Peace in our schools

The specter of the Columbine tragedy dominated the conversation at a middle school education institute held last week at the University of Maine.

Presenters discussed the dramatic increases in violence and threats of violence in our schools, as well as ways of dealing with disruptive students in the school populations.

Among the ideas presented, once again unfortunately, was the misguided notion that teachers should cater to the unmotivated student, including making sure the student knows the teacher “likes” him or her, and presenting material that is exciting, entertaining and even “gross,” so the student will be intrigued and interested. It is the teacher’s responsibility, goes this line of reasoning, to pull the student into the educational process, rather than the student’s responsibility to go to school to learn, and the parents’ responsibility to support the teacher and the school system.

Naturally, all sides have a role in ensuring a student has an opportunity to learn — and that includes the student. James Doughty, superintendent of the Bangor public school system, has a different approach than the one presented at the conference. “There is no way that Bangor should be forced to educate children who are unwilling to cooperate, work hard and obey the rules of civility,” he says. Bangor has a zero-tolerance policy for disruptive or disrespectful behavior, and while the disciplinary actions are different for children 5 to 17, they are consistently applied. He is certainly not alone among Maine superintendents with this view.

Continuing to put presentation ahead of content to gain the attention of children who are intentionally disruptive speaks volumes to the 90 percent of students who are serious about their education. Safety and security in schools, as in the rest of society, begins with clear expectations about behavior and clear consequences when those expectations are not met.

Peace in the classroom and the hallways does not require capitulation to intimidators; rather, a reassertion of the importance of the responsibilities of parents, teachers and, most importantly, students.