to disagree, and this will likely be my last post on the topic because I'm getting tired of rehashing the same points.
"camera evidence could offer legal proof of what happened. At that point, he files suit against the school and subpoenas their video footage and gets his "permanent record" cleaned up."
And what, pray tell, are the odds that the bullies would be doing the bullying on school property if there were cameras installed? Probably pretty close to zero. Bullies don't WANT to be caught, and they wouldn't be quite so stupid as to do it in front of a camera. Once again, all cameras do is move the problem off of school property.
"I'd like to see your evidence that kids "in the past" weren't bullies."
I didn't say they didn't exist; I said that schools were making more than a token effort to instill proper social behaviour in students. I'm sure that bullies existed, but youth crimes are more violent now than they ever were. I'd posture that the school system's degrading focus on social education is a factor in the rise of more violent crimes. Possibly a minor factor, but a factor nonetheless.
"What education has been proven to work? What kind of proof is it? And why don't you think teaching "social skills" are the parents' responsibility anymore? "
OK, first of all, I'll thank you not to put words in my mouth. I *never* said it wasn't the parent's responsibility. It is their responsibilty, moreso than any other person or institution. However, it is also the moral responsibility of *everyone* to enforce proper social behaviour to at least some degree, because otherwise there IS no social standard, and everyone can do whatever the heck they like.
As far as education, I wasn't thinking in terms of formal, classroom-based education. When I said that I mean social education, teaching right from wrong, morals, and that kind of thing. This can come from parents, teachers, Scout group leaders, whoever. Everyone I know who had strong lessons in morality and social propriety as a kid have turned out to be upstanding citizens, and were never bullies in school.
"You keep saying that it "doesn't work" and it "is a way of not dealing with the problem". But that is patently false on the face of it."
Sure, it works great from the school's standpoint, but not so well on the grand scale of things. See my above points. As a public institution, the school system has a responsibility to deal with the problems themselves, not drive the behaviour underground... which is exactly what cameras would do. See my above points re: bullies not BEING bullies in front of the cameras.
"How many bullies have you heard about getting convicted? And what are the circumstances? Generally, some kid has to die or be severely beaten, there have to be witnesses, and public outrage has to be invoked. But for every 1 bully brought to justice, a thousand more go mostly unpunished and unstopped."
Funny, I could say the same about corrupt politicians. =) Seriously, though, it's a social problem that's not going to be stopped overnight. It's going to require a change in the way people think and act about society. We don't need more monitoring, we don't need more laws, what we need is some decency and common sense. And it's not going to happen while everyone sits around and ignores the main problem.
"Cameras in schools would most definitely alleviate that problem."
Well, you certainly have your opinion, as I have mine. If I have any choice in the matter, I won't be sending my future children to such a school. |
