Students in fear and NOT listened to!
A perfect storm of deaf ideologues in the public school system!
Has anyone ever bothered to go and ask the kids in school what their aspirations, fears and concerns are about school? And are politicians, academics, trustees, and administrators really listening to them?
What do I mean by asking these questions? School boards are always doing surveys.
Let’s take a look at an example of how one student (a bright well spoken teenager) is ignored when she says the police make her feel safe!
On Dec 15, 2022 Steve Paikin hosted a panel discussion on the question - Is violence on the rise in Ontario Schools.
In this discussion a grade 11 student - Tia Ryan Matthias shares her hopes and fears amid the out of control violence of her school (t =0.46);
THE VIOLENCE IS PRETTY
CHAOTIC. THERE'S SO MUCH THINGS
HAPPENING, SO MUCH DESTRUCTION
THAT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US
ENCOUNTERS EVERY SINGLE DAY.
THERE'S NOT MUCH WE CAN REALLY
DO ABOUT IT BUT JUST HOPE THAT
IT GOES AWAY OR WE WON'T BE A
PART OF IT OR SEE IT.
Transcript: Is Violence on the Rise in Ontario Schools? | Dec 15, 2022
She is scared and feels helpless (t= 5:.36) . She hopes the violence won’t reach her. Still she just wants to be a part of a community and learn;
WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN DIFFERENCES,
WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE, BUT
WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER AND
IF ONE PERSON SUFFERS, THEN THE
WHOLE ENTIRE SCHOOL SUFFERS. . . .
Steve says, I PRESUME YOU WANT
TO GO TO SCHOOL TO LEARN STUFF.
Tia says, OF COURSE, YES.
Steve says, AND I ALSO PRESUME
THAT IT'S PRETTY HARD TO LEARN
WHEN YOU'RE IN FEAR.
IS THAT ALSO FAIR TO SAY?
Tia says, YEAH. YOU LOSE A LOT
OF MOTIVATION TO DO YOUR WORK.
Tia just wants to learn but she is losing her motivation because of constant fear. She does feel safe when the police are in the school (t= 6:42) ;
Steve says, LET ME ASK YOU ONE
LAST THING.
WOULD YOU FEEL SAFER IF THERE
WAS A POLICE PRESENCE IN YOUR
SCHOOLS ALL THE TIME?
Tia says, YES, ONE HUNDRED PERCENT.
THE POLICE BEING THERE OR BEING
OUTSIDE, JUST MAKING SURE
STUDENTS ARE SAFE, WOULD MAKE
ME FEEL A LOT BETTER THAN JUST
BEING OUTSIDE, PROBABLY TALKING
TO MY FRIENDS THAT SOMETHING
MIGHT HAPPEN AND THERE'S NOTHING
FOR ME TO DO OR NOTHING THAT
I CAN DO.
Tia’s feeling of safety when the police are in her school is politically incorrect and according to Critical Race Theory - ‘verboten!’
Tia is not listened to and dismissed by several panellists (t = 23.41);
CHRIS, DO WE NEED THEM BACK
IN SCHOOL?
Chris asks, POLICE?
Steve says, YEAH.
Text beneath Chris reads, “a. Chris Bruckert. University of Ottawa.”
Chris says, I DON'T THINK POLICE
HAVE ANY PLACE IN OUR SCHOOLS.
ABSOLUTELY. I DON'T THINK POLICE
ARE THE WAY TO RESPOND TO A
SOCIAL PROBLEM. . . .
WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN
IF YOU BRING POLICE INTO SCHOOLS
AND WHO IS GOING TO GET TARGETED.
NO. NO COPS IN SCHOOLS IN
MY OPINION.
Yes, we know that Tia and young people like her feel safer when the police are around. Yet one panelist can’t/won’t hear her politically incorrect words.
Critical Race Theory and BLM are all for defunding the police and banishing them from schools. So Tia and her feelings are not part of their solution.
Another panelist dismisses Tia’s viewpoint (t = 24.39), offering instead his own:
Steve says, ALTHOUGH,
INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH -- TESFAI,
YOU HEARD THE INTERVIEW WITH
TIA BEFORE I CAME OVER HERE.
SHE IS YOUNG BLACK STUDENT.
SHE SAID IT'S TIME FOR COPS BACK
IN SCHOOLS.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT IDEA?
. . .
Tesfai says, YOU'RE GOING TO GET
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES IN ANY
COMMUNITY, RIGHT?
THERE'S GOING TO BE A DIVERSITY
OF PERSPECTIVES.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT SHE BELIEVES. . . .
I WILL SAY FROM MY OWN
EXPERIENCE WORKING IN A SCHOOL
WHERE WE HAD A SCHOOL RESOURCE
OFFICER FOR MANY YEARS, . . . ,
THE BEHAVIOUR THAT
MIGHT BE LOOKED AT AS
INAPPROPRIATE, JUVENILE,
UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR IN ONE
SCHOOL THAT DOESN'T HAVE A COP
AND IN A SCHOOL THAT HAS A COP
BECOMES CRIMINALIZED, RIGHT?
SO THE YOUNG PERSON IS NOT ONLY
SUSPENDED, POTENTIALLY EXPELLED,
BUT THEN THEY'RE ALSO GOING TO
HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE CRIMINAL
JUSTICE SYSTEM, RIGHT?
AND THAT IS HAPPENING
DISPROPORTIONATELY TO BLACK
KIDS, RACIALIZED YOUNG PEOPLE. . . .
Steve says, ALTHOUGH VANCOUVER
HAS DECIDED TO BRING POLICE
BACK INTO SCHOOLS. CAN YOU
UNDERSTAND THAT DECISION?
Tesfai says, I DON'T SEE POLICE
OFFICERS IN SCHOOLS AS A WAY
TO KEEP STUDENTS SAFE.
Diversity is important to Critical Race Theorists but if a person’s opinion isn’t part of the group think - it doesn’t count as much as an expert’s opinion.
Now the panelists have the narrative back on an appropriate Critical Race Theory track - they can just ignore what Tia said about the police presence in her school making her feel safe.
I would invite you to view the panel discussion yourself and check the transcript. There are other instances where the panelist dismiss or talk around parental concerns about the crisis of violence in Ontario schools.
When teenagers feel ignored and unsafe they won’t be able to learn and school officials will lose their trust as well as control over the school.
I think we need to talk to more students about the problem of violence in schools while checking our ideological preconceptions and listen carefully to what they have to say.