ONGOING incidents of student violence and their diminishing ability to resolve conflicts has inspired one parents and citizens association to meet the problem head-on.
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Calare Public School P&C president Theresa Armstrong said the association was working with the school to host experts to talk about the proper use of technology so parents could learn to handle the issue.
Mrs Armstrong said it followed multiple attacks on students on school buses and a boy’s threat to bring a gun to school when a pair of girls laughed at him.
“I teach ethics classes and I get to see different schools – I’ve noticed an increase in language and violent language and threats,” she said.
“It’s not frequent, but it’s not uncommon.”
She attributed the aggression to the amount of time spent on gaming devices.
“The kids are having less time to interact with each other and socialise properly so their ability to talk to each other and reason things out goes from zero to 10 instantly,” she said.
Mrs Armstrong said parents were increasingly looking to teachers to stamp out the behaviour and needed help to respond.
“Parents are so busy, they want some that’s value adding … without digging through the quagmire of information,” she said.
The sessions will be held throughout the year on dates to be determined and they will be open to all parents.
Orange High School P&C president Keith Lummis said behaviour reinforcement by rewarding the good more than punishing the bad had helped.
“It shows the kids the benefits of positive behaviour rather than focusing on bad behaviour,” he said.
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