“Children at Michaela have timed loo breaks, must be silent in corridors and face detention if they break eye contact with teachers.”
This is Draconian behaviour & can actually heighten vulnerabilities in children.
https://lnkd.in/eyU2ujvM
Let’s just clear one thing up… so far as someone is Under 18, they are deemed a CHILD & therefore vulnerable in ANY circumstance, even the ones that “have made an active choice.”
You have a fleet of undiagnosed children, who during the pandemic, were basically forced to stay in their homes with little to no social interaction with peers & had no help from services, because teachers just thought said children were “truant” & “disruptive”.
Yes, some children need an iron fist & I don’t believe anyone has been soft, I think people are definitely becoming more understanding & aware, because there is a crisis out there and it is now hitting home turfs.
Articles like this, just prove that there is still a gap between educational establishments taking time out to understand children. It’s almost like they want to pin this blame on children and take away accountability that there are so many factors, culturally, environmentally & even within schools, which contribute to majority of these behaviours. If some educational establishments refuse to be aware that societal issues affect children from all walks of life, it allows them to sanction children continually until they have sifted the “bad apples” out.
And by the way, penelising a child for not making eye contact, shows lack of cultural competency. In some African cultures and possibly other cultures, eye contact = heavy disrespect, so I would be interested to know where a lot of the children getting penalised were from. 🧐
The education sector needs help and I really have to give credit to educational establishments who reach out to experts by experience for help on trauma-informed approaches, who ask for training on these societal issues that affect our children and best approaches they can take to create a safer space for all children, including those who have been exploited & who ensure that they dedicate things like Safety Days so their students are also receiving the same level of awareness raising to try to tackle these matters.
I have a whole lot to say, but I’ll keep it minimal. This article is a strong no from me though.
