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Bullying and Corporal Punishment Shouldn’t Be Tolerated in Schools

January 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment
A scottish schoolboy receives corporal punishm...
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Mark Ecko is speaking out on a matter that far too few prominent figures speak out on. That’s the bullying that is running rampant in schools these days. It’s a problem that only receives attention when the result ends in the loss of a life, or in the firing of a school official. These days some people are taking a stand, and Mark Ecko is one of those people.

It seems fitting the he would stand up and speak out on the terrible issue that bullying is. The truth is, these kids that are being harassed or doing the taunting are the target audience of his widely successful line of clothing, Ecko Unlimited. Certainly, the company does attempt to target those kids who bully, but the audience is that age range and there are those in the age that tend to act poorly.

Still, regardless of the image to his client (those that might think it uncool to be sticking up for those who aren’t sticking up for themselves), Mark wrote a recent Op-Ed piece where he came down on bullies as well as the schools who believe in corporal punishment.

It’s clear that the occasional striking of a child is still a thing that exists in schools today. It’s been around forever but has been on the decline for years. Still, Mark appropriately wonders what this sort of punishment does to help or teach children? He cites research that shows that corporal punishment simply leads to more aggression, and it’s that aggression that leads to bullying.

It’s the same that can be said of a child that comes from an abusive home. In many instances these children are more likely to bully and act out themselves. So Ecko eloquently states that bullying or hitting doesn’t help anyone. It’s nice for so many parents to see someone their kids think is so cool, doing something that is truly cool.

Filed Under: Education, Students, Teachers Tagged With: , ,

Preparing For A Special Needs Student

December 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Whenever a school is hosting special needs children for the first time there is always a little trepidation. In this day and age there are plenty of national safeguards in place to make sure that these special needs students are well tended to and for the most part treated as any other student would be within reason. Of course there are also regulations in place that where special steps are needed they are indeed taken. Most large public schools in big cities have had decades of time to perfect how they are going to outfit their classrooms, entrances and hallways so that a special needs student who may need a wheel chair or other transportation device can enter and exit without a problem.

Still, there are some small town schools that may have not had to deal with wheel chair bound students for quite a while. These schools may have the required ramps and other entrances but the classrooms themselves and the hallways for the schools may be less than great for this particular type of student. In order to prepare both the classrooms and the hallways of the school it might do the teachers and the administrators some good to walk, or roll through the halls as if they were the student who has special needs, especially if those needs are accommodating a wheel chair. Going through the school in this type of chair can give the administrators some feeling for what it will be like for the student, they can “walk” a mile in the student’s wheels and this will give them an idea of what preparations need to be made.

Rows in the classroom must be 36 inches wide and the hallways must be cleared in order for wheel chair bound students to make their way through but there still may be obstacles. Testing outing the school will point out any of those obstacles.

Filed Under: Education, ESE Classrooms Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Finding Room For Wheelchair Students

December 14, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Getting schools and classrooms ready for special needs children, especially those who are bound to be coming to school in wheel chairs can seem like a daunting task. However daunting the task might be, it is a necessary step in order to fall into line with other schools in the same general area as well as federal laws.

The first step in making sure that either your school or the your classrooms are readily available for wheel chair bound students is to take a look around the school, even tour the school while remaining in a wheel chair or by using crutches through the entire tour. This will illustrate just how hard it is for students, who do not have the option of casting those tools aside to get around. Putting yourself in their shoes will make it clear exactly what sort of obstacles they will run into, whether you are talking about having to take the stairs and having no other means to reach the next floor, or having to get around something that is placed in the middle of the hallway like a trophy case or giant display. All hallway passages should be at least 72 inches wide if not much wider to make sure that students in wheel chairs can not only fit through the hallways but fit through without much effort and still allow other students to get around them.

Doors to classrooms should be at least 36 inches wide in order to accommodate the wheel chairs and when setting up classrooms the space between rows of desks should also equal 36 inches or more if possible so that the wheel chair bound student can navigate the classroom without much difficulty. Floors of classrooms should be kept clear for the exact same reasons. While some of the preparations can be more difficult than others, understanding what is needed is the first step.

Filed Under: Education, ESE Classrooms Tagged With: , , , , , , ,