Abuse in schools -Part 1

Abuse in schools-Part 1 I wrote recently about the issue of corporal punishment in our schools here in the Caribbean. I am aware that this is no longer a direct issue in many parts of the world. However, mistreatment of our young people in schools is not only in the form of corporal punishment. Because corporal punishment is outlawed in some school systems does not mean that we do not have to still pay attention to other ways in which our young people are mistreated in schools. There are still parents and teachers who believe that the only way to motivate students to learn is by threat of some form of punishment, either immediately or later in life or by instilling fear.

Some of the types of abuse that our children are being constantly subjected to in schools include:

Verbal abuse: insults, put-downs, or name-calling. We tend to brush these off as insignificant partly because the effects of these are not so obvious or instant. But each of us could think back to how badly we felt to be called a derogatory name or to be insulted or put-down.

Isolation/seclusion: We teach our children from early on not to play with a friend when we are not pleased with him. Teachers and parents use the practice of ignoring or isolating a child when he most needs attention and someone to help him through a bad time. “Time out” is convenient for adults when they are too busy or preoccupied to figure out how to really help the child through the emotional distress that is causing the disruptive or inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour at the moment.

Invalidation: Students receive subtle and not so subtle messages about their self-worth and academic potential from the school environment. Minority students are typically discouraged from having and pursuing big goals academically. Females are still not as encouraged as males to enter fields that involve Math and Science.

Because of constant threats , children are often afraid to report abuse or are very reluctant to talk about it. Some of the signs to look for in your child that the classroom is abusive or threatening are : regular stomach and head aches, unwillingness to go to school (they can come up with lots of excuses), child becomes withdrawn or shut-down, tension ,anxiety, aggression , lack of concentration, school performance drops, daydreaming, unwillingness to talk about events in school or teachers, sleep disturbances ( bad dreams, sleepwalking, bedwetting).

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic