Pubdate: Fri, 26 Jul 2002
Source: Intelligencer, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2002, OSPREY MEDIA GROUP INC.
Contact:  http://www.intelligencer.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2332

SUSPENSIONS IN EARLY GRADES GOING TOO FAR

Editorial - The number of students being expelled from schools in Ontario 
is on the rise due to legislation passed a year ago that makes suspensions 
mandatory for certain infractions.

The Safe Schools Act took effect last September. Statistics from Toronto 
alone show suspensions have increased from 17,371 in the 2000-2001 year to 
24,238 in the 2001-2002 school year. That is a 40 per cent increase.

Reaction has been mixed, with proponents saying the law is working while 
its detractors say it is too heavy-handed and at least one even blames the 
law for causing some students to drop out of school.

The Safe Schools Act makes suspensions mandatory for swearing at teachers 
or being in possession of, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Those are pretty big infractions and it seems to us that students should be 
suspended for those offences.

One alarming fact of the matter however, is that more suspensions are being 
handed out to younger children than in the past. The law covers children 
from kindergarten through high school.

We can understand suspending high school students for swearing at a teacher 
or being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but suspending Grade 3 
and 4 students for swearing at a teacher is simply isolating a child who 
most likely has larger problems.

Dr. Otto Weininger is a psychologist who specializes in youth behaviour.

'Often children hear these words and don't know what they mean, other than 
they know you say them when you're angry,' said Weininger. 'When we expel 
or suspend (children), we are saying to the child, 'You have the personal 
resources to get yourself out of this problem.' I don't think children have 
that capacity. They need adult support,' he said.

It seems unnecessary to treat all children the same, regardless of age, 
when adults know young children mimic adults' behaviour. Instead of 
swearing, children need to be taught how to express their feelings, 
including anger, without becoming physically or verbally abusive. But 
suspending students in the very early grades may be missing an opportunity 
to nip a problem in the bud.
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