School is tough for many at-risk students

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/01/2021 (1878 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If we are to count our blessings during difficult times, one thing to count may be an increased understanding of the previously invisible ways some people have suffered.  

As just one example, the COVID-19 pandemic has given everyone a sampling of what some “other” kids go through.

Prior to COVID,  most  Manitoba youth had a relatively smooth path through school. (To be specific, 2018 statistics indicate that about 90 per cent of non-Indigenous youth graduate, while a little less than half of Indigenous youth do).

Now, because of the pandemic, schooling has been disrupted for everyone. There is quite a bit of talk about the negative social and scholastic impacts wrought by these disruptions. Provincial exams will not be sat by Grade 12 students this year because of unequal access to instruction. 

Even prior to COVID, though, some young people experienced school disruptions and poor scholastic outcomes and some dropped out, quietly and without much notice. These kids were troubled by home life dysfunction or had diagnosed and undiagnosed mental illnesses; some were marginalized, had learning deficits or suffered trauma in ways including bullying. The list is long.

This reality will continue for some after the pandemic is over. What can make a difference is early, timely access to expert help through schools.

In my area, there are guidance counsellors in schools and schools can further access a team of experts at the divisional level. These experts range from an early years behaviour coach to inclusion teachers, psychologists and more. They offer help including “screening, consultation, specialized assessment or ongoing program support” and recommendations for a further referral if needed, all “built on a foundation of inclusion.”

But youth still have problems with school. Why?

Is there enough funding for interventions for all kids who need them? Are those working with students  provided with updated knowledge and best-practices? What is the nature of gate-keeping for connection to divisional support teams, and what is the divisional team’s knowledge flow to schools? What affects the further referral process?  

As well, studies show that paternalistic, disciplinary and hierarchical approaches to problem-solving within institutional systems fuel all sorts of things – especially when mixed with cost-constraint pressure.

Canadian law affirms that access to education is an enforceable right. Critical to that right is early identification, with supports, to create enabling environments for students with exceptionalities. The public schools act is intended to enable all learners to develop their individual potentials.

They say people don’t really understand something until they have lived it for themselves. The pain of school disruption during COVID has been brought home to many.

Albert Einstien said “those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act, and in that action are the seeds of new knowledge.”

To provide proper and timely supports for all students who need it, the removal of “old school” paternalism, other systemic bias, and knowledge-hoarding is imperative to fostering a collaborative and enlightened process.

Students and families are disempowered and left vulnerable if they don’t know what help is available, and if the process is coloured by paternalistic, biased or incomplete perceptions.

Without these changes, schools will continue to be places where some students don’t want to be.

Shirley Kowalchuk is a Winnipeg writer who loves her childhood home of East Kildonan where she still resides. She can be reached at sakowalchuk1@gmail.com

Shirley Kowalchuk
East Kildonan community correspondent

Shirley Kowalchuk is a Winnipeg writer who loves her childhood home of East Kildonan, where she still resides. She can be reached at sakowalchuk1@gmail.com

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