Schools across Canada have all one thing in common; violent incidents which are not often brought up, nor discussed globally. Harassment, threats, physical assault and aggression towards students and teachers is a real-life problem. In this essay, I will discuss the great importance of raising awareness when discussing the topic of violence within schools. Many tend to push things under the rug and to not discuss important topics as such. However, the in-school violence on a daily basis is one topic which puts everyone at risk; teachers, staff members, security, students, and the parents which go to work hoping that their children are safe in school.
Amongst the many schools across Canada, there are multiple cases in which the parents, and even students within the school are unaware of the violent incidents on a daily basis which occur on school grounds. CBS News reached out to schools across the country to interview parents and students on their outlook on the violence which occurs in schools. CBS News decided to ask them to fill out a survey which would test their knowledge on what goes on in schools when they are at work. The parents of students stated that they were not told about the amount of violent incidents within schools, and they were shocked when told the actual amount of cases. Students were also shocked to find out that 46% of students 16-17 years old were victims of these violent attacks in school. This percentage was not to scare parents and students, but to show how important it is to inform those in school that these incidents are more present than they think. This survey also uncovered that 4 in 10 boys are physically assaulted at school, according to CBS News research. CBS News elaborated on how school boards and governments tend to hide this information from specifically parents, as they do not want to draw too much attention to the school or the violent incidents which occur on school grounds. Parents were appreciative to speak with people from this news broadcast, and to discover information which they were unaware of before. To inform rather than to hide is something much more important, as it will help protect future victims from being threatened in school.
The second reason why violence in schools must be discussed abroad across Canada is not only to students, but to protect teachers as well. Teachers have a very tough role within a school as they are tested of their patience and knowledge on a daily basis. A teacher sets themselves up in a classroom to teach students, unaware of any personal or anger they hold inside from a day-to-day basis. This causes much stress for teachers, being that they are the sole person in the classroom who is responsible for the safety and knowledge of 15-30 students at a time. Violence in schools is one thing which is most harming to teachers as they must not only witness these altercations but are often the same ones to stop the fights, often being also harmed in the process. CBS News discusses how teachers are told to not report all altercations in school in hopes of keeping the real statistics hidden from parents and others outside the school boards. Teachers must risk their lives every day when dealing with the violence in school. in return, they are told to not be truthful, further elevating their personal risks on being harmed on school grounds. Teachers not only deal with physical altercations, but they also are subject to verbal abuse from students. Verbal abuse is one of the many reasons why a teacher may quit their job, as the constant abuse from students can be too much for teachers to handle, affecting their personal lives back at home after a long day of work. Keeping the protection of students and educators in school has not been a priority for the past several years, which therefore, creates a bigger issue when looking at violence in schools overall.
Amongst the many violent incidents which occur in schools across Canada, most of them are between males. This is when Kimmel’s text discussing masculinity is brought into the picture. In order to analyze why males, feel that violence proves their strength in being a “real man”, we can look into Kimmel’s text in which he states that there are various masculinities in the world, proving how this one image of what a man should be does not exist. However, in schools, male students tend to still believe that they must be seen as strong and powerful in order to be considered a real man. Something which almost every male in school fears is being seen as weak. This, therefore, leads them to become bullies or to become violent on school grounds when in confrontation or in an argument with another student. To be a victim and to not be seen as independent and powerful during a fight is something which many males struggle with. According to CBC Canada, nearly half of teen boys are assaulted in high school through physical altercations. Across Canada, multiple violence incidents occur, but are not often spoken about. These incidents, however, put everyone surrounding them at risk of being harmed, or even killed in some brutal cases. Through Kimmel’s multi-masculinities concept which ranges from culture to culture relates to the violence in schools as it shows that males struggle to find their own masculinity and feel as though the tough and rough male in school is the only one which resembles a strong man.
In conclusion, violence in school is a topic which must be widely discussed across the country, raising awareness for parents and students. School is a place where students should feel safe and protected in. Canadian schools should seek safer measures on school grounds in order to prevent these violent altercations from getting out of hand. Although safety measures have been improved in most schools by security, monitors, and cameras, there is plenty of room for improvement. Hopefully, school will become a place where students can feel safe and protected in again, allowing them to focus mainly on their educations and to enjoy the daily activities with other students, instead of living in fear of being the next harmed victim.
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References:
“’I Felt Helpless’: Teachers Call for Support amid ‘Escalating Crisis’ of Classroom Violence | CBC Radio.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 17 Feb. 2019, http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-for-february-17-2019-1.5017616/i-felt-helpless-teachers-call-for-support-amid-escalating-crisis-of-classroom-violence-1.5017623.
McGuire, Jennifer. “Why CBC Started Looking into Violence in Schools | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 9 Nov. 2019, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/school-violence-editors-note-1.5331402.
Kimmel, M., & Bridges, T. (2011). Masculinity. Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets. doi: 10.1093/obo/9780199756384-0033
Fletcher, R. (2019, October 24). Boys in Alberta schools get assaulted, threatened, robbed and slurred more often than rest of Canada | CBC News. Retrieved May 19, 2020, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/school-violence-bullying-alberta-student-survey-1.5331861
Lovers and Fighters | Section 22 