A grade two classroom is shown in this Monday, September 14, 2020 file photo. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)
WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s teachers are sounding the alarm about escalating violence in public school classrooms — and they want the province to do something about it.
The Manitoba Teachers’ Society, wrapping up its annual general meeting this weekend, released survey results recently showing seven in 10 educators say violence has increased over their careers, and more than half say it makes their jobs harder to do.
The survey of more than 3,300 teachers described a system stretched past its limits — repeated lockdowns, weapons in schools, and shrinking access to student supports.
MTS President Lillian Klausen said the crisis didn’t happen overnight.
“Violence in schools is not appearing out of nowhere,” Klausen said. “It is growing in a system that has been pushed past its limits — where funding and staffing hasn’t kept pace with student need and supports have been allowed to erode. In some cases, supports have been completely cut.”
MTS is pressing the province to create a standardized, province-wide system to track school violence and move urgently to fill staffing and resource gaps it says are fuelling unsafe conditions for students and educators alike.
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