Stamford Collegiate teacher Amy Ballett chats with students Aisha Bolus, left,
and Kristi Betson at Stamford Collegiate. (Photo by Mike Dibattista Niagara Falls Review)
Getting tough on bullies
by ALISON LANGLEY- Niagara Falls Review
School boards in Niagara may soon have the power to expel bullies under tough anti-bullying legislation introduced Wednesday by Premier Dalton McGuinty.
The legislation would also prevent school boards from banning student groups like the gay-straight alliances. Officials with the District School Board of Niagara support the proposed law as many of the initiatives listed in the legislation are already in place at the public board.
Stamford Collegiate, for example, has had a Gay-Straight Alliance for the past nine years. Today, it is one of the largest clubs of its kind in southern Ontario.
"Kids know they have peers to go to, teachers to go to, and somewhere they feel they can open up and not be judged," said Aisha Bolus, a Grade 12 student.
The student-led club meets monthly and is open to all students, regardless of their sexual orientation.
"If not for the club, some students might not have anywhere to turn," said 17-year-old Kristi Betson, a Grade 12 student. "If they didn't have this club, they'd probably drop out of school."
And that's why the school board embraces diversity so that all students have the opportunity to learn in a safe and inclusive environment, said Warren Hoshizaki, director of education with the public board.
Several years ago, when the board was in the planning stage of its strategic plan for the future, it consulted with community partners and staff, asking for feedback on what issues are important to them.
"One of the areas they wanted us to focus on was an inclusive school environment," Hoshizaki said.
Now, the board incorporates a variety of age-appropriate anti-bullying programs in the curriculum. The programs address all forms of bullying, including bullying related to race, ancestry, colour, religion and disability.
Fifteen-year-old Kayla DiStefano, a Grade 10 student, was the victim of bullying in elementary school.
The taunting and teasing stopped when she entered high school. She was pleased to discover the school had an anti-bullying policy that encourages students to speak out if they see someone being bullied.
"We should all be treated nicely," she said. "If you see something happening, you should step up and not ignore it."
Under the proposed legislation, school boards would retain the right to disallow names containing what they consider to be controversial terms — such as Gay-Straight Alliance.
While there are no such clubs in schools within the Niagara Catholic District School Board, education director John Crocco said the board has policies in place to address bullying in all its forms.
"Our organization is reflective of our Catholic faith tradition and it's important to know that our school environments are inclusive," he said.
"Our students are taught to welcome and respect the diversity and the uniqueness of all people regardless of their race, gender or sexual orientation."
As the proposed legislation makes its way through Queen's Park, Crocco said the board will continue to focus on the prevention and elimination of bullying.
"Our focus is that our Catholic communities are places of belonging and that students will feel safe and will they know where they can go to seek assistance and help."
McGuinty said Wednesday the bill will include a provision that school boards would be required to offer help to victims and bullies.
As the primary provider of children's mental health treatment in Niagara, Pathstone Mental Health sees both victims and tormentors.
Bill Helmeczi, Pathstone's director of mental health services, said it's important children receive help to determine the root cause of the bullying behaviour.
"We certainly wouldn't want to see kids identified as bullies sent to court or a custody facility where they wouldn't receive any treatment. There could be underlying issues at hand," he said.
Zopito Marini, a professor in the department of child and youth studies at Brock University, described the new legislation as a "partial" step in the right direction.
"The expulsion option is not a bad thing to have in place, but I believe if we assume that this is going to solve our problems, then we are going to have a great deal of disappointment," he said.
Marini said the government should focus on bullying prevention so students don't end up being kicked out of school.
"We really have to have the schools go back and teach those old-fashioned values of respect, civility and tolerance. If we do not educate people on these old fashioned values, we're bound to repeat the same old patterns."
The legislation follows the suicide deaths of several young people, including Jamie Hubley of Ottawa and Mitchell Wilson of Pickering.
"Those are terrible tragedies and I think it's hard to be a parent and not feel for their moms and dads," McGuinty said. "This is a way to draw what painful lessons we might from those terrible tragedies and to give some meaning to those tragedies by taking concrete steps to make our schools safer for all our kids."
With files from QMI Agency
alangley@nfreview.com
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