26 May 2007

Erindale the new home of voyeuristic violence in the ACT?

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Following on from this article earlier in the year I noticed a rather depressing story on the Canberra Times website.

Particularly disturbing was the following:

“In both cases other students filmed the bashings and distributed the footage around the school, including posting one of the assaults on the YouTube website.”

We can only hope the footage is of a high enough quality to be used as evidence.

And to give some idea of the limits that teachers and principals have to deal with:

“Erindale College principal Michael Hall said one of the attackers involved had left the college to take up a place at another school, and he had imposed the maximum penalty available to him on the other student, giving her five days’ suspension.”

Five days holiday for a violent assault.

(First person to suggest bringing back the cane gets 10 bonus points..)

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Sorry Terry Wrist. The Mackillop students were the perpetrators, but the problem was with Lanyon??? Maybe the Mackillop headmaster could have done something to stop 100 of their students or were they too busy defending their bosses from assorted other allegations that crop up from time to time in the private school system?

I see a lot of Erindale students – some seem good, some not good. Some loud, some quiet, some polite, some obnoxious. They are certainly no worse than dealing with some of the Marist crowd in Woden.

i currently attend another public college and erindale isnt alone. myself and other girls have been harrassed, assaulted and bullied by a particular girl at our school most of this year. she was not even suspended. she was constantly given another chance and it was disgusting. we shouldnt have to be anxious and afraid of leaving our own homes to go to school each morning because one little b*tch cant get over herself and grow up.

At ACT Colleges, students’ college handbooks feature a warning that College is not compulsory and that students whose conduct endangers, hurts or in anyway harms other people or their ability to learn may be removed.

The thugs, the cruel sub human individual who perpetrate such crimes… who hurt and humiliate people should have the maximum punishment possible imposed on them. Not suspension (ie. a holiday) as Hall would do, but expulsion. College is not compulsory, those who come to fight shouldn’t be welcome. And yes, as people have pointed out… the police should get these people. They should work with the school to provide the optimum punishment that will result in justice for the victim and to reform the offender.

But at Erindale, you can bet it will be all Hush Hush! I know all about Micheal Hall, the former principal of Lanyon High School. Rather than face problems, he would sugar coat them, keep them quiet. Like the time around 100 Mackillop students came went to Lanyon to fight, resulting in a brawl at the local shops. Instead of working to prevent the brawl (which many teachers knew off my mid morning), he did nothing until gangs in cars arrived to taunt the year 10s. After a brawl occured at the shops, Hall did not focus on finding the people who started it… no. He focused on “calling in favours” to try to minimize the schools exposure on television. And I guess sugar coating a dodging problems worked for him because he got promoted to college principal. Having Hall as principal… I feel sorry for Erindale. My condolences.

From my memory of Erindale (99) it’s more a result of the change to keep people in school than any lack of corporal punishment or militant lesbianism. For some reason they seemed obsessed with keeping robbing junkie scum in school rather than in jail.

Mael, I’ve had them in my classroom. They want to know what their children are up to. I gladly bring them in. They see the class, warts and all, and have expressed their thanks to me for not putting up with the little “turds” crap.

However, in sayin that, it does make it more difficult for high school classes than primary to have parents come in.

Nyssa, I was referring to the parents of the NON Disruptive students.

Here’s a classic example – student threatens another student with “smacking them in the head”. This is a repeat offender for violence btw. DP and Principal are informed. During the time it takes them to collect student, they make another threat of violence towards another student and allude to “outside help” to do it.

The punishment?

A RED/Stage 3 (the worst of the worst) behaviour card.

Mael, I’ve encouraged parents of disruptive students to sit in my class so I can actually do my job and not have to physically protect other students from being assaulted.

The parents don’t come because they don’t care and they see school as nothing more than a babysitting centre.

That’s it exactly. No accountabilty. These thugs ( male or female) should be charged with assault, front up to court immediately, not months down the track ( in which time they’ve been able to continue their rampage) and made to do community service at least in reparation.

What has happened in society to allow this to become the case?

Where do you want us to start ?
The lesbo brigade running the school system, the anti spankers, the depowerment of teachers to enforce punishment, or my personal favourite, the fallout from the ‘sexual harrassment’ years ?

neanderthalsis10:23 am 28 May 07

It is interestiong that we are seeing increasing numbers of violent acts committed by young girls. It used to be the premise of the late teens male reprobate to carry out the violent assaults. What has happened in society to allow this to become the case?

The attackers should be charged by the police. It is sickening to read about these attacks. What is wrong with kids these days?! This sort of crap never happened when I was in Grade 11/12 and hell it wasn’t that long ago – graduated Yr 12 in 1994.

Is there any prohibition on us responsible parents going to the school ourselves to monitor the education received by our children – and of course to hold the disruptive students by the legs upside down for 10 minutes until they learn to calm down ?

Daramalan eh – I went there and just hid down the drains smoking things…

Rita Rita 1st 15 eater was the motto while were there.

No but captain of the Daramalan First 11 lol

Shauno – but did you make the Eddies’ first XV?

At a certain private school in Canberra where I had the pleasure of attending over the years I received the following punishment. Edge of the ruler across the knuckles. Leather strap across the palms. Cricket bat across said buttocks while at the same time being told to face away from the window so that I wasn’t hit through it. Graduated year 12 in 1988

VYBerlinaV8 now_with_added grunt10:27 pm 26 May 07

I’d like to see schools being given the authority to apply penalties more usefully. Like Nyssa said, if a kid is over minimum school leaving age, and they do something like this, throw them the hell out.

If it was my kid, and the piece of crap who did this scored a 5 day vacation, I would be sorely tempted to do something about it myself. Besides, what the worst that could happen? 15 months periodic detention? Bah.

VicePope, I agree with you there.

Some of the current Yr 11 and 12’s are ex-students of mine. They always stop and say hello to me when I am in there. I taught them in Yr 7 and 8 (and some when they were in Yr 5) but it’s nice to know that they are doing well.

I also know what you mean re: less desirables. When I have seen them, I look at the faces of the other shoppers and never see anything but a grimace. They should be banned.

As someone who gets to see the Erindale College students in full flight more often than I would wish, I would observe that a majority are pleasant, decent kids.

There is a minority of loud, offensive, larcenous, threatening louts (male and female) for whom the school motto might be “can I call my lawyer” or “of previously good character, your Honour”. I have no idea whether the alleged antagonist was one of these. It is appalling that this group is allowed to pollute the education of the serious students and disturb the peace of those who work in or use the nearby shopping centre.

(Removes pin from grenade, opens henhouse door slightly, rolls grenade into henhouse. Closes door and runs).

Bugger the cane, the student is over the required age to be a compulsory student in the ACT.

Expel her and leave it at that.

I also believe the student should be charged as an adult and anyone who filmed it and put it on the net should also be prosecuted.

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