Recent reports blaming teachers and staff for violence in some inner city Toronto schools are astounding.

First, it is apparent from the stories that the violent acts, including murder and rape, are mostly related to youth gang activity. One wonders how teachers and school administrators can be held accountable for the results of the veritable witch’s cauldron of social, economic and racial problems associated with youth gangs.

Second, teachers are trained to impart learning about chemical formulae, Shakespearean sonnets and the theory of relativity. One wonders how they are supposed to do that while coping with kids doing drug deals from their lockers, raping classmates in the hallways and carrying firearms in the pockets of their oversized pants. Third, to borrow a catchword from the reports, one wonders how to “re-engage” young criminals who are wreaking havoc on their neighbourhoods and schools.

Courses that cater to ethnic and/or racial identity? Extra help with math? Time for a reality check. The reality is, the students in question are physically adults, make more money from crime than most teachers earn, and belong to a culture of violence that erupts for just about any reason including looking at someone else’s girlfriend or wearing the wrong colour of clothing.

The problem is not re-engaging them with education, but disengaging them from criminal activity. Ontario schools have a zero tolerance policy against violence, but policies, like watchdogs, are only as good as their teeth.

If creating a safe learning environment is the goal, the first step – a giant one - is to keep youth gangs, and the violence, weapons and drugs that go with them, out of our schools. Around here that probably means immediate expulsion for any offenders. But there are schools where it will undoubtedly involve metal detectors, drug sniffer dogs and a police presence in the hallways. So be it. Kids who strut down school hallways selling drugs and threatening (or committing) violent acts against people and property are not “disengaged” students; they are criminals and should be treated as such.

This is as true in Listowel and area as it is in downtown Toronto. Teachers and administrators at a handful of Toronto schools cannot be allowed to take the fall for recent tragic events at those schools.

What about a legal system that grants young offenders automatic “get out of jail free” cards? What about a law enforcement system that has failed to stem the growth of gangs… community members who refuse to report crimes to authorities… a social system that condemns some Ontario kids to third-world slum conditions… an entertainment industry that glorifies violence… a government that places a higher priority on schools and social services running “lean and mean” than providing desperately needed help for kids who need it? What about the youngsters who choose to act like hoodlums? It is a choice. And it is up to all of us, every element of our society, to help them choose something better.

Teachers cannot be expected to accomplish this one alone. – P.K