Loading...
The Wingham Advance Times, 1995-04-12, Page 11WEDNESDAY APIIA 1& 1995 Zero tolerance Change in morals; value education within schools has a new direction By SHELLEY JONES Special to the Advance -Times A typical day at juvenile court in Goderich, Ontario is packed, with standing room only. It would seem that many of our youths are lacking in community-based values, with violence and crime statistics that have risen steadily over the years. Popular opinion is that our schools are to blame. Many would believe that educators do not, or cannot discipline our children, and the product of elementary educa- tion is a student lacking in basic morals. During a recent school trip with my daughter and her class, I too was appalled by the lack -of respect which was displayed by many chil- dren from other schools. Swearing, disregard for the ski safety rules, and rude remarks aimed at ski in- structors, parents, or anyone in au- thority, left me speechless. Upon speaking with others in the community, I discovered that many share the view that kids of today are not being taught morals or basic values. It is easy to throw the blame at the schools. But where does this responsibility lie? Is it our schools, or the parents who should be teach- ing the fundamentals of, "please", and "thank you", "I'm very sorry", "Yes Sir", and "No Sir", or should this be a shared responsibility? Morals teaching, in my day, which was not all that long ago, was limited to a daily recital of The Lord's Prayer, and to a swift slap on the hand with the traditional leather-bound strap -for misconduct. It was painful, yes, but it brought about immediate order in the class- room. To the boys who threw paper airplanes around the class during a test - Smack, Smack! For sassing the teacher - another Smack! For bullying and beating the nerd of the class - Smack! This -was a highly effective meth- od of showing kids just who exact- ly was in charge, and who should be respected. This same teaching method, albeit with a wooden spoon or a flyswatter, was the ac- cepted method of instilling morals and values in children at home. Child specialists have concluded however, and I tend to, agree, that this method of teaching merely shows kids that if they are older, bigger, or, carry a leather strap (or knife) then they are in control, hold all the power and that no one will mess with them! Research has shown that this method of disci- pline shapes children to be either bullies/control freaks, or cowering dormice - neither of them is an at- tractive feature. What then is the alternative, and what exactly are kids being taught today? Mrs. Marie Parsons, the principal at Wingham Public School, has gladly offered some in- sight as to the content of Morals/ Values Education. Morals and values are a big em- phasis in the 'public school system. The reason is that it .is non- denominational. It is a life skill which is more recognizable today. Everyone needs to learn them and develop a personal set of values. Probably, the reason you see more of this teaching, is that it is a direct result of the breakdown, in morals and values in society today." Discussion, games, and role playing are used to teach children how to behave in small group set- tings from Kindergarten through Grade 8. Self-esteem, morals and values are instilled in the kids from day one. In Grade 2, for instance the focus is on friends and friend- ships. In Grade 6, "Values, Influ- ences and Peers", (VIP) a program which is sponsored by The Lions Club International, has been in place for' several years. Police help to deliver this program. They dis- cuss drugs, youth and the law, au- thority and authority figures, and consequences of crime. On-going emphasis off these programs contin- ue through -out the year. "Quest" is the extension of this program which continues throughout Grade 7 and Grade 8. In Wingham, there is a safe - school committee of staff, and par- ent support group. They teach par- ent education and professional de- velopment, parenting skills, behaviour, etc. There is a lot of cur- riculum which deals with violence and child self-esteem. Several re- sources are available for the teach- er's use including, "Esteem Build- lim.a4loheitomandiahe odhcativat Titi onecad II ow oge Icartii al me eit luett mit laii# Prioe a 40 I& he irkie lifis Thimemfila os N+ all did,te Kick etre Audit we Paid me het etre Noe (4'tSl{ SAi teau bi I antog t{AM ice cit ere, net Beco448411:8&104 Poster in the halls at Wingham Public School ers" by Dr. Michele Borba. Discipline depends on the severi- ty of the misdemeanor. Warnings, detentions, extra work, suspen- sions, a time-out for the younger children, neer mediation, calling the parent, and restricting privileg- es are used today. The most impor- tant thing is to fit the consequence to the misbehaviour. Behaviour • has changed in children in today's society, there's no doubt about that. It reflects what kids are watching on television, and what they see modelled by adults, their parents, teadhers;" etc. In'"triatiy'haiiiees, it can be positive, however there is also the negative effect of disre- spect which kids see. Parents at home need to work with the school. If the parents are criticizing the school or "teacher bashing", then it is very difficult for the school to help teach the kids develop a sense of respect. A concern of many in the com- munity, is the false assumption that religion is no longer taught within the schools. That is not true. It dif- fers in that we can no longer deal only with Christian based religion. We tend to still emphasize Chris- tianity. Around Christmas time in particular, there is a lot of teaching around the birth of Christ. But, we also try to teach kids about the oth- er world religions. In this way, peo- ple of diverse backgrounds can learn and grow together. We do have some other religions in our school. What people don't realize is that the Ministry is not saying "Don't teach it", they are saying "Talk about all aspects of it". Tracy Potter, a Grade 7 teacher at Wingham Public School, has provided us with a window into a new program which the schools have adapted just this year. Peer Mediation was taught to .many Hu- ron County teachers at a seminar 'last fall. Teachers in turn, are teach- ing the students the technique. "In this,program, students are given the opportunity to play an active role in settling their own disputes without teachers simply dishing out conse- quences. If there is a conflict, or ongoing problem between students then a teacher would act as a medi- ator in attempt for the students to come to some agreement. Rules 'Are set out for the students. Rules are set out for the student, for example, tell the truth, listen to what your op- ponent is telling you, etc. The trick here is for one studentto listen while the other one talks. The one listening is to repeat this back to the other, then vice versa. This technique usually gets' to the toed cause of the problem. Itis a form of teaching kids effective anger man- agement, how to communicate, how to resolve problems and pre- vent future problems. Peacemakers is focused in Grade 7. Students go by choice onto the primary yard during recess to assist in "keeping the peace". They model good behaviour, and provide a sense of security for all students. Primary kids love having the older students there. Grade 7 students are also enjoying this responsibility. This has made an enormous differ- M. WM 4 . V N1E 1 E$ Budding scientists...The top science projects at Wingham Public School were (front) Jennifer Pike and Deborah Pike with their project 'Let's Get Flexible;' Janet Lisle with 'The Rotting Project;' and Paul Clugston with 'Soap;' (Back) Marianne Pike and Melanie Carter with 'Stomach Acid; and Steve Carter and Trevor Hickey with 'Flexible Hockey Sticks.' ence on the play yard. Values in education is also high- ly emphasized at Clinton Public School. Rick Graham, the principal of the school has suggested that kids today are better informed about their rights and responsibili- ties. Teachers are faced with the challenge of assisting kids to take on more responsibility, and to be inure independent. In our, day the teachers word was law. You cid what you were told, and that was that. Today there is more skills teaching, how to plan and be orga- ' fiiied'and haw tri piobldni s814d." ' In this school they also have a VIP program for Grade 6 students, and Quest for Grade 7 and Grade 8. In the lower grades, they provide a program called Marshmallow. This is a series of opening ,exercises where a story is told to the kids, then a discussion about it follows. The story has a value base. On an informal basis, values are instilled in disciplinary interven- tion. The kids learn what is right and wrong. We are saying to them, "Here's what you did, what do you think about it now, and how would you do it differently if you were faced with the same situation again?" As for the motive behind the change in discipline tactics is that violence is not appropriate in any area. We see this now. I wish that we could see more of this in ar- eas such as sports. It is very con- fusing for kids to see the violent play in hockey and football, yet we are preaching against it! Kids behaviour today,is very different from our day, in that the limits at both ends have been ex- tended. The positive side of this is that there is more involvement in school activities , and achieve- ments. There is a whole lot more opportunity for kids to do good things, And more recognition given for doing them. The other negative side that we see is that there is also more violence and aggression seen now. My opinions about the rea- sons behind this are that kids are seeing that there is no long term consequences for youths. We have good laws in place, but they aren't strict ehough. Also, we see far, more dysfunctional families than we used to. Years ago, kids had mbre stability. I'm not saying that this is the fault of the single parent, I'm simply saying that it makes a difference if there is more than one parent there to make the kids tow the line. It's also easier if the parent has someone else to share their con- cerns with. I think the most important mes- sage we can leave parents with to- day, is don't just leave it to the schools. If they have a church affil- iation, go with that. Get to know what's going on at the school with these programs and work with the teachers! So, there you have it. There ap- pears to be far more values educa- tion in the schools than ever before. It would seem that the majority of us have been misinformed. Perhaps we should give the teachers a help- ing hand in raising respectful. law abiding citizens. EWPS winners...Top honors in the science fair held at East Wawanosh Public School last week were Danielle Thompson and Colleen Van Camp, with 'The Bunny Business;' Sjaan Gerth, with 'Treated Kindly;' and Melina Hussey and Holly Stein, with 'Majic or Medicine.' Runners-up in Grade 7 were Tim Robinson and Jim McCracken. Local scientists off to Yukon Two Wingham area elementary school students are among the top three from Huron County schools to advance to the Canada -wide sci- ence fair competition being held in Whitehorse, Yukon, May 13 to 21. Sjaan Gerth of East Wawanosh Public School in Belgrave was first in the Grade 8 biological sci- ence category with his project, Treated Kindly.' Gerth was first in the school science fair. Janet Lisle of Wingham Public School was third in the Grade 8 bi- ological science category with her project entitled, 'The Rotting Pro- ject.' Lisle was first in the school science fair held March 29. Over 60 projects were on dis- play at the regional science fair last week at the Knights of Colum- bus Hall in Goderich. The science fair was open to the top sciince projects from elementary schools in the Huron County Public School board and the Huron -Perth Roman Catholic Separate School board. There were' also projects from Grade 9 and Grade 12 stu- dents. Paul Clugston, a Grade 7 stu- dent at ..Wingham Public School was in the top three of the physical science category with his project on 'Soap.' WPS Grade 8 students Steve Carter annd Jeremy Carter fin- ished in the top three of the physi- cal science' category with their project, 'Flexible Hockey Sticks.' Also representing Wingham Public School were Jennifer Pike and Deborah Pike with their pro- ject, 'Let's Get Flexible,' and Mari - ane Pike and Melanie Carter with their project, 'Stomach Acid.' East Wawanosh Public School was also represented by Danielle Thompson and Colleen Van Camp, who were first in the Grade 7 division at the school science fair, held March 28; Melina Hus- sey and Holly Stein, who were runners-up in the school's Grade 8 competition with their project, 'Magic or Medicine;' and Tim Robinson and Jim McCracken, who were runners-up in the Grade 7 category. Peer mediators.mTurnberry Public School now has a dozen Grade 7 and 8 Stu- dents who other students can turn too in a time of crisis on the playground during recess. The peer meditors were Introduced to the school Monday morning.- They are (front) Courtney Zinn, Jennifer Hall, Janine Wright, Nicole Beer, and Lisa Morrison; (back) principal Phil Parsons, D'Arcy McGlynn, Jeff Moffat, Jeff Martin, Brad Wright, Craig F=air, Chris Greig, Mike McDonald and co-ordinator Howard Morton.