I was hit this morning with the tragic news of yet another incident of teen violence in one of our schools in the Greater Toronto Area. According to the news report a 17-year-old Thomas L. Kennedy Secondary School student is facing charges after another student was stabbed on Monday in the hallway of the school. I heard the news while I was returning home from dropping my teenage son at school.
As the parent of two teens in high school, I am always shocked each time I hear news reports about violence in schools across the Greater Toronto Area. Teen violence in schools has a devastating impact on our entire community. We must continue to work assiduously to stop teen violence. I do not profess to have the answers for addressing all the issues relating to teen violence in our schools. However, I can share some my experiences that I have with my teens.
Our teens need to be encouraged to be the best they can be. This morning as I was driving my son to school I asked him, “What is the absolutely one thing he loved the most about me as his dad?” My son responded by saying he absolutely love how I am always encouraging him and his sister to be the best they can be. Offering our teens positive words of encouragement does not cost us anything other than spoken words. If we are going to truly address teen violence across the Greater Toronto Area we will need to encourage teens to be the best they can be.
Encouraging teens to be the best they can be also involves encouraging dialogue and conversations. My follow up question to my son this morning was “What is the absolutely one thing he really dislike about me as his dad?” Brace yourself for this one. He told me that he absolutely hate some my food because sometimes I make really bad food. He gave me the example of this morning when I made Quaker Natural Wheat Bran Muffins for breakfast. He was very confident that I would take his comments about my food in a light-hearted his way. However, the key point is that teens need to be comfortable and confident in order to engage their parents and peers in dialogue and conversations.
In closing, I firmly believe two key ingredients for addressing teen violence in schools across the Greater Toronto Area are (1) encourage teens to be the best they can be and (2) encourage them to be comfortable and confident to engage their parents and peers in conversations.
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
There Can Be No Winners
The family of the two brothers charged in the stabbing incident on June 17th at St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga is delighted that the boys were granted bail today. Violence in our schools hurts not just the perpetrators and victims but the entire school body, the community, families and friends. In these situations there can be no winners. As a society we must categorically denounced violence in schools across the Greater Toronto Area.
Since the incident at the school I have had the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time with the parents of the two brothers. During this time I have seen their emotional turmoil. I have seen their tears as they struggle internally, both individually and collectively, searching for answers, understanding and compassion.
The boys' parents are people whom I admire and respect. I think they are best neighbours in the world. Both are hard working. Both want nothing but the best for thier children. Both gentle and kind. They are quick to shovel the snow from my driveway in the winter. In 2007, I was honoured when the mother of two brothers lend a helping hand to care for my ailing mother.
Today in court I had the opportunity of meeting the parents of two of the boys hurt during the incident at the school. I also observed their emotional turmoil. Unequivocally, violence in our schools rips us apart individually and collectively as community. The pshyscological, emotional and physical scars are deep and enormously painful. Today when I held the parents of two of the boys injured in the incident I felt every ounce of their pain.
I am absolutely confident that this not an experience I would want for myself or my wife. No parent, family, friend or community should have to endure pain caused by violence in our schools. It is abundantly clear in my mind that there can be no winners when violence enters the schools in our communities. It is for this reason that we have to be resolute in our campaign to stem the tide of teen violence that has entered schools across the Greater Toronto Area.
Since the incident at the school I have had the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time with the parents of the two brothers. During this time I have seen their emotional turmoil. I have seen their tears as they struggle internally, both individually and collectively, searching for answers, understanding and compassion.
The boys' parents are people whom I admire and respect. I think they are best neighbours in the world. Both are hard working. Both want nothing but the best for thier children. Both gentle and kind. They are quick to shovel the snow from my driveway in the winter. In 2007, I was honoured when the mother of two brothers lend a helping hand to care for my ailing mother.
Today in court I had the opportunity of meeting the parents of two of the boys hurt during the incident at the school. I also observed their emotional turmoil. Unequivocally, violence in our schools rips us apart individually and collectively as community. The pshyscological, emotional and physical scars are deep and enormously painful. Today when I held the parents of two of the boys injured in the incident I felt every ounce of their pain.
I am absolutely confident that this not an experience I would want for myself or my wife. No parent, family, friend or community should have to endure pain caused by violence in our schools. It is abundantly clear in my mind that there can be no winners when violence enters the schools in our communities. It is for this reason that we have to be resolute in our campaign to stem the tide of teen violence that has entered schools across the Greater Toronto Area.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
What Went Wrong At St. Joseph
According to the Mississauga News, the police are now considering charging one of the teens stabbed in the incident at St. Joseph Catholic School. On Monday, June 22, 2009 the two teen brothers charged in the stabbing incident appeared before the Brampton Court. Their bail hearing is set for July 10, 2009. While I welcome the news that the police is reviewing the video http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid8724876001?bctid=26655773001 from CityNews TV in Toronto, I am deeply hurt and unhappy.
I am quite frankly outraged by the video and the incident last Wednesday. Unfortunately, the news media has not given the incident at St. Joseph the comprehensive attention that it deserve. We have to turn the spotlight on the saga at St. Joseph if we are going to root out teen violence. The more I think about the fiasco at the school I cannot help but ask what went wrong? I am of the view that the principal, the school board and law enforcement should be held accountable to answer a number of fundamental questions. When we take into consideration the fight seen in the video and the stabbing incident it is very obvious that there must be some kind of underlying issues. Unfortunately the public will only learn about the underlying issues after the students and their family lives have been scarred permanently.
Undoubtedly there were underlying issues. What were those issues? What measures were put in place by the school, the school board and other authorities to mitigate both incidents that is the fight last Monday and the stabbing last Wednesday? With respect to the fight was the school and school board aware of the fight involving students from St. Joseph? If so, what disciplinary measures were taken? Were parents notified? If the school and the board was aware of the fight and disciplinary action taken would could we have averted the stabbing incident? If the fight occurred just outside of the boundaries of the school, what measures are in place for such incidents involving students? Where those measures taken?
The million dollar question in this entire saga is why would our children participate in such a vicious fight last Monday, record it on a video and see absolutely no need to notify the school administrators or their parents? Where are the students seen in the video, where are their parents? Is the culture of not snitching informally institutionalised in the school? The community need answers for what went wrong at St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School.
I am quite frankly outraged by the video and the incident last Wednesday. Unfortunately, the news media has not given the incident at St. Joseph the comprehensive attention that it deserve. We have to turn the spotlight on the saga at St. Joseph if we are going to root out teen violence. The more I think about the fiasco at the school I cannot help but ask what went wrong? I am of the view that the principal, the school board and law enforcement should be held accountable to answer a number of fundamental questions. When we take into consideration the fight seen in the video and the stabbing incident it is very obvious that there must be some kind of underlying issues. Unfortunately the public will only learn about the underlying issues after the students and their family lives have been scarred permanently.
Undoubtedly there were underlying issues. What were those issues? What measures were put in place by the school, the school board and other authorities to mitigate both incidents that is the fight last Monday and the stabbing last Wednesday? With respect to the fight was the school and school board aware of the fight involving students from St. Joseph? If so, what disciplinary measures were taken? Were parents notified? If the school and the board was aware of the fight and disciplinary action taken would could we have averted the stabbing incident? If the fight occurred just outside of the boundaries of the school, what measures are in place for such incidents involving students? Where those measures taken?
The million dollar question in this entire saga is why would our children participate in such a vicious fight last Monday, record it on a video and see absolutely no need to notify the school administrators or their parents? Where are the students seen in the video, where are their parents? Is the culture of not snitching informally institutionalised in the school? The community need answers for what went wrong at St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School.
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