The Citizen, 2006-06-01, Page 24SOMETHING DilPeREnt
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PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2006.
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
A recent survey of 11,000
students. in two counties, between
Grades 6-12, has alerted
administrators of the-Avon ,Maitland
and Huron-Perth Catholic district
school boards that a significant
percentage of victims of bullying
would seek solace from a trusted
member of school staff, if only they
believed such a staff person existed.
It also revealed that between 25-
30 per cent of students "have little or
no concern" about the bullying of
their peers, something Catholic
board superintendent Dan Parr
called "somewhat disconcerting."
And while Avon Maitland chair
Meg Westley was "reassured" to
learn that ethnic background and
perct ..ed sexual orientation are not
oftei, used as excuses for bullying in
Huron and Perth schools, she
expressed disappointment the
survey didn't seek out insight into
what other excuses bullies employ —
such as perceived athletic ability or
body type.
Overall, however, the results of
the survey, released last week,
inspired positive comments from
both school boards.
"My first reaction was just a sigh
of relief," explained Avon Maitland
vice chair Jenny Versteeg of North
Perth, at a news conference Tuesday,
May 23 at the shared library of
Stratford Northwestern Secondary
School and St. Michael Catholic
Secondary School,
"As a trustee, you get some calls
(about bullying) and you wonder
how much of a problem really is
this," Versteeg explained. "But when
you see the results from this survey,
you think, 'it's a good place we live
in'."
The survey was conducted over a
one7week -time frame in February of
This year, with each school setting
• aside one day to administer the
questionnaire to all eligible students.
Over 80 per cent of students in
those grades . were eventually
surveyed, with a roughly even split
between males and females.
For most of the approximately 80
responses, students were presented
with a statement and given three
options — following either an
"agree/neither agree nor
disagree/disagree" pattern, or
something similar. Just over eight
per cent of elementary students and
6.5 per cent of secondary students
don't feel safe 'at school or on the
way to and from, school.
"That's a small number but. .. it's
/ still a concern to us.- said Avon
Maitland system principal Mike
Ash .
"(Students) don't go to school to
be afraid. They go to school to learn.
And unfortunately, that's not always
the case," said Perth-Middlesex
MPP John Wilkinson, who attended
- the news conference to reiterate a
recent proVincial anti-bullying
funding initiative, including
$115,500 for schools in his riding.
Ash noted the survey highlighted
a clear distinction between the trip
to school, when students are less
' likely to feel threatened, and the
sometimes more fearful trip home.
"That speaks to something brewing
over the day and spilling out after
school finishes," the Avon Maitland
administrator said. In general,
however, "bullying happens most
often when there is less structure
and supervision."
Later on May, 23, Ash told Avon
Maitland trustees at their regular
board meeting, "that's kind of a red
flag for us to look at how we
structure supervision, and how we
supervise our secondary schools."
Parr said administrators were
surprised at the low prevalence of
so-called "cyberbullying," despite
the fact it's "an issue that educators
are paying a great deal of attention
to."
The Catholic board•
superintendent suggested the low
results coulci_be due to a lack of
awareness among students about
exactly what constitutes cyber-
bullying — which generally involves
using the internet to harass,
embarrass, or spread
misinformation.
Another "red flag," however, was
raised by questions about how
students would respond if they
became victims of bullying. Over 60
per cent would talk to a peer, but just
over 40 per cent of elementary
students and less than 30 per cent of
secondary students would approach
a staff member at the school.
Ash's points were driven home at
the May 23 news conference by-
newly-appointed St. Michael acting
vice principal Chris Grace, the six-
foot-eight-inch son of a teaching
family who grew up the victim of
bullies in the Thunder Bay Catholic
system.
"I always stood out in the crowd,
and maybe that's part of the reason
for being bullied by certain groups,"
he told reporters after the news
conference. "I did have friends who
stuck up for me; but when the
(bullying) group got so big, they
wouldn't hang around."
Until recently a guidance
counsellor at St. Anne's Catholic
high school in.Clinton, and now in
his St. Michael posting, Grace
strives to establish a "level of
confidence with kids" by relating his
own experiences. "Maybe they don't
believe me (about being bullied) but
gradually kids get to know that's
where I'm coming from."
In the survey, questions about a
series of possible anti-bullying
programs met generally with
lukewarm response perhaps
pointing to a level of resignation that
the problem will always be present.
But the most popular among those
possible programs (ahead of
security cameras, which have
actually been- proven ineffective in
recent research) were increased staff
supervision and "having a trusted
staff member to contact." -
Grace agreed that must be a
priority. But it will take much effort.
"Trying to develop the level of
comfort where students will
approach • someone of authority in
the school is really what's going to
have a lasting effect. And that's not
easy," he said. "Because with
teenagers, their peer group is so
important when it, comes to dealing
with this stuff.
"The whole idea of respect needs
to be embedded in our schools. And
that's a culture thing."
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School boards study
bullying survey results