It‘s really important not to see this as bad kids or demonize kids.
This is truly structural violence. This is institutional violence. This is a failure to respond to needs that ends up being enacted like violence,” Prof. Bruckert says.
Many teachers are leaving the profession because of the violence and harassment that they now face on a regular basis, says Heidi Yetman, president of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, a not-for-profit organization that represents more than 370,000 elementary and secondary school teachers and education workers across the country “We have a huge retention and recruitment issue across the country,” she says. “The classroom is not a safe working space.” Violence in the classroom also affects students’ well-being and ability to learn, Ms. Yetman says. “Imagine being a student in a classroom that needs to be evacuated once every two weeks because of a specific student,” she says. “It has a great effect on learning. It has a great effect on the psyche of kids.” Schools lack the resources needed to support students who are having violent outbursts or who are dysregulated, Ms. Yetman says “We don’t have enough support staff.
We don’t have enough psychologists. We don’t have enough counsellors,” she says. As violence in schools is on the rise, it is becoming normalized by teachers and students alike who see it as part of being in school, says Karen Littlewood, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, a union that represents more than 60,000 teachers and educational workers in the province.
We don’t have enough support staff. We don’t have enough psychologists. We don’t have enough counsellors,” she says. As violence in schools is on the rise, it is becoming normalized by teachers and students alike who see it as part of being in school, says Karen Littlewood, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, a union that represents more than 60,000 teachers and educational workers in the province.
Ms. Littlewood points to signs in doctors’ offices, post offices, and so many other places of business that violence, harassment and bullying will not be tolerated. “But in schools, we’re not supposed to say anything. We’re just supposed to take it and say everything is okay. But it‘s not okay. The kids are not okay, the schools are not okay, the working conditions are not okay,” she says.
