Litigation-cra
parenis pertu

“PARENTS are the
bones on which children
sharpen their tecth.”
That’s what the great
British actor, Peter
Ustinov, said.

And he’s obviously right.
For while most children will
rebel at some point against
parental authority, they also
emulate their mothers and
fathers, leaming behaviors from
them that will shape the rest of
their lives

That’s why I’m worried
about two separate but related
events in which youngsters are

ntly encourage:
by ther parents to take their
teachers to court. What kind of
conduct is being medeled in
these instances?

In Vancouver, a 12-year-old
._ boy is suing his school principal

. for libel. Nathan Ganapathi, a
Grade 7 student at L*Ecole
Bilingue, recently filed the law-
suit with the help of his father’s
law firm.

According to the statement.
of claim, the sct-,:ol’s principal

* distributed a letter alleging that

- Nathan was guilty of sexual
harassment. Apparently the boy
said to « fellow student: “You

“incested your sister.” s
He was subsequently sus-

__ pended from school for two,
days. Nathan and his iawyer
father say the letter constitutes

_. libel and that the principal was

wrong to equate uttering a
profanity with sexual harass-
ment. .
They also say that the
n caused

; nit seeks al injunc-
tion against rincipal, an

order that the Terter be
removed from the student file,
and damages for pain and suf-

"fering, punitive damages and

- COUIT COStS.

~_-T won't comment further
. eg
maibox

Call out for.

nominations
Dear Editor:

. Annually, Minister of
Environment, Lands and
Parks, recognizes the environ-
mental contributions of indi-
viduals, groups, businesses,
and organizations throughout
“British Columbia.

Durin Environmenta!
Week, June 1-7, 1997, the
licutenant governor and :the
environment minister wil! pre-
sent. the 1997 Minister’s
Environmental Awards to
British Columbians for their
outstanding work in preserv-
ing, protecting and enhancing
the environment.

I invite you to nominate
any individual or group who
you think deserves to be con-
sidered for the awards pro-
gram. You may call the
Ministry of Environment,
Lands and Parks (Enquiry BC
will connect you free of
charge) or my constituency
cffice for nomination forms.

Thank you for considering
this opportunity to assist in the
recognition of the achieve-
ments of your fellow British
Columbians.

Katherine Whittred
MLA; North Vancouver-
Lonsdale ; .

= Davi
Michell

a second
opinion

on the details of the case. other
than to say that it seems to me
to be part of the sickness of our
times. And it begs some impor-
tant questions.

What kind of a message is
this boy receiving from his
father? And what impact could
this cas have on our education
system? Will educators in the
future face lawsuits whenever
they attempt to discipline stu-
dents?

.Are we now becoming as
absurd as our litgation-crazy
American neighbors when it
comes to taking even minor
complaint. to court, rather

1 discussing our dif-
ferences and attempting to
work them out in’a construc-
tive manner?

You may think this is an iso-
lated circumstance from which
conclusions shouldn’t be
drawn. But right here on the
North Shore we have another
case that sends shivers down:
my spine.

Ross Haynes, a 15-year-old
West Vancouver student at
Sentinel High, is suing his
school because he says his
teacher didn’t teach him all of a
required course. His father
launched the small-claims court
action to recover the $902 cost
of a tutor who was hired to
teach his son part of a Grade 9
social studies course that may
have been glossed over by the
teacher.

Whatever the legal merits of
this case, has any consideration
been given to its potential
effect on the world-view of the

teenager involved? Ross
Haynes’ father seems to be
telling his son not to worry, if
you don’r get your way, if you
feel you've been dealt with
unfairly, or if you’re unhappy
about vour lot in life, you can
always suc.

Whatever happened to
responsible parenting, where
youngsters are encouraged to
work problems out, face up to
them, work hard and then
move on to the next challenge:

If there’s a chance that a
student is being shortchanged
at school, shouldn't there be
some calm, rational discussion
with the teacher involved? If

nts are truly concerned,
shouldn’t they be part of that
discussion? Has anyone ever
heard of mediation? Could the
teacher involved provide some
additional tutoring — to the
entire class, if necessary? Could
a parent help out? What about
the public library?

It seems to me that these
are among the crucial question:
that should be asked in such a

case,

Taking a teacher or school
to court, how:ver, fosters a liti-
gious nd adversarial approach
to life that we shouldn’t be
encouraging, especially among
our youth. Unless, of course,
we're intent on breeding a be!-
ligerent generation of righis-
conscious citizens who sue each
other at the drop of a hat.

Don't get me wrong, I
know from personal experience
that it’s not easy to be a parent
today. It’s simply too easy to
teach our kids about their
tights, but much more chal-
lenging to instil ir. them a sense
of responsibility.

— The North Shore News
believes wrongly in freedom of
speech and the right of all sides
in a debate to be heard. The
columnists published in the News
present differing points of view,
but those views are not necessarily
those of the newspaper itself.

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