What are we teaching our children to accept in our schools?
Recently I had a discussion with a retired school teacher. We were discussing school violence and the lack of awareness to the causes, escalation of behaviors, and pure ignorance of the rights of children who are not violent. The retired teacher was often involved in learning situations which dictated in class support.
As a former teacher and not a fan of inclusion as the only option for class placement, the newly retired teacher's testimony of eye witness accounts of violent behavior by a grade school child reminded me of days gone past.
The teacher described ongoing scenes in which one violent prone child would demonstrate behaviors which put the classmates and staff in the direct line of the violent behavior. The classroom teacher, described as low key, allowed the violent child to throw desks. The other children would be moved to the side of the classroom until the episode was over. The violent child would then be escorted from the class for counseling, as the children in the classroom would be instructed to pick up the desks and their materials. They would then be expected to resume their work.
What is wrong with this picture?
First, a young violent child has no more rights then anyone else to be violent in a classroom. Second, the teacher was violating the rights of the other children and staff in the room- regardless of her tolerance level for violence.
Young violent children need to be assessed for the reasons they are violent- such as victims themselves of neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, stress level of dealing with behaviors necessary for success in a regular classroom, and the child's own right to a safe educational setting. His violent behavior put him in jeopardy also.
What are we teaching our children in our schools today? Do we really want children to accept violent behavior as the normal course of a school day? What is happening in our homes which would make children act out in school? School violence at any level is reportable regardless of the disability. Although a violent child has special needs, a violent child does not have special rights to harm anyone else. If a violent child does not learn that lesson as a young child, they may just learn it as an adult. Then we can add that troubled violent child to the list of adults who attend classes in prison or to the list of the dead.
If we do not teach our children who witness violent behavior that the violent behavior is wrong and not acceptable, then we are teaching our children to be like the frog that is thrown into cold water and is slowly cooked to death. The children won't know the difference between acceptable and unacceptable. Turn the other cheek does not mean accept nor does it mean tolerate.
How many children went home and described the violent behavior but the parents ignored the concerns because the child was special needs? How many teachers ignore violent behavior because the label is special needs?
Sometimes special needs students end up dead on our streets because they wielded a weapon. On the street, street justice prevails. Are we doing an injustice for the violent special needs population in our schools as we violate the rights of all the students?
In Aurora, Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut the mistakes made led to massacres. In Pleasantville, NJ the news report is that a special needs student is dead. He wielded a knife on the street to policemen and paid with his life. What were these special needs students being taught?
Marian R. Carlino
April 26, 2013
