". JUST. ADD WATER

"WHEN I sit with my young.

son 2s he watches Mister

~” Rogers’ Neighborhood, and

good ol’ kind-hearted Fred
Ells my little guy ‘‘i’m
‘proud of you” and ‘‘You’re
special,” I’m of two minds.

Part ‘of me says, yes Fred, keep
building up those burgeoning :
self-esteems and spreading your

: message of love! The other part

feels a swelling concern that the
world my son will walk into is in’
creasingly aggressive.”

. It's not just a matter of hanging
“on firmly to your toddler ina

‘. shopping mall and other crowded

”*- spots; it’s also the.realization that :
-.one of the places your child will.

-. spend much of his time for the

“Next 18 years — his school —

- could very well be at least un-"
friendly, if not violent.

. The increasing level of violence
“in B.C.’s school system was con- _
‘firmed by an.interim report

* réleased last week by the B.C. .

.. Teachers Federation (BCTF).

he Task Force on Violence in -
“Schools told us that certain highly
disturbing trends are emerging in
the classrooms and schoolyards of
this province.

, These trends include aggressive
physical and verbal behavior from
’ kids as young as five (such.as
biting, kicking and punching other
teachers); more gang attacks as

‘opposed to one-on-one fights;

more common use of weapons,
especially knives and razors; more
verbal abuse of teachers and stu-
dents; and unprovoked random
attacks. . ‘
‘That incidents like these are on
thei increase in.schools is not sur-

_ CALL US:

983-2208

“For Brunch on Saturdays, i i have the Eggs Benedict, the French Toast or r the Belg:
the Frittata or the Pacific Shrimp Croissant. For Gessert, f have the cheesecake or r Sp
Peppi s, 25th Street in West Vancouver. 922-1414.

T resent the implication |

that here in BC. were
accepting American
values and there ore
becoming more violent.

prising given the increase in vio-
‘lence in society at large.

As the report points out:
‘Schools are not isolated — they
are part of the coramunity and
reflect the society around them.

When children are violent at

‘ school, the reasons can be varied

and complex. '

We should all know by now
that when kids are abused, ig-
nored and unloved, and when
parents are so financially pressed
they can’t parent, their offspring
are going to act on that depriva-
tion.

We should also know by now
that children fed on a steady diet
of television and movie violence.
are more likely to see that violerice ©
as not only acceptable, but

“Are you in favor 0 of a
terminal on N. ‘Shore?

ship t

Mrs. Porter
West Vancouver

| would definitely not want to see
“4 a cruise ship terminal. on

the
North Shore for the simple reason
that the two bridges are crowded
enough as it is.

We would like to know what you think!
Call in with your response by

Wednesday 5 p.m.

WE'RE NOT GEITING

glamorous.

used to question whether tele-
vision and movies had any violent
effect on children. I don’ t any
more.

I’ve now seen enough children
in playgrounds storming around
as they model a television or
movie hero.

It seems pretty clear: if you let
your kid play out a Rambo fan-
tasy, he could get nasty with other
children. .

When I read an interview
American journalist Jeanne Wolf
did with movie-star Arnold

Schwarzenegger, it left me boiling.

Here’s a self-professed family
man who has made millions biow-

ing away other humans in front of

countless kids, and nowhere in the

crise |

No name given

. North Vancouver

1 say yes because we need the
business here in North Vancouver.
It would be a huge boost to the
tourist industry over here.

MORE VIOLENT. SUT | <0
MORE MANLY, Do a

You UNDERSTAND

” wad T Rel

more Conadih

than ever

joo

interview is he qustioned about
the possible effects of these vio-
lent scenes on young people.

Was Wolf so impressed by his
biceps she forgot to ask a probing
question? This is the worst kind
of sycophantic, star-struck jour-
nalism.

What chance does a teacher
have, if Arnie is the role model
for every little prospective, im-
pressionable terminator? ,

Which brings us to another cen-
tral problem the BCTF report
highlights — a growing lack of:
respect for authority. :

~ As someone who was in'school
in the ’60s, I’m just short of
amazed at how much respect
traditional figures of authority
have lost in just one generation.

S

Let’s be fair — some movement
of the pendulum was in order.

When I think of the teachers I
had who literally terrorized stu-
dents to the point of tears, |
believe we're well rid of an
authority powered solely by fear. _

However, it's a long way from
the strap to the casuai comment I
heard a teenage girl make recently
on the SeaBus about a teacher:
“Tf she doesn’t pass me, my
mom’ll get her.”’

A friend of mine, who lives on
the North Shore and had taught
locally and in Vancouver, told me '
flatly the other day: “The teacher
as the authority in the classroom |
is the old story.” — ;

Every day he’s faced with 11-
and 12-yearolds giving him a de-
fiant “‘No,”’ or “You can’t tell:
me what to do,” or “J know ‘you
can’t touch me.”’

My question is: where are the
parents of these kids? Likely let-
ting themselves be treated like .
servants too.

When I asked my friend how he
deals with verbal abuse from a”:
student, he said he takes the stu-
dent aside and says: ‘“‘You have
hurt me. Has something hurt you?-
Is that why you said those:
things?”

Although a lot of times students
have difficulty talking about their
feelings, my friend tries to keep

‘up this sensitive and sensible ap-
proach. - .

‘He feels it’s essential that ;
teachers receive training in hand-
ling the increased aggression and ..-
conflict in schools, '

The need to train teachers to

- deal with all levels of violence is ‘-
one of nine recommendations -.
made by the BCTF task force.

The others include the forma-
tion of a broadly based task force
for safer schools to coordinate ac-
tion, and a B.C. Centre for..

School Safety to provide informa- ~

tion and services to schools. _.

I’m encouraged by the task '-
force’s interim report (the final‘
report is due in November of this
year) because it underlines the
value of preventive action while
there’s still time — before we need
small police forces in our schools
to keep them safe.

And that’s the point.

‘1 know my son will be pushed

‘at preschool and maybe bullied in

Grade 3. All I ask is that he isn’t
scared of school.

And that will only happen if all
of us take s some ie responsibility. Vy

THE VANCOUVER Port Corp. has received a. report that ide .
tifies four. potential sites in Burrard Inlet. for a new ‘cruise ship

terminal. Two of the four sites are on the North Shore: one is just
east of Lonsdale Quay; and the other is at the foot of Fell Avenue
on the North Vancouver City waterfront. .

Eve Moody

West Vancouver

I certainly would like to see a
cruise ship terminal on the North
Shore. It would be a big boost to
the local job market.

No name given

North Vancouver

I think a ship terminal would be a.
wonderful thing. We could have a-
troily running | up Lonsdale and
create a tourist atmosphere just
like San Francisco.. ’

THES WEEK’S QUESTION:

Is use of genetic engineering to cure disease ethical?

mni ice cream.’

=

\aeaes BSS L

vian Waffle. On Sundays, I have PHRPPVS
ith eete)

On Dumdavave. Badr