In the local High School here, parents are already complaining about kids being grabbed by the hair and thrown into walls, shoes being thrown at their kids. Some kids having to go to school further away because school here is too bad for them to go.
Middle school is known to be a hellscape and I've not heard anything good about it in years.
And while because I don't have kids, I get told I "Don't get a say", my reply to that is "Fuck you I do." Because if YOUR kid is a bully, or your kid is one of the victims, then it falls on all of US to deal with those after effects, whether the bully becomes worse in society and ends up going to prison, or the victim gets worse and becomes a mental health risk.
So yeah, I actually DO have a right to be included in the conversation about how to handle this shit.
When you've Governments that don't want to know how bad it is, that's a problem.
When you've Governments becoming part OF the problem in schools (lack of funding, policies that affect students negatively), that's more of a problem.
When teachers are leaving the public school to go into private or focused schooling, the problem gets even worse.
When the teachers that stay send home papers asking PARENTS to help fill out the items needed FOR THE CLASSROOM (dry board markers for example) because there's not enough money to get those things otherwise, and when those teachers need to use THEIR OWN MONEY to buy supplies kids don't come in with...
When parents treat teachers and school like a daycare for their kids rather than a place they go to get educated, then go ape shit when their Little Johnny is an asshole and is called out for being such by teachers/other parents so that everyone sees where Little Johnny gets it from...
When Governments say "We care for kids!" out of one side of their mouths, but do everything they can to make education worse in their provinces...
We are failing kids, have been for years and the people who do want to change things are told by certain parts of society that the changes aren't what kids need, rather it's "back to basics" and back to where "bullying was okay and abuse is okay".
