Teachers in the secondary school system say it’s time to take a closer look at security in some of our schools in light of what they see as a troubling issue—not in all schools, but some.
NLTA President Trent Langdon, who was reacting this morning to a recent VOCM Question of the Day on school violence, says he spoke with one principal who estimates that 20 per cent of students are going to school with a weapon—not for aggressive purposes, but for self-defense.
Langdon says the heavier problems seem to exist in large, urban schools as opposed to the more rural settings.
He fears that we’re going to have a homicide on our school grounds in the near future. A violent incident at PWC in St. John’s resulted in attempted murder charges against several people.
Meanwhile, the education critic says the province isn’t doing its part in addressing school violence.
This comes on the heels of an arrest at a St. John’s high school for a student with suspected weapons last week.
A March access to information request by the NLTA shows a spike in violent incidents—from 20 to almost 30 a day, or almost 3,000 a year.
Paul Dinn says the province has been too quiet on addressing the issue—and the minister risks what he calls a major tragedy.
Schools should not have more students than they were designed for, says Dinn.