A couple of teachers have emailed me recently to say that their school has abandoned its 'zero tolerance' approach to drug use, as their Heads are not prepared to face up to the number of expulsions it would require.
My view is that it's the usual 'Head in the sand' situation. Do nothing and you encourage it, expel a few and you show that you mean business. Kids are not slow to realise this.
What's your school's approach? Action or acceptance?
11 comments:
Sorry Frank, I've no idea.
I've started to hide as much as possible during the school day !
Dealing on the premises - instant expulsion, Police called. Dealing one inch outside the gates but in full view of staff and passers-by - no interest whatever. Someone else's problem.
The SMTs appear to be adopting the Charlie Brown approach again:
"No problem is too big or too difficult that it cannot be run away from."
Here is a quote from a 1930s American gangster who caught his girlfriend sniffing coke:
"I belted it out of her hands and then I belted her."
This individual was callous enough later on to make money out of the drug business himself but his reaction above was based on what he knew these substances could do.
Teaching staff who care about all the youngsters in their care should punish the culprits as harshly as they can and band together to agitate for even harsher penalties, to be imposed by the courts wherever the offence is committed.
It's easy for me to say because I don't have to deal with the problem but appeasement never works.
Well, is it not beyond the ken of those schools to video the culprits and pass it on to the police? Or would that require too much initiative?!
it would almost certainly be an infringement of their human rights, wally - possibly would also lead to allegations that some sort of sexual motive was involved (videoing children? the very idea)
To answer Mr. Chalk's question: Action.
Ok, so we empty the schools of drug offenders. Then what?
I caught a boy with herbal cqannabis in my classroom - SMT gave him a 1 day exclusion. Unbelievable.
Many children because they are children do not have the brains of an adult and do not think or understand as adults. Pushing them between pillar and post is no good but it would be nice if when spotted involved with drugs that they could be swept off their feet and dragged off to the nearest mental hospital and shown the results of misuse or even locked in with the inmates for half a day might just educate their child's view of the world up to the standard of an adult who has been so lucky to have experience and hindsight to control their behaviour. After all you are teachers, how about trying to use embarrassment and making them aware of their evil actions by inviting victims to come into the school to rant some rage at them.
Whenever I think of a facetious solution to any of society's ills,I find that New Labour have adopted it as policy the following week,so I've given up making comments.
18:24, isn't that the parents evening?
Our SMT like to reason with the kids....because they are reasonable of course. Being verbally abusive, aggressive, confrontational, bullying,drunk, drugged, high on E numbers, carrying weapons in some cases are all perfectly normal and reasonable behaviour for teenagers. Its the teachers who just aren't reasonable because they don't want to give these kids another chance, chance, chance, chance, chance, chance, chance, chance, chance, chance, chance, chance. SMT are gutless they could look like they've lost control which of course they already have so why would it matter.
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