Violence in the schools becoming acceptable?

I read with great interest the June 16 articles discussing the violence sometimes faced by teachers in Nunavut schools. I really hope the various DEAs wake up to the fact that we simply cannot continue treating violent and abusive students with kid gloves.

I wish violent incidents were more the exception than the norm, but given my own experience it seems violence is becoming more prevalent and acceptable. In one Nunavut school I taught in I was punched in the face and the following day suffered a broken finger. Of course, neither of these students was expelled.

I really hope that the DEAs clue in to the fact that violence against school staff is one of the reasons why they choose to leave for the South.

One of the goals of a good education, of course, is to develop responsible citizens. I fail to see how dealing out a measly five-day suspension for assaulting a teacher accomplishes this. Its time to take the blinders off and see that this small percentage of punks are dealt with appropriately.

Darcy Steele
Arctic Bay