The Ontario government, school boards and teaching unions are wrangling over class sizes and pay increases, but the most important issue in the province’s schools is getting the least public attention.
Discipline and respect in our schools have been replaced with harassment and violence, directed at teachers. According to media reports and a major academic study, teachers are being physically assaulted, educational assistants have to wear protective gear to fend off violent students, and kindergarten classrooms are being evacuated because of students throwing temper tantrums.
A study by two University of Ottawa professors surveyed 1,688 Ontario elementary teachers. It found an alarming increase in violence, with 54 per cent of the teachers experiencing one or more violent acts in the 2017-18 school year. That’s up from only seven per cent in a similar 2005 study. Harassment is out of control, too. Insults, put-downs and obscene gestures by students were reported by 72 per cent of the teachers. And get this — 41 per cent experienced the same kind of behaviour from a parent.
This is a complex, multi-layered problem — one that potentially affects every teacher, student and parent. It is being discussed during the current labour negotiations, but it’s the wrong place to create real action. In the last teaching contract, the Liberal government created a small, two-year pot of money to help get teachers to sign a contract. Restoring that fund is a possible outcome of negotiations, but far more needs to be done.
Reducing the problem substantially will involve significant money, a high level of co-operation between the unions and the government and the willingness to tackle an extremely sensitive situation.
The easiest part ought to be the co-operation. No group of employees should fear intimidation and violence on a daily basis. There is a clear obligation for school boards to tackle this as a workplace issue, but they will need substantial support from the provincial government.
The problems in the schools are attributed, in significant part, to the number of students with emotional, psychological or learning issues. They need more help under the broad program called special education.
The Ontario government already spends $3.1 billion on special education, about 10 per cent of its education budget. It is a lot of money, but it is spread thin, being used to help 360,450 students, or 17.7 per cent of the student population.
Education for special needs students has been underfunded in Ontario for decades. The provincial government has increased spending by three per cent this year. In addition to that $90.6 million, the province will spend $40 million for more mental health supports in schools. It’s a modest first step.
Reducing violence and harassment will require an honest assessment of the factors contributing to it. Over the last decade, it has become the norm to integrate students with complex special needs into regular classrooms. Some boards still offer small, separate classes with more individual help, but that’s not what most parents demand.
Part of the problem of violence and harassment is attributable to the challenge of dealing with students who have a difficult time coping because of complex needs. The head of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation has made that connection and it’s one that teachers raise anecdotally.
It’s time for all the players in public education to make a hard-nosed assessment of which students are suitable for integration into regular classes and which would benefit more from separate, more intensive assistance. Students who can’t manage in a regular classroom even with a full-time educational assistant should be given a different type of help.
That will be a tough message for parents to receive and a difficult one for the provincial government to deliver. Many parents would oppose removing their children from regular classes, even if it’s for the greater good. The government is still smarting from the firestorm created by changes in autism funding.
That’s where the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario could show the way. The union has been campaigning strongly for a reduction in workplace violence. Educators are best placed to explain why change is needed.
The violence and harassment problem is certainly not entirely due to children with special needs. There seems to be a general disrespect for authority in schools, and judging by the actions of some parents, it starts at home.
Big changes are required to return our schools to being civil, positive places of learning. Let’s start by not regarding the solution as a bargaining chip in contract talks. It’s too important for that.
Randall Denley is an Ottawa political commentator and former Ontario PC candidate.
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/violence-against-ontario-elementary-teachers
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