With the teacher conference season approaching, the issue of student discipline is pushing its way to the top of the agenda. In recent months, teacher unions have highlighted what they see as a virtual breakdown of discipline in many schools.
A recent survey by Asti concluded that the problem in some schools was undermining the quality of teaching and learning. More than 70 per cent of teachers reported that they had encountered serious continuous disruption in class. And in excess of 80 per cent said a small coterie of pupils was responsible for this disruption.
The core point made by Asti and by the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) is that current legislation in this area is tilted in favour of the unruly pupil. They say that the Education Act is overly protective of individual rights while often ignoring the common good. In a submission to the new Taskforce on Discipline, Asti says that current legislation focuses largely on the needs of students as individuals and not on students as members of a learning community. It adds: "The Asti believes that the legislation, by according wide-ranging entitlements to individuals, undermines the collective entitlement of the student community to a safe, orderly and harmonious learning environment."
It is difficult to argue with the thrust of the case put by Asti when one considers the workings of Section 29 of the Education Act, which governs school suspensions and expulsions. In the vast majority of cases pupils are readmitted to schools on appeal, even if their offence is of a very serious nature. Although few would advocate a draconian system for second-level students, the practical problems of dealing with a seriously-disruptive pupil must be acknowledged.
To her credit, Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin has recognised the urgency of the problem by establishing the new taskforce. This was largely in response to a strenuous lobbying effort by the TUI, whose members have been left angered and exasperated by the breakdown in student discipline in some schools. In an interview in today's edition, the taskforce chairperson, Dr Maeve Martin, says that while many students are well versed as to their rights, some may be less aware of their responsibilities. This is a view which will be shared by many teachers, parents and pupils.
The taskforce has the job of reviewing current legislation. Hopefully, it will frame proposals which fully acknowledge the collective rights of the school community to an education unhindered by the disruptive behaviour of a small minority.