Students, parents concerned over bullying and cultural sensitivity issues at Thunder Bay, Ont., school
Things like healing circles where everybody sits down, and has a conversation and is heard, and it's led by somebody who understands what that healing circle is supposed to be and is Indigenous would do a lot to help that situation.CBC News spoke with parents who say their children have experienced bullying. They want more accountability from the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board , and more mental health and cultural support for students.
"My child is an intergenerational residential school survivor. She did not want this priest touching her," Georgie's mom said. "When she came home and told me what happened to her, it was a violation that I've never felt before. That was a whole new feeling for me." While the school has a cultural room where students can smudge, because of Georgia's modified school schedule, she can't always use it.
"Things like healing circles where everybody sits down, and has a conversation and is heard, and it's led by somebody who understands what that healing circle is supposed to be and is Indigenous would do a lot to help that situation." After learning Georgia was blessed by a priest without her consent, Solomon said religious-based schools must consider how to become more culturally sensitive.
"This room is a sanctuary where Indigenous traditions and practices can be honoured and preserved," it said. "Incorporating a culture room within many of our schools, is a step towards reconciliation and demonstrates our commitment to acknowledging and valuing diverse traditions that enrich our school communities."Thunder Bay parent Amii Whitney said her eldest son, who has autism, couldn't make it through a full year at Pope John Paul II because of bullying.
Vaillancourt said bullying often peaks at middle-school age and bullies tend to fit one of two groups: "We're ignoring the kids who are more Machiavellian in their use of aggression, the ones that are more strategic — so they're really prosocial in front of the teacher, but quite antisocial on the playground."Students in an environment where there's frequent physical bullying come to feel that it's a normal situation, resulting in an escalation of more aggressive violence, said Vaillancourt.
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