“Boys will be boys,” I would always hear my mother say in response to yet another fight that happened at school, even when it wasn’t the boys fighting. That is one of the most common phrases I hear from parents. Yet April 20, 1999 brought a marked change in many parents’ opinions; on that day, twelve people were brutally murdered, and another twenty-four wounded before the assailants committed suicide in what was soon to be known as the Columbine High School massacre. After the events of that day, parents began to believe that it was no longer a matter of “boys will be boys,” but was instead a concern that needed to be addressed. Nearly eight years later, things have not changed; fights continue to occur in schools, bullying is as much an issue today as it was then, and the issue of drugs has only increased. Now, as a mother myself, I find myself concerned about the failure of the education system to adapt a zero tolerance policy in regards to youth violence. While many schools will inform parents that they will not tolerate violence, the truth is that they can and do tolerate it, and often look the other way.

Youth violence can be defined as any intentional physical, sexual, emotional or psychological assault on another person (or persons) by one or more young people aged 12 to 19 years. Zero tolerance towards youth violence of any kind in schools means that violence would not be accepted as the norm, and would instead be punished heavily upon the first offence; this includes bullying, taunting, teasing, and fighting, as well as drug usage, which is known to lead to violence. Students must be held accountable for their own actions and recognize that their misbehaviour is a result of conscious choices, not the result of disadvantage, discrimination or peer pressure. There must be clearly defined consequences for violence and other misconduct in order to provide for a safe environment for everyone to feel safe in the education system.

Currently, youth violence is an issue that is glossed over, and over-looked by many individuals in the education system. This allows for more violence and misconduct to occur than what could be considered safe.  Gangs and drug usage are one of the most common concerns in high schools today, both of which lead to violent situations. According to the Edmonton Police Service “there is a growing concern about gangs in schools. Gang-related problems have escalated, and schools are now in the position of deterring gangs and gang-related activity for the safety of themselves and the students.” (Edmonton Police Services) Gangs are known for creating, and thriving in, violent situations. They are also behind much of the drug-related issues in many high schools. Drug usage is an issue for many students, especially for those who feel pressured into doing the harder drugs such as crystal methamphetamine, a drug which is known to cause a psychological effect on users, commonly provoking them towards violence.

While it is difficult to determine the exact extent of youth violence in Canadian high schools, we see that every year one in ten youths comes into contact with the police for violations of the Criminal Code or other federal statutes. While ten percent may not appear to be a great deal, we must take into account that the average number of students in a classroom ranges from twenty to thirty students. As well, in the past eight years, we have seen a dramatic increase in youth violence, and homicide rates.

A zero tolerance policy towards youth violence would prevent a great deal of the violence that occurs in high schools, and allows corrective action to take place in the event that violent events do occur. If students expect there to be no tolerance for any violent actions they intentionally take, whether physical, sexual, emotional or psychological, they would be less likely to take action and instead think things over before making a decision as to what action they would take.

“If I knew I wouldn’t have been able to get away with [getting into fights] then I wouldn’t have done it. The teachers never cared,” said Stephen Guldbrandsen when asked about his violent past in school. Suspended only once for fighting, he had a reputation as one of the more violent young men at M. E. LaZerte Composite High School, and was a football player on the Junior team, where that reputation helped him. As a father of one now, he is more than willing to admit that a zero tolerance policy towards youth violence is a requirement in today’s schools. “The peer pressure to do drugs affected my judgement, and probably was what brought out that violence. [Teachers] really should have watched out for the drugs,” he adds.

With teachers and various educational staff looking the other way in regards to youth violence and other forms of misconduct we are sending a message that this is allowed, even acceptable behaviour, when in fact, it is not. “Boys will be boys,” is not a valid excuse for the violence we see in today’s schools. Youth violence is a growing trend that needs to be remedied, and the best way in which to correct this behaviour is to stop it at the first indication of trouble. The moment we allow it to proceed unchecked we are giving our consent and our blessing; this is not acceptable. Instead, we should be operating under a zero tolerance policy, wherein bullies, students who fight, and students who push drugs upon others are held accountable for their actions.

Bibliography

Edmonton Police Services. 28 January 2007 .

Guldbrandsen, Stephen. Interview. Laureen Guldbrandsen. 23 January 2007.

Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. "Canadian Crime Statistics." Juristat, 16(10) (1995): 14-15.