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Feature Article April 10

Feature Article April 10, 2002

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Commentary Education issues polarize the community: Are you for us or against us?by Inie PlateniusIn trying to puzzle out from many angles what I saw and heard at the meeting at Prince Charles Public school last week (see Verona column), Im always led back to the same core: too many people are thinking in terms of for us or against us.Nothing is more likely to set emotions churning than how people perceive the treatment of their kids. Protecting their young is a parents primal directive, and teaching them to do whats right is the next. Thats a pretty straightforward proposition while you have them in your sight, because youre the one doing the protecting, and also the one meting out the consequences for their actions. But as soon as theyre in someone elses charge, things get more complicated. When your kid is punished at school for something you didnt see happen, then you have at the very least, three perspectives; that of: a) the child; b) the witnesses; c) the person who has to deliver the consequences often the principal. When these points of view dont jibe, its hard to find a way through the jumble. Some of the parents at the Prince Charles meeting clearly felt that their children were not being fairly treated by the school, and some of them forcefully stated their positions in terms that reduced argument to Youre either for us or against us. When other parents tried to speak in support of the school, saying their children had also had discipline problems, but that they, the parents, had supported the school in its approach, they were ridiculed and challenged by some of the unhappy ones. In that climate, I would have found it very intimidating as a parent to speak out in any conciliatory way. I would have felt forced by some of the unhappy parents to choose sides in an issue that is complicated and delicate, and where choosing sides may not be of much help at all. Now this is where another group of for us or against us comes into play -- the school system. I worked in and around schools for over 20 years, and if I know anything, I know that nearly everyone that has anything to do with schools wants the same thing: a safe and comfortable place for kids to do well in. How that place can be created is subject to debate, both in and out of the system, and in the last few years, the provincial climate of that debate has polarized my former colleagues to a place that is almost impossible to be let into. They feel under siege. Teachers and administrators are spending so much time looking over their shoulders to see whos gunning for them, that its hard to imagine how they ever can look straight ahead anymore. I used to have heated, friendly, and comfortable debates with teachers about everything from recess supervision policy to the teaching of phonics. Now, if I question any school policy or action, I feel that am immediately put on the other side the against us side. I am not referring here specifically to Prince Charles School, but to many, many people I talk to and deal with in schools in Ontario. And if I feel an outsider and unwelcome in the debate, how must people without the benefit of my many happy years in schools be feeling? I find it increasingly difficult to get news from schools, let alone to debate an issue. Another factor comes into play here. A lot of people (in and out of schools) take the position that difficult issues should not be brought before the public, because the debate will only make matters worse, and that the act of writing about them makes the writer against us. Writing about difficult issues certainly doesnt always make things more comfortable, and certainly not everything is always everyone elses business. But there are times when the suppression of issues is harmful to the whole community. Once the voice of theyre against us is heard be it from religious groups, governments, teachers, or parents, it is impossible for people of good will and heart to get involved. As moderator of the Prince Charles meeting, Director OConnor tried hard to keep the for us or against us tone from escalating, and by and large, he did a good job of it. I hope that both those parents who spoke there and the school can get on with the business of creating a safe and comfortable place for their kids to do well in. And I hope that someone will tell me about it.

With the participation of the Government of Canada