absolutely abysmal. Speaking of this issue I am reminded of a conversation I had with a friend in one of my other classes. We were talking about practicum experiences and how new students that arrived from other some other countries showed much more respect for the teacher then the ones raised in Canadian culture. Although I do not want to sound too broad I think that perhaps disrespect and bullying has been encouraged by our culture and is in fact a societal issue that we have somehow enforced and taught kids without ever realizing. In a way we may have actually socialized kids to respond with that type of behavior. Interestingly enough, I am not sure if violent video games contribute entirely to violent people and kids. I was looking more into this issue and I read some articles about violence and video games. One article actually suggests that perhaps violent video games actually decrease violence, which I thought was an interesting argument. You can have a look at the article here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514213432.htm
David once again you have sparked my interest!!
ReplyDeleteNow I obviously am not a supporter of any violence... it quite honestly scares me to the point of running to hide! However, you discussed how with all the exposure that students have to violence they see that as the way to resolve their problems. But I must ask this, are the UFC fighters resolving an issue when they fight?
I am just playing the bad guy here! I would be so happy if we got rid of all the violence such as: the video games, the UFC, the fighting in hockey (some may think that is absurd!!) but I don't like it. To me seeing someone's fist hit bone (face/shoulder...) it is disgusting. I actually hear the sound and want to puke so please don't take me playing opposition as I love violence because I DO NOT!!
But I don't know if seeing violence as entertainment can translate into that is how to solve problems. UFC fighters train ridiculous amounts, that is their livelihood, this isn't that they got angry with the other fighter and now they are solving it.
To me (because I am playing opposition) it doesn't translate, fighting in hockey, maybe because that is someone irritating you and therefore you are going to beat them up. THAT should come out of the sport!
What do you think David???
ps. I went to look up a UFC fighters name because he was a wrestling coach at my University but just as I was trying to find a list of names it showed a clip from a fight or something and it was so disgusting I actually gagged!! Ugh, violence is sooooo WRONG!!