“School Safety Isn't Like When I Was a Kid”

Becky "Bakool" Cousineau -  February 5th, 2009 

Would you believe it if someone told you that their first grade daughter had been pushed so hard that she got a broken rib and a concussion? Now would you believe it if I told you it happened at school in the hall? How about another little girl sexually assaulted in the classroom bathroom by two little boys in the same class? Now would you believe it if the response from the school was to say that she must have liked it or wanted it because she kept going back? How about violence on the bus? Multiple children beating up a kindergartener, then when another child steps in to stop it that child is beaten up as well. Would you believe there have been bomb threats and threats of shootings being completely ignored by the media?

If you are like me you'd be wondering where the teachers were. Where was the bus driver? Where is the media coverage? The school doesn't seem to feel that the parents need to know about the bomb threats, the lack of safety, the abuse being perpetrated and so on.

If you were like me you'd also be wondering where is the news story about this? Well, according to the local paper, "This story is too politically charged." So you won't hear about it from the local paper. Letters have been sent to the TV News stations and no response has been made. The Department of Family and Social Services is investigating the parents of the boys who assaulted the little girl, and the school will be investigated as well. But no information will be released from that investigation as well.

This leads me to wonder how safe our children really are in the public school system. Many go through safely with no issues, but an increasing amount of children are having issues. And because of political correctness it is not being reported. We do hear about the occasional teacher running away with their teenage students and the fighting going on with teens at school or on buses. But what about the younger children, the Elementary kids.

The politically correct group doesn't want us to think about these things happening in our schools. They want us to think that programs that explain what to do when your being bullied by another child will do some good. Never once do they explain to the children that they themselves may be bullying if they do certain behaviors. The politically correct types doesn't want you to know that there is a real problem in our schools.

Children as young as 10 years old are being bused with 18 year old kids. Wouldn't be that much of a problem, except those 18 year olds talk about things like "Pulling a Columbine" and shooting up the school, killing teachers and students and plating bombs in the school. But you and I as parents will never hear about it, unless our kids tell us. And if you go to the school about it, nothing is done. Is this really what is best for our children?

Isn't it from the school administration we hear about how we need to raise taxes "for the children" and we need to make sure kids are in school "for an education." With no supervision how safe are our kids and how much of an education are they getting from teachers versus other children?

Our high school is barely 10 years old and if you walk through it there are many safety issues. There are windows that don't open and others that are stuck open. You have pieces of flooring pulling away. There is no supervision at all in the halls. Theft is rampant. 8th graders are making out in the halls, and there is no one to tell them that it's not appropriate to do that in school.

I'm a realist. I realize that there are many kids whose parents feel it is fine for their child to have sex before the age of 18. But should our schools be handing out condoms and giving the kids a place to have sex as well?

As a realist I also realize that many parents aren't home for their children. With two working parents who has time to talk to their kids let alone teach them anything! Besides, isn't that what we send them to school for? Things like morals, politeness, not wearing a hat indoors, etc., these are things that are taught at home and in church, not in school. If you want your child having a baby at age 16, then don't take notice of what I'm saying. But if you think your son or daughter deserves more than what society is teaching them, then bring them to church and stop expecting school to give your kids a moral compass. You as the parent are the only ones who can do that.

As for safety, the only thing we can do as parents is to insist that our children have a teacher in the classroom or in the hallways with the children at all times. The Teachers Union will rail against this idea, teachers need breaks too. I agree, they shouldn't be the only ones supervising. Then we need aids, which all classes have, and the administration to be there when the teachers aren't.

There is no excuse for sexual assault on a 2nd grade child by other second graders while in the classroom or classroom bathroom. There is no excuse for kids being beaten up on the bus by older children. There is no excuse for crack ribs and concussions because of bullying in the halls. There is no excuse for bomb threats, threat of shootings or any other violence in our schools!

Until we are willing to stand up to the Unions and the PC crowd and tell them that we will not put our children into dangerous situations and insist on their safety then nothing will change. The media will ignore it because the Unions would be upset by it. As a parent of 4, I'm upset and I want the truth told!

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