Posts Tagged ‘Crime’

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Police Want Schools to Install a Gun Cupboard Next to the Broom Cupboard

August 23, 2012

Police have requested that high schools install locked gun safes just in case a shooter appears on campus:

Plainfield Police asked the district to install locked gun safes to keep a rifle and important information at several schools in the event there’s a shooter on campus, according to Plainfield School District 202.

The safe could include a “long gun, such as an AR 15 rifle,” according to the request, and would be stored in the offices of school police officers, who would be the only ones with access.

The request was made for Plainfield Central Campus, Plainfield East, Plainfield North and Plainfield Academy. Plainfield South High School will not be included.

“Unfortunately, in today’s society active shooter incidents are no longer something we see on TV,” Police Chief John Konopek said in a statement. “They are reality.”

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Posted in School Rules | 2 Comments »

Bullying a Rape Victim is Beyond Disgraceful

February 10, 2012

Upon hearing about the disgusting cyberbullying of a young rape victim I became very upset. I hope these perpetrators get charged for their insensitive and heartless behaviour.

Not only has this poor girl had to deal with the worst form of torture, but she has had to endure this awful campaign as well:

After being attacked and going to the police, she was then branded ‘a lying little skank’ and worse on internet sites.

She was told her home would be burnt down unless she withdrew her evidence. The sustained threats of violence meant that she had to be accompanied everywhere by her mother, even going to and from school.

Her rapist was jailed this week, so at least some justice has been served, which might bring a little comfort.

Yet isn’t it appalling that her physical ordeal was followed by a form of mental terrorism lasting months, with the police all but powerless to stop it, even though what happened amounted to nothing less than intimidation of both witnesses and victim before a court case?

The schoolgirl’s torment began in January 2011, when she was raped in an alleyway near Clitheroe Football Club. She was found by a dog walker naked from the waist down and covered in mud.

Her parents, who had been trying to locate her, had called the girl on her mobile and heard some of the attack, including their daughter screaming: ‘Stop it’. They, too, were quickly on the scene.

And as a side note, guess what the rapist received for his cowardly crime?
This week, he was jailed for 31 months.

Pathetic!

 

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Posted in Cyber Bullying | Leave a Comment »

Scaring Our Children Senseless

November 9, 2011

It is the responsibility of parents and teachers to protect children and educate them on the dangers that exist in the ‘real world’.  However, in attempting to prepare children for incidents and scenarios that are unlikely to happen we have seemingly created a fear and paranoia that has proven quite destructive to the same children we are trying to protect.

A surge in reports of men acting suspiciously near schoolchildren has triggered urgent talks between schools and police, who fear the ‘‘stranger danger’’ message has gone into overdrive.

Police say heightened fears of children being stalked on Gold Coast streets are unfounded, and the increase in reports is the result of people jumping at shadows after a rash of incorrect media stories.

Regional Crime Coordinator Dave Hutchinson says some incidents are made up, and others are cases of children taking fright for no good reason.

I am a bit concerened at how scared and anxious our children are becoming, and teachers are slightly to blame.  Besides stranger danger and other programes that inhabit fear in students, many teachers in Australia have been scaring children with doom and gloom predictions about global warming.  No matter what your position is on this issue, it is important that teachers instruct, educate and empower children, instead of frighten or demoralise them.

There is a huge difference between helping students become perceptive, instinctive and responsible and helping them to  become fearful and paranoid.

At the end of the day, the importance of the message is lost when it inspires an irrational and overpowering fear.

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Posted in Child Welfare | 3 Comments »

Laws That Seek To Protect Our KIds Fail Them

October 9, 2011

The same laws that seek to protect children are being severely undermined by a total lack of common sense.

Australia has a sexual offender registry which was designed to assist the government authorities to keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders.  You don’t have to be Einstein to realise that being on that list is detrimental to that person’s ability to get a job, loan, sense of freedom and quality of life.

The registry is a vital tool in dealing with pedophiles.  That is why I was astounded to read that children caught ‘sexting’ photos of themselves or friends have been put on this very list:

HUNDREDS of teenagers have been charged over producing or distributing child pornography amid growing concern that “sexting” has reached epidemic levels.

In the past three years, more than 450 child pornography charges have been laid against youths between the ages of 10 and 17, including 113 charges of “making child exploitation material”.

More than 160 charges were laid in 2010 alone – 26 more than in 2008.

Parents and communities continue to grapple with the issue of “sexting”, where sexual images are exchanged via SMS.

Teens who engage in sexting not only risk child pornography charges, but can also be listed alongside serial pedophiles and rapists on sexual offender lists.

Police confirmed that some juvenile offenders appear on Queensland’s sex offender registry.

Child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said “a lack of parental supervision” was a key factor.

“They’re ignorant of the law and no one’s ever sat them down and said ‘When you take a picture of yourself and send it, that’s child pornography’,” he said.

Dr Carr-Gregg said a conviction would have a “catastrophic” effect on a teenager’s future.

“If a young person is put on the sex offenders registry, they have to notify police every time they change their hair colour and wouldn’t easily get visas to places overseas, and it’s going to make employment difficult,” he said.

Don’t get me wrong, I am totally against the practice of “sexting”.  I don’t like it one bit.  But these kids are not sex offenders.  One of the reasons children shouldn’t be ‘sexting’ in the first place is to make sure those images don’t get in the hands of a real sex offender.

The application of this law does 2 very serious things.

1.  It paints children wrongly as sex offenders.  This may have dire consequences down the track; and

2. Having ‘phony’ sex offenders on a sex offender registry completely undermines the registry in the first place.  This is a very serious list, dedicated to sick and evil people.  It shouldn’t be undermined by including silly kids who made poor choices.

It is time the Government stepped in and amended the law so common sense can be restored.

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Posted in Child Welfare | Leave a Comment »

Court Ruling Forces Teachers to Act Like Police Officers

October 6, 2011

Why is it that Government and now the courts think it’s appropriate to constantly change our role and responsibilities?  Why can’t we do the job we have been doing for centuries without having to take on new unfamiliar duties?

A 14-Year old was acquitted for holding up a service station and stabbing the attendant because the teacher he confided in reported it rather than caution him.  Apparently, the teacher had a duty to warn the student about his legal rights.  Because the teacher failed to have that discussion, the child got off.

TEACHERS could be forced to warn students as young as 10 about their legal rights before counselling them after a remarkable court decision.

A 14-year-old boy who confessed to his teacher that he robbed a service station and stabbed the attendant with a knife, has been acquitted after the District Court refused to allow the teacher’s statement into evidence because he had not “cautioned” the boy.

It could change the way teachers and students relate to each other, NSW Teachers Federation President Bob Lipscombe said yesterday.

“This is potentially very serious for teachers,” Mr Lipscombe said.

“Teachers are expected to provide advice, assistance and counselling to young people on a daily basis and during the course of that, many things are disclosed to teachers.

“Most are fairly insignificant but often there are matters disclosed that are quite significant and in such cases teachers have never been advised that they can only act on information if they have previously cautioned the student,” Mr Lipscombe said.

The federation was taking urgent legal advice, he said.

“No teacher in the course of their work would caution students in the way this case states,” he said.

“Clearly this teacher did think he was doing the right thing and acting responsibly.”

Last time I checked teachers were neither police officers or lawyers, so why should we be expected to act like them?  Surely this teacher acted responsibly, first for consulting his/her superior and then for reporting the matter.

What do they mean by giving a caution anyway?

“Next time, I recommend you not stab the person.  He may get hurt.”

Yet another ridiculous and insane development for Australian teachers.

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Posted in Education Policy | Leave a Comment »

Teacher Escapes With 3-Month Ban for Kissing Student

September 13, 2011

Unprofessional behaviour sets a terrible example for teachers and undermines the essence of what teaching is all about.  Parents send their kids to us hoping we can help make them safe and take care of them.  When teachers break that trust and cross the line of professional standards there must be consequences befitting the crime.

To get a three-month suspension for kissing a student is a disgrace that cheapens the entire teaching profession:

Emma Walpole, 28, had accepted lifts from three of her year 13 pupils — aged 17 or 18 — and made sexually provocative comments to one during the journey. She invited another into her home where she tried to give him alcohol and kiss him.

She admitted unacceptable professional conduct. In a ruling published by the General Teaching Council, the committee said that Miss Walpole would be suspended for three months but felt further sanctions were not necessary as she had expressed remorse and it was felt she would not pose a further threat.

The council was told that Miss Walpole, a teacher at Denstone College in Uttoxeter, Staffs, had befriended the pupils between September 2007 and June 2010.

She sent and received about 25 inappropriate text messages with one of the youngsters between May 2010 and June 2010, some of them of a sexual nature. In May 2010, she requested that he give her a lift in his car and made “sexually provocative” comments to him during the journey.

I’m glad that Miss Walpole regrets her actions and has promised not to reoffend but that doesn’t excuse her behaviour.  The punishment received is tantamount to a slap on the wrist.  It sends the message to other teachers that they can exploit teenagers for the barest of consequences.

Miss Walpole should consider herself very lucky.  If I was on the Council I wouldn’t have been anywhere near as charitable.

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Posted in Professional Conduct | Leave a Comment »

Lack of Male Teachers Not Responsible for Boys in Gangs

September 3, 2011

I think the experts have it all wrong when it comes to the lack of male teachers in Primary schools.  Sure, the male teachers currently working in the primary/elementary system are generally doing a great job, especially in teaching boys, but there are legitimate reasons why male teachers are not lining up to teach.

It was great to read a blog post by writer and educator Katharine Birbalsingh, who dispels the far-fetched assumptions made about the lack of male primary teachers :

Only 12.4 per cent of the primary school workforce is male. 27 per cent of primary schools in Britain are staffed entirely by women. And in secondary schools, only 37.5 per cent of teachers are male. In an age where some fathers have so little to do with their children, these statistics are seen to be scandalous. Clearly this must explain why some of our boys end up in gangs, why boys underachieve at GCSE in comparison to girls – a gap that widened to record level this year – and why chaos reins in our classrooms. Or does it?

Ms. Birbalsingh goes on to conclude that whilst male teachers have a positive effect on male students, the real issue is the fathers of these students.

Sure, having more men in our schools would be a good thing. And absent fathers is a bad thing. But no teacher can really ever replace a missing father. And that’s where the problem for our boys lies on the whole. What we need are families. Indeed, not too long ago, when ordinary families were more the norm, when fathers were present, male teachers hardly existed, and our boys were doing just fine. So are the schools really to blame for the underachievement of our boys? I would think not. I would think the onus is on our broken families.

My view is that the obsession for male teachers is unhealthy.  Men just don’t seem to be interested in taking up teaching.  My former classmates just assume that I fell into teaching and that my grades must have been so poor that I didn’t have much of an option.  Whilst this couldn’t be further from the truth, it does tell us a bit about the average man’s attitude to teaching – there is no interest in the profession whatsoever.  Especially teaching children under the age of 13.

And I ask you, who would you rather have teaching your son, a diligent, professional and passionate female teacher or a male teacher who reluctantly signed up because the Government were offering cash incentives too good to refuse?

I love teaching at the Primary level and wouldn’t swap my job for any other.  I know other male teachers who feel the same way.  But the reality is, men just don’t want to teach.  We can’t expect them to do something they just don’t want to do.

My school doesn’t even have a male toilets.  The male staff members of our school are forced to use the disabled toilets when they need to go.  As sad as that sounds, it’s hard to justify building a toilet in the current climate.

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Posted in Male Teachers | 2 Comments »

Mother That Publicly Shamed Son is Shameful

August 23, 2011

I resist criticising parents, because as one myself, I know that it’s not an easy job.  Parents make mistakes, it’s just a fact of life.  But some mistakes, parents just can’t afford to make.  Shaming a ten year-old in the way that this mother does, takes a small problem and turns it into much larger one:

A Townsville mother has punished her son by making him sit in public wearing a sign that read, “Do not trust me. I will steal from you as I am a thief”.

The boy, who was also wearing a pair of Shrek ears and writing lines, spent almost an hour near a waterpark on Sunday while his family ate lunch nearby, the Townsville Bulletin reported.

Diane Mayers told the Bulletin that she was so “horrified” when she saw the boy, thought to be about 10, that she alerted Child Safety Services.

The former Child Safety Services worker said the long-term effects of the public humiliation would be greater than any form of physical abuse.

“A lot of people walked past and were laughing at him, including boys who would have been his age,” she said.

She said the parents had clearly put a lot of work into the punishment, with the boy wearing laminated signs on both his back and his front.

Ms Mayers told the Bulletin the boy took the Shrek ears off at one point when her daughter overheard the boy’s mother say, ‘Put them back on or I’ll smack your head in’.

That boy may never steal again, but does the punishment really fit the crime?  Not even close.

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Posted in Parenting | Leave a Comment »

Youth Violence Blamed on Lack of Male Teachers

June 24, 2011

This one wins “The Long Bow Award” for the most absurd theory in education.

A Decline in the number of male teachers is being blamed for rising youth violence.

Adolescent psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said the lack of male teachers was a major problem.

“We know males give something different to the developing boy than what female teachers give. To some extent we have lost that male narrative and left it to Hollywood to teach boys about masculinity,” he said.

The article is right though in suggesting there are very real reasons why males are not finding teaching an attractive career path:

Low pay, a perception that teaching is “women’s work”, and fears of being labelled a pedophile have been blamed for the reluctance of young men to teach.

As long as males don’t find this career path appealing, we are wrong in believing that we even have a shortage of male teachers to begin with.  There’s nothing worse than a teacher that doesn’t enjoy what he/she does.

I wonder if this frenzy to have more male teachers will inspire a new kind of sexual equality.  I wonder if the following methods will be employed to get potential male teachers interested:

– Pay them more than female teachers

– Offer a university fees rebate for male teachers

– Create quota systems for males in schools and universities.

I believe all these measures would be a mistake.  Essentially what we are looking for are good teachers not male teachers.  Whilst I hope men come to discover what a wonderful profession this is, I wouldn’t push it.

As for the lack of male teachers being blamed for youth violence, I very much doubt it.  Male teachers can have a very strong effect on male students in particular, but the theory is outrageous at best.

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Posted in Male Teachers | Leave a Comment »

Cyber Bullying Takes Bullying to a New Level

April 13, 2011

It would be taking bullying too lightly to say it was important or a priority.  It is much more serious than that.  Bullying is a huge area of concern worldwide and is the issue most in need of consideration and due diligence in our schools.  I am happy to hear that in my home state of Victoria, legislation has been passed making it a crime to bully, with workplace bullies jailed for up to 10 years.

It is reassuring to see that cyber bullying is included in this piece of legislation:

The legislation would also cover cyber bullying. It’s happening in other places too.

With the internet covering every part of our lives, cyber bullying has become more prevalent now than ever before. Access to mobile phones, the Facebook phenomenon and YouTube have made it a real problem. Cyber bullying is now so bad that it’s being looked at by a parliamentary committee. Facebook says its removing 20,000 under age users globally each day, but the problem continues. Cyber bullying is perpetrated not just by young people. Take for example the revelations of a gay hate campaign on Facebook in the Australian Defence Force. //

Cyber bullying can take many forms. It can include being teased or made fun of online, being sent threatening emails,  having rumours spread about you online, having unpleasant comments, pictures or videos about you sent or posted on websites like Facebook or MySpace,  being sent unwanted messages, being deliberately ignored or left out of things on the internet or even having someone use your screen name or password and pretending to be you to hurt someone else.

One of the worst examples recently popped up when Blake Rice, who lost his mother and brother in Queensland’s floods, was bashed by six youths because of all the attention he was getting. After leaving him with a broken collar bone, they set up a Facebook page titled We bashed Blake Rice.

The effect of cyber bullying can not be underestimated.  When a child is bullied in the schoolyard, they may find sanctuary in the comfort and safety of their home and family.  This basic right is not afforded to victims of cyber bullying.  They are bullied from the very place they go to for safety and certainty.  With cyber bullying, there is nowhere to hide.

Another unique aspect of cyber bullying, is that when students are bullied at school there is a clear expectation that the Principal and staff will work together to protect these students.  Who are our children to turn to when they are being bullied online?  Their teachers?  Their parents?

This frustrating aspect is highlighted quite clearly through this heartbreaking letter to the Editor from a mother in the UK.

I WAS so pleased to read the article from a concerned father on Facebook Bullying.

I am the parent of a 13 year old girl attending a West Norfolk High School.

We have experienced the horror of Facebook Bullying, which follows on from a day of hell for my daughter in school.

I have had to complain to the school, visit the school, etc, on many occasions since my daughter started three years ago, only to be told the same thing time and time again – the bullies have been spoken too, the bullies have been dealt with; only to find that same evening it starts again at home in the form of Facebook.

The horrible taunts, the name calling, and then more join in and back up the bully’s comments. My daughter puts a far braver face on it than I ever could, but as a mother I feel her pain – and I am disgusted that the parents of these children are not checking what their delightful children are saying and the manner in which they are saying it.

I log on to my daughter’s Facebook with her permission every day now. On occasions as I have been doing this I have had vile messages sent to me via chat – and they get a nasty shock when they realise they have not actually sent it to my daughter.

I have threatened them with Police, with their parents and for cyber bullying, but most times you just get verbal abuse back.

What is happening to our children and our schools?

I have thought about taking my daughter off Facebook altogether to protect her, but why should she be the one who feels punished; why should she miss out on what the majority of her peers are enjoying responsibly?

Also it helps me as a parent to see just what the poor child is enduring and a least, on an upside, I can be there for her and support her through this the best I can – and I have the names of the bullies.

Perhaps Facebook should have been thought through before its launch – 18 years minimum age for access maybe.

There may just be a chance then that these awful bullying children may have reached maturity, and know right from wrong.

ANOTHER CONCERNED PARENT (MOTHER)

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Posted in Bullying, Cyber Bullying | 1 Comment »

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