Recognizing the presence and impact of violence supports learning
Attempts to remove violence and focus on teaching don't create safety or an
environment that supports learning. The challenge is to identify what might
make a difference. I asked every group of students and each individual student
I spoke to what they thought might support learning.
Talk about violence
As raised earlier, one essential challenge seems to be to find ways to break the
silence about violence and its impact on learning without asking students to
speak about their own experiences. They may not want to disclose and to focus
directly on memories of violence may increase their pain. Many students
suggested that assemblies, classes and courses on issues of violence would be
extremely valuable, but some cautioned that if information was given on the
impacts of violence on learning then some students would have "ammunition"
to taunt others. For instance, if a student is having trouble listening, others
could accuse him or her of having experienced violence. Although I would
hope that as silences are broken the power of such taunts might be decreased, it
is important to recognize this danger. Student advisory groups would be
invaluable in helping schools to explore the fine line of programming that
would support and not endanger students experiencing violence.
Some students talked about the value of assemblies held in their school on
topics (in their words) such as: "Racism Day, Women's Violence Recognition
Week, Remembrance Day." Others mentioned the importance of school
assemblies about issues of violence where attendance would be mandatory.
Some students focussed particularly on the problem of how to catch students at
grade nine so that instead of becoming perpetrators or victims of violence, or
drifting away from school, they could become advocates for a violence-free
school.9
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