"ISK has zero tolerance for bullying (verbal or cyber abuse) or any form of physical interference with another student."It started when we received an email from the Head of Elementary informing us that there's some friction between several girls in Grade 5. As our daughter was part of the group of girls, and even though she didn't do anything wrong, we thought it would be a good idea to talk to her about friendship and respect, so that she knows what we expect from her behavior. In our talk, we touched on the topic of bullying and although she said that she's aware of the different forms of bullying, she has never been told the consequence if she was caught bullying someone else. So we wrote back to the Head of Elementary to inform that we had a talk to our daughter, which we receive the following response:
"Thank you for the email. I agree with everything you said to [our daughter], and this is the same message I gave. I told them that they don't have to be best friends with everyone, but they need to respect each other. I'm not forcing anyone to play with anyone, but if there is any bullying behavior, I assure you all students know that there will be consequences - phone calls to parents, loss of privileges, letters of apology, etc. They may not know these specific consequences, but they know that it is not accepted and there will be repercussions."
Am I the only one who sees a problem with the above response? ISK has a "zero tolerance" policy on bullying, yet students have not been told about the consequence. So I wrote back to the Head of Elementary:
"...if [our daughter] doesn't know the consequence then she may not understand the importance of eliminating such negative behavior. We would obviously be unhappy if she exerted such behavior, however, we would kindly ask you to consider informing the students of the consequences - if not the exact ones, then at least the type of consequence that you've mentioned - so that they are all aware."
Then in his response, the Head of Elementary said:
"...it's concerning to me as well that [our daughter] doesn't realize there are negative consequences for bullying, as it's part of our presentations we are preparing and has come up repeatedly in class discussions throughout the year. I have stated several times throughout the course of the year that if this type of behavior occurs, there will be negative consequences..."
Again, am I the only one who sees a problem with this response? Does the Head of Elementary really believe that by telling his students that there will be "negative consequences", that they will automatically understand what they are? It's like saying to a child, "If you misbehave, something bad is going to happen". This is a threat, not a clear consequence. Being banned from television for a week is a clear consequence.
Now according to Wikipedia, "A zero tolerance policy imposes automatic punishment for infractions of a stated rule, with the intention of eliminating undesirable conduct. Zero-tolerance policies forbid persons in positions of authority from exercising discretion or changing punishments to fit the circumstances subjectively; they are required to impose a pre-determined punishment regardless of individual culpability, extenuating circumstances, or history."
By having a "zero tolerance" policy without clearly stating the consequence and allowing teachers to decide on the punishment, I believe that ISK has completely missed the point and shows that it's incapable of implementing a school policy.
What do you think about this policy? Leave your comments.
Take a poll.
online poll by Opinion Stage
7 comments:
Dear Lucy, you said that you believe ISK has missed the point. I disagree. I believe they left it out so they can decide on the punishment base on whether or not they like your child. Ever since you started your blogging, I talk to my children more about school and they tell me some teachers are not treating all the students fairly. I hope someone from school is reading your blog and will fix the problem you mentioned. I find your blog very useful so please don't stop.
Anonymous, I like how you think and I'm glad that you've found my blogs useful. I can assure you that people at ISK are reading, but I'm not holding my breath for changes to be made.
I must admit that when I started, my intention was to blog the bad with the good because I know that no school is perfect. But you know, I'm really struggling to find something good to blog about. Perhaps I'm so immersed in all these issues that I cannot see clearly anymore. Can you or anyone else help me with a topic?
I agree, the students are not treated in the same way. The punishments are based on the opinion about you. If they think you did something wrong in the past they will assume you are guilty next time without properly explaining the situation. I have also observed some differences in how the boys and girls are treated. When the girl complained about the boy bullying her she was ignored. It was supposed to be only foolery.
As a parent I am also for a kind of discussion about punishment (at school, at home).
I would appreciate to get to know, what kind of advanced training the school offers for the staff?
As I can observe, problems are solved more in the old fashioned way at school.
Couldn't we all get an offer for contemporary trainings? Kind of parent's school? I can here kids talking like -I am on lock down for this and that-
what does not sound to me as a logical consequence from the parent's side.
Get this! My grade 5 daughter came home today and said that her classroom teacher told the class that bullying can result in expulsion. However, he didn't specify what type of bullying so we assume that because it's a zero tolerance policy, that this included any form of bullying. It's just getting from bad to worse. I can personally say that if my child was expelled, and with a policy so vague as it is now, ISK will need some very good lawyers to save them!
Anonymous 12:17, I agree with you that everything is based on how the teachers and administrators perceives you. If you show strong support for the school, they will treat you nicely but if you question their methods, they will turn on you like a pack of wolves. It's like this from the top to bottom. And we wonder why our children behave the way they do ie. bully other children. It's because they see it among the people that are supposed to be their role models, the teachers and their parents.
Anonymous 1:38, You have my vote for advanced and contemporary training. But wouldn't this cost money and slow the construction of the new building that's meant to attract other unsuspecting parents? And by the way, it's yours and my money that they're using and our kids may not even get to experience it. Meanwhile, we continue raising more funds through PTA events to help ISK deliver sub standard services and get treated like criminals under lock down.
Post a Comment